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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(74)1841
Vol.1974/0289

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Γη^/^/ΠΓΓ^ϊΠΜ ΟΡ7ΉΠΠΕΥΤ&ΟΡΕΑΝ' αΟΜΤΛΉΝ^Ύί ^ OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(74)1841 final
Brussels .13November 1974
COMMISSION COMMUNICATION TOTHECOUNCIL
Consultations withSpain,underArticle XIXo?GATT,
onthesubjectofcertaincheeses
Recommendation forCouncilRegulation onthe
conclusion ofanagreement withSpain
onthesubjectofcertaincheeses
(submitted totheCouncilbytheCommission )
COM(74)1841final

1/2^7/7^-F
COMMISSION COMMUWICATIOH TOTHE COUNCIL
Consultations with Spain ,under Article XIXofGATT ,onthesubject
ofcertain cheeses .
TheCommission hereby presents totheCouncil :
1.Areport ontheconsultations which ithasheld with Spain (Annex I).
2.Arecommendation for aCouncil regulation ontheconclusion ofthe
Agreement negotiated with Spain following theconsultations (Annex II).
TheCommission recommends that theCouncil conclude this Agreement .

I/2^7/7^-F
.REPORT .
Results ofthe consultations between Spam and the EEC onthe subject
of ^certain cheeses '
1.AtSpain 'srequest ,consultations were held on10and11June 197^
andon1and2July 1*97^inGeneva under Article 8oftheAgreement
concluded on5tfune 1970 between theEEC andSpain .
Spain made requests forthefollowing :
(a)Anacross -the-board, increase inthethreshold prices of :
-20pesetas perkg (27u.a .per100kg)forprocessed cheeses ;
25pesetas perkg (J1u.a .per100kg)forother cheeses ;
,-iand «,proportional increase inthe -specific customs duties and
, •thepripes tc>beobserved free atSpanish frontier . --
Asgrounds forthis request theSpanish Delegation cited theave-
i-i increase in,-theprice ofmilk ofrpore than 16 .$since 1972 -:
f, r
(date ofthfelast adjustment )andtheappreciable increase in
jprocessing ,costs ,wages ,andenergy andtransport costs o-ver the
>v;x,last few yearjs .* .-j •.•>•••... j. ..■* 1l;-
(b)Theintroduction ofathreshold price forblue-veined cheese ,to
i
bewritten into theAgreement ,atthethreshold "price level laid
..down forthegroup comprising .Edam ,Gouda ,etc . - ,':
TheSpanish Delegation maintained that this wasnecessary inview
* ofthe si2eablie increase inrecent months ofimports ofcheeses
'from certain third countries atvery lowprices .TheSpanish
Delegation took theview that toextend thearrangements adopted
for theother .cheeses dealt with .intheAgreement toinclude this
class ofcheeses would bethemost appropriate wayofavoiding -
disturbances ofthe internal market .
2.TheCommission Delegation took this opportunity ofreminding the
vSpanish Delegation of'the it&portance witich theCommunity attached to
finding solutions toanumber ofproblems resulting from theimple~
'mentation ofthesaid agreement ,particularly inconnection with the
following --
•••/•

-2- I/2^7/74-F
{(k)Therecognition ,bytheSpanish ^aj^tljQrities ,ofthebodies issuing
the certificates for the new Member States .
Forgoods tobeadmitted into~Spaitt atthe'flxed regulatory duty ,'&■
certificate issued byanapproved body must bepresented totheSpa­
nish customs .Since theaccession ofthenewMember jStates ,the .<.■
relevant bodies inthose States have notyetbeen recognized inres­
pect ofthecheeses listed intheAgreement .
(b)Theconversion ofthe %advalorem duty into aspecific duty not
exceeding ^5%oftheprice tobeobserved free atSpanish frontier
before customs clearance ,forcheeses inthegroup comprizing jSdam ,
Gouda ,etc .,Which come under theSpanish Customs Tariff subheading
N°0^.04 GIb)3vTheCommunity exports toSpain cheeses ofthis
type which have undergone along maturing process and ,which arethere
fore much more expensive than thecheeses forwhich the ,minimum price
isprovided .
(c)Inclusion ofcheeses from thenewMember States ,i.e. ;"Danablu ",
"Mycella and "Blue Stilton' !under subheading l0k*0k $2oftheSpa­
,nish Customs Tariff ,which will thus entitle them to'the Special
treatment given bySpain toimports ofcheeses from the .Community .
.Resuit ofthe consultations ' . ■ ,■,
After theManagement Committee for Mills .$ndMilk Products had carried out
atechnical examination andvoted ,on27June 197^»toreduce theexport
refunds inorder tocomply with thenew free -at-Spanish -frentier prices ,
theArticle 113Committee declared itself tobeinfavour ofconcluding
"J" ;v..• t 5f -*v A •'*'"* .theAgreement . '
The twoDelegations have therefore reached agreement on .thefollowing
points (.which they have recprded inapproved minutes -seeAnnex I(a)):
(a)Thenewthreshold prices ,customs duties andprices tobeobserved
free atSpanish frontier (seeAnnex I(c)).
However ,opinions still differ astohowtheAgreement should bein­
terpreted with regard torevising theprinciples involved inthe ;spe-
ci'fic -customs duties' inlihe with theincrease inthethreshold price
The'positions adopted bythetwodelegations arerecorded inthe
approved minutes .

I/247/74-F
(b)Theintroduction ofthreshold prices forttheblue-veined cheeses of
heading Ob.ObC2oftheSpanish Customs Tariff (threshold price :
16900.82 pesetas /100 kg;'price tobeobserved free at .Spanish fron­
tier before customs' clearance :10149pesetas /100kg)andinclusion
ofDanablu ,Mycella andBlue Stilton cheeses under this subheading .
(c)Thecustoms duty applicable tocheeses ofthegroup comprizing Edam ,
Gouda ,etc .will bemodified toaspecific duty which will not exceed
b$%oftheprice tobeobserved free atSpanish frontier before cus­
toms clearance .
(d)TheSpanish Government will recognize ,assoon aspossible ,theof­
ficial Danish ,Irish andUnited Kingdom bodies which will beentitled
toissue certificates inaccordance with theprovisions oftheAgree­
ment .
b.Outstanding problems
The twodelegations reiterated thefollowing requests :
-TheCommission Delegation requested that theSpanish Customs Tariff
beamended asfollows :
i)Saint-Marcellin :tobeadded tothelist ofcheeses ofsubheading
Ob.Ob GIb)M-;
ii)Other caascbert-type cheeses (forexample ,thefollowing trade marks
Caprice desDieux ,Supreme desDues ,Petit Patre ,Creme desPres ,
Coeur deNormandie ,etc.)1adefinition tobeinserted enabling
these -cheeses tobeincluded under heading Ob.Ob GIb)b.
-The Spanish Delegation requested that theEEC amend theCommon Customs
Tariff asfollows :
Addition toCCTheading Ob.ObEIb)ofaspecial subheading for "man-
chego "cfcsese exempt from any levy orsubject toareduced levy .
The twoDelegations agreed togive sympathetic consideration tothese
problems inorder tofind solutions assoon aspossible .

■' ifk.-• I/2k7/7k-t
5*Commission Recommendation ;*'''i'"
·-' ·♦···■ ( ._··./ ίΥ'ί' \·',ΐλ' V '' !"'ί· ·'.'-· "ν1"■■':··'ί' ■ '··· :
-The .Commission recommends that the ,Council conclude ,under Article 113
oftheTreaty ,anexchange offetters ofwhich ,drafts aregiven in .
Annex I(b)andI(c).These drafts .fully .reflect.' thepQints ofagree­
ment noted intheminutes approved bythetwoDelegations following the
consultations .Tothis end ,theCommission presehts thedraft regula­
tion .set out inAnnex II.
•.>• : M/f.-
. ;>■■. , *■.. .»:..11 '''ri ■V.jZ .i"r1'S■« I >./*.-i • '
iUt'i y':** "; '' ' • ' ' ''" "•
.. .....; ■ \- • , . ... . ;•• .v.: '/i
•tu ••.> ■■■ • ■ ■<r.
t"*x .C.r-' ■'*•»-
.tr.: '<1
-».ji l■
'ί ..!··

