EN Official Journal of the European Union L 2/1

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2018/3

of 4 January 2018

fixing the trigger volumes for the years 2018 and 2019 for the purposes of possible application of additional import duties on certain fruit and vegetables

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (1), and in particular point (b) of the first paragraph of Article 183 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 39 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892 (2) provides that an additional import duty as referred to in Article 182(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 may be applied to the products and during the periods listed in Annex VII to that Implementing Regulation. That additional import duty has to apply if the quantity of any of the products put into free circulation for any of the periods of application set out in that Annex exceeds the trigger volume of imports in a year for that product. Additional import duties shall not be imposed where the imports are unlikely to disturb the Union market, or where the effects would be disproportionate to the intended objective.

(2) In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 182(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 the trigger volumes of imports for the possible application of additional import duties on certain fruit and vegetables are based on import data and domestic consumption data for the previous three years. On the basis of the data notified by the Member States for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, the trigger volumes for certain fruit and vegetables should be fixed for the years 2018 and 2019.

(3) Taking into account that the period of application of possible additional import duties as set out in Annex VII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892 starts for a number of products on 1 January, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2018 and therefore it should enter into force as soon as possible,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

For the years 2018 and 2019, the trigger volumes referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 182(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 for the products listed in Annex VII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892 are set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2018.

It shall expire on 30 June 2019.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 4 January 2018. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671.

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892 of 13 March 2017 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors (OJ L 138, 25.5.2017, p. 57).