COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2083/96 of 30 October 1996 amending Regulation (EC) No 2805/95 fixing the export refunds in the wine sector

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March 1987 on the common organization of the market in wine (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1592/96 (2), and in particular Article 55 (3) thereof,

Whereas, pursuant to Article 55 of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 to the extent necessary to enable the products listed in Article 1 (2) (a) and (b) of that Regulation to be exported on the basis of the prices for those products on the world market and within the limits of the Agreements concluded in accordance with Article 228 of the Treaty, the difference between those prices and the prices in the Community may be covered by an export refund;

Whereas, pursuant to Article 56 (3) of the said Regulation, refunds are to be fixed taking into account the situation and likely trends with regard to:

- prices and availability of the products in question on the Community market,

- world market prices for those products;

Whereas account must also be taken of the other criteria and objectives referred to in Article 56 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87; whereas, in particular, consideration must be given to the limits of the Agreements concluded in accordance with Article 228 of the Treaty, and in particular those resulting from the agreements concluded in the framework of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, hereinafter referred to as the 'GATT Agreements`;

Whereas, when applying the abovementioned rules to the current market situation, having regard in particular to wine prices in the Community and on the world market, the level of refunds should be reduced; whereas, in order to avoid disturbances on the Community market, having regard to production for the current wine year, the quantities of Community products eligible for export refunds should be maximized within the limits on volumes based on the GATT Agreements; whereas, to that end, the amount of the refunds should be reduced on account of the obligations arising from the GATT Agreements concerning maximum authorized expenditure; whereas, therefore, the refunds should be fixed in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation; whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 2805/95 of 5 December 1995 fixing the export refunds in the wine sector (3) should be amended accordingly and provision made to implement it immediately;

Whereas the conditions for exporting concentrated grape must to Equatorial Guinea have become economically advantageous; whereas that country should be added to the list of countries in respect of which refunds apply;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Wine,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2805/98 is hereby replaced by the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 30 October 1996.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ No L 84, 27. 3. 1987, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 206, 16. 8. 1996, p. 31.

(3) OJ No L 291, 6. 12. 1995, p. 10.

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