I/247/74-F
(inPtas/lOQkg)
iSpanish
jCustoms |
jTariffN° ji
Product ]
; i
! i
L_ , , I|Thx'eshold
;priceCustoms
dutyPricefree
atSpanish
frontier
r ;
i04.04 !
i: 1
! i
! !ι
i
ii
i
i
!Alal !
I
I
IWholeEmmentaler
cheeses17.533,29I
3.500 j11.700 !
1
ι
jAla2 |
i ¡WholeQnmentaler jcheeses iI18.386,24
t; !
|2.800 ]I
1
13.100 |
i
iAlbl i
1 IiEmmentaler pieces ji18.789,42 !!3.430 12.850 !
i 1
ίΑΙΐ>2 ί
ι ι_ ., . I
iEmmentaler pieces 1i19.667,34 I2,700S14.300 !
iAlcl i
1 1. . I
!Erjnentaler pieces ji19.509,94 i|3.400 j13.500 !
iAlc2 i_ .. . 1
1Ennentaler pieces \20,478,81 i12.700 !15.000 !
i 1
1 1
iA2 j_ ., 1
rEvirnentaler ,other j'17.545,43 1|45% |!.M !
I 1
iC2 j! , i
!Blue-veinedcheesesi16.900,82 45i|j10.144 i
jDIa i
iandb ¡
1 11Frecessed Emmentaler :
1cneete i
«I16.909,66 3.460;11.200 j
I
!D1c
1
iProcesses Bnmentaler i
cheese |!
!17.2&W51 II !
j3.590 i1 1
i11.400 j
jD2aj
i i>
Otherprocessed i
cheese i
I]
16.114,65 1i !
i , !
i45$ i
! 1I
i.
!9.669
r
D2b j
iOtherprocessed
cheeseι
|16.518,2I45i 9.913
D2c
j
iOtherprocessed j
cheese jI !
I
i16.912,61I
45%ι ·
ι I
|10.151 I
D3 Otherprocessed
cheese 19.672,001
i45i
1(1)
iG1«*2 i
1 !
IOther(except
Parmesan)18.897,8045$j!(1)|
1 I
G1bl !Cheddar
1!17.200,00 [451° 10.325
G1bl jProcessed Cheddar !15.741,00 !45% !!9.443 i
!G1b3 :Edam(ergaomnes) 116.900,82 j(2)45$ jiIO.144 i
jG1b3 jjEdam(EEC) i16.270,82
1i(3)45i iί9.763 ί
!G1b4
ISoftcheeseI
1
I-
1i45$ i\
*
I
!G1b5
1 'Other i19.119,83 I45$ I(1)i
1
jG1c2 !!Freehcheese i19.119,83 45i \(1)i
iC-2 !
1Other :19.119,83 i45$\(1)
l)Vs.Tif.bleregulatory duty (2)Specificdutyof4.565Ptas/lOOkg
3)Spécifiedutyof4.393Ptas/100kg

ï/zk7nb -?
...... • ;;.- ANNEX I(a)
APPROVED MINUTES
Following fconsultations which vrere entered into attherequest of
theSpanish Delegation under theAgreement of5June 1970 between Spain
and theEEC ,.theSpanish andEECDelegations reached agreement onthe
following points ,subject totheapproval oftheir respective authorities .
!• Alteration ofthe threshold price applied bySpain toimports of
cheeses . ' .<#.■ .*
Thealterations approved bythe twoDelegations areannexed hereto *
TheCommunity considered that itsacceptance ofthe specific cus-
• . ' S
toms duties being raised inline with the increase inthethreshold price
would in "tiowayprejudice theAgreement being interpreted toinclude a
revision ,oftheprinciples involved' inthespecific customs duties'laid
down --.intheAgreement . ' ; '
TheSpanish Delegation stated that theSpanish authorities might
alter thespecific duties ifthelatter expressed asapercentage ofthe
free -at-Spanish frontier price before customs clearance ,didnotexceed
thepercentages which resulted from theAgreement of3June 1970 .
2. Blue-veined cheese
Subheading Ok.Ok C2oftheSpanish Customs Tariff was ,once the
regulation hadbeen passed ,tobeamended asfollows : v
regulatory duty Customs Threshold price
pesetas per duty .pesetas per
100kg/netWeight 100kg/netweight
Ok.Ok C :Blue-veined cheese
2:-Gorgonzola ,Bleu
des Causses ,Bleu d'Auvergne ,
Bleu deBresse ,Fourme d'Ambert ,
Saingorlon ,Edelpilzkase ,Bleu -*> ■
fort ,Bleu deGex ,Bleu duJura
etdeSeptmoncel ,Danablu ,Mycel -
laetBlue Stilton ,which fulfil
the conditions stipulated in
Note 1 100 k5% 16900.82

-2- I/247/74-F
ϊ
The "price tobeobserved free atSpanish frontier before customs
clearance wastobefixed at10144pesetas /100kg.
;^"i'v:VCr'-'SY'
Acceptance bytheCommunity ofathreshold price being introduced
forblUe-veined cheeses ofsubheading 04.04 C2oftheSpanish Customs
Tariff would beconditional upon "the *cheeses Danablu ,My6ella andBlue "
Stiltbn being included under this subheading .Pending completion bfthe
necessary administrative formalities ,theCommunity stated that itwas
prepared toapply thecorresponding free -at-frontier price unilaterally .
Thereciprocal .,commitments included uniier -points 1and2-were -toenter
into force on10July 1974 subject tothese threshold prices being ap­
plied ,to .allcountries . . ..." ,<■ ■-,-v
3.Cheeses' ofthegroup comprizing Edam ,Gouda ,etc. ^
The -customs duty applicable ,tothe ,prpducts qfSubheading 04v04 /GIb3
of ..theSpanish Customs Tariff were to 4beamended,' once :theregulation had
been passed ,soasnot toexceed 4-5%oftheprice tobeob^erv^d freer r
atSpanish frontier before customs clearance . „ ,,,
The commitments tobeintered into ,under points .1.2and3were to,..,.
(bethesubject ofappropriate exchange ofletters .
4.Therelevant authorities were toinform theSpanish Delegation of
theofficial Danish ,Irish andUnited Kingdom bodies which were tobe
entitled toissue certificates inaccordance with theprovisions ofthe
EEC/Spain Agreement of5June 1970 .TheSpanish Government was torecog­
nize the said .bodies assoon aspossible .
However ,recognition would -not beextended tocheeses imported un­
derpreferential arrangements (Edam ,Gouda andsimilar cheeses ofsub­
heading 04.04 GIb3). ■.<
TheSpanish Authorities were tomake every effort .t6complete assoon
aspossible theprocedures enabling points 3and4tobeapplied .

>- 1/2^7/7^-1·
5.Outstanding problems
The twoDelegations reiterated thefollowing requests :
TheCommission Delegation requested that theSpanish Customs
Tariff beamended asfollows :
i)Saint-Marcellin :tobeadded tothe list ofcheeses ofsub­
heading 0*!.0 ^Gib )b.
ii)Other camembert-type cheeses (forexample ,thefollowing trade
marks îCaprice desDieux ,Suprême desDucs ,Petit Pâtre ,Creme des
Prés ,Coeur deNormandie ,etc. ):adéfinition tobeinserted enabling
«
these cheeses tobeincluded under heading 04.04 -Gib )k.
TheSpanish Delegation requested that theEEC amend theCommon
Customs Tariff asfollows :
Addition toCCTheading 0^.0 ^EIb)ofaspecial subheading for
"manchego "cheese exempt from any levy orsubject toareduced levy .
Thetwodelegations agreed togive sympathetic consideration to
these problems inorder tofind solutions assoon aspossible .
Geneva ,2July 197^
Head oftheDelegation oftheCommission
oftheEuropean CommunitiesHead oftheSpanish
Délégation

I/247/74-F
Annex I(b)
Ceneve
Sir .
With reference totheexchange ofletters ,initialled today byour
Delegations ,onthethreshold andfree-at -frontier prices tofee
observed forcertain cheeses ,Inote that ,with regard totariff
subheading 04.04 GIb3(Edam ,Gouda ,etc....), thepreferential margin
which separates thethreshold price applicable totheCommunity hasnot
beene amended andremains at63OPtas/lOOkg.Thecorresponding
free-at-Spanish -frontier price tobeobserved bytheCommunity is
therefore fixed at9.763 pesetas /lOOkg.
Ishould beobliged ifyouwould kindly confirm that youare inagreement
with the above .
Head oftheDelegation ofthe
Commission oftheEuropean
Communities
MrFrancisco Botella
Head oftheSpanish Delegation

I/247/74-F
AnnexI(c)
Geneva,
Sir,
Following theconsultations whichwereenteredintoattherequestofthe
SpanishDelegation withaviewtoaltering thethreshold pricesfor
importsintoSpainofcertaincheeses ,fixedbytheAgreement of
5June1970betweenSpainandtheEEJCandamended on14June1972,Inote
thatourDelegations havereachedagreement onthefollowing :
1,Thethreshold pricesappliedbySpaintoimportsofcheeses ,
including regulatory duty,
Thepricestobeobserved freeatSpanishfrontier beforecustoms
clearance corresponding tothesaidthreshold prices,
andthecustