EN Official Journal of the European Union L 333/89

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2015/2405

of 18 December 2015

opening and providing for the management of EU tariff quotas for agricultural products originating in Ukraine

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 (a) of Article 187 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Council Decision 2014/668/EU (2) authorised the signature, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part (3) (‘the Agreement’) as regards certain provisions of that Agreement. Article 29(1) of the Agreement stipulates that customs duties on imports of goods originating in Ukraine must be reduced or eliminated in accordance with Annex I-A to Chapter I of Title IV of that Agreement. The Appendix to that Annex lists the import tariff quotas for certain goods originating in Ukraine, including agricultural products falling within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

(2) Pending the provisional application of the Agreement, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 374/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), import tariff quotas for certain goods originating in Ukraine were opened for 2014 and 2015 and managed by the Commission on a first-come, first-served basis in accordance with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (5).

(3) The Agreement will be provisionally applied as of 1 January 2016. It is therefore necessary to open annual import tariff quotas for the agricultural products listed in Annex I-A to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Agreement as of 1 January 2016.

(4) As provided for in the Agreement, in order to benefit from the tariff concessions provided for in this Regulation, the products listed in the Annex should be accompanied by proof of origin.

(5) The combined nomenclature (CN) set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (6), as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1101/2014 (7), contains new CN codes which differ from those referred to in the Agreement. The Annex to this Regulation should therefore reflect the new CN codes.

(6) The Agreement is to be applied provisionally in part as of 1 January 2016. In order to ensure the effective application and management of the tariff quotas granted under the Agreement, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2016.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

EU tariff quotas shall be opened for the products listed in the Annex originating in Ukraine.

Article 2

Customs duties applicable to imports into the Union of products listed in the Annex and originating in Ukraine shall be suspended within the respective tariff quotas set out in the Annex.

Article 3

The products listed in the Annex shall be accompanied by proof of origin as set out in Annex III to Protocol I to the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part.

Article 4

The tariff quotas set out in the Annex shall be managed by the Commission in accordance with Articles 308a, 308b and 308c of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

Article 5

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2016.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 18 December 2015. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

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

(2) Council Decision 2014/668/EU of 23 June 2014 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, as regards Title III (with the exception of the provisions relating to the treatment of third-country nationals legally employed as workers in the territory of the other Party) and Titles IV, V, VI and VII thereof, as well as the related Annexes and Protocols (OJ L 278, 20.9.2014, p. 1).

(3) Association Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part (OJ L 161, 29.5.2014, p. 3).

(4) Regulation (EU) No 374/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on the reduction or elimination of customs duties on goods originating in Ukraine (OJ L 118, 22.4.2014, p. 1).

(5) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1).

(6) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1).

(7) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1101/2014 of 16 October 2014 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 312, 31.10.2014, p. 1).