EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 1.3.2000 L56/35
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 463/2000
of 29 February 2000
opening import quotas in respect of special preferential raw cane sugar from the ACP States for
supply to Community refineries in the period 1 March to 30 June 2000
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the EuropeanCommunity,
HavingregardtoCouncilRegulation(EC)No2038/1999of13
September1999onthecommonorganisationofthemarketinsugar(
1), and in particular Articles 14(2) and 44(6) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Article44ofRegulation(EC)No2038/1999laysdown
that, during the marketing years 1995/1996 to 2000/2001 and in order to ensure adequate supplies toCommunity refineries, a special reduced duty is to beleviedonimportsofrawcanesugaroriginatinginStateswith which the Community has concluded supplyarrangements on preferential terms. At present suchagreements have been concluded by Council Decision95/284/EG(
2) only with the ACP States party to
Protocol 8 on ACP sugar annexed to the FourthACP-EEC Lomé Convention, and with the Republic ofIndia.
(2)The quantities of special preferential sugar to beimported are calculated in accordance with the saidArticle 44 of Regulation (EC) No 2038/1999 on thebasis of a Community forecast supply balance. Thebalancehasindicatedtheneedtoimportrawsugarandtoopenatthisstageforthe1999/2000marketingyeara tariff quota at the special reduced rate of duty asprovidedforintheabovementionedagreementssothatthe Community refineries' supply need can be met forpart of the year. Tariff quotas have in this way beenopened by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1436/1999(
3) for the period 1 July 1999 to 29 February
2000. The production forecasts for raw cane sugar arenow available for the 1999/2000 marketing year. Thenecessary tariff quotas should consequently be openedforthesecondpartofthemarketingyear.Becauseofthepresumed maximum refining needs fixed by MemberStates and the shortfall resulting from the forecastsupply balance, provision should be made to authoriseimports for each refining Member State, for the periodMarch to 30 June 2000.
(3)The above agreements lay down that the refiners inquestion must pay a minimum purchase price equal tothe guaranteed price for raw sugar, minus the adjust-mentaidfixedforthemarketingyearinquestion.This
minimum price must therefore be fixed by takingaccount of the factors applying in the 1999/2000marketing year.
(4)Inordertoavoidaruptureofsupplies,provisionshouldbe made in respect of the quantities to be importedunder Regulation (EC) No 1436/1999 for which thelicences have not been requested up to 29 February2000,fortheMemberStatesconcernedtobeauthorisedto issue the said licences after that date during the1999/2000 marketing year.
(5)The measures provided for in this Regulation are inaccordance with the opinion of the ManagementCommittee for sugar,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Atariffquotaisherebyopenedfortheperiod1Marchto30
June2000underDecision95/284/EC,inrespectofimportsofraw cane sugar for refining, amounting to 8500 tonnesexpressedaswhitesugaroriginatingintheACPStatescoveredby that Decision.
This tariff quota shall bear the serial number 09.4097.
Article 2
1. A special reduced duty of EUR 5,41 per 100 kg of
standard quality raw sugar shall apply to imports of thequantity referred to in Article 1.
2. Article7ofCommissionRegulation(EC)No1916/95(
4)
notwithstanding, the minimum purchase price to be paid bytheCommunityrefinersshallbefixedfortheperiodreferredtoinArticle1atEUR 49,68per100 kgofstandardqualityrawsugar.
Article 3
ThefollowingMemberStatesareherebyauthorisedtoimport
underthequotareferredtoinArticle1andonthetermslaiddowninArticle2(1)thefollowingshortfallexpressedaswhitesugar:
(1) OJ L 252, 25.9.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 181, 1.8.1995, p. 22.
(3) OJ L 166, 1.7.1999, p. 62. (4) OJ L 184, 3.8.1995, p. 18.
EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 1.3.2000 L56/36
(a) Finland: 0 tonnes.
(b) metropolitan France: 2500 tonnes.
(c) mainland Portugal: 6000 tonnes.
(d) United Kingdom: 0 tonnes.
Article 4
TheMemberStatesreferredtoinArticle3ofRegulation(EC)
No 1436/1999 are authorised, for the quantities in the saidArticleforwhichtheapplicationsforimportlicenceshavenotbeen lodged before 1 March 2000, to issue such licences to
allow import and refining to take place until 30 June 2000.
Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 March 2000.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicableinallMemberStates.
Done at Brussels, 29 February 2000.
For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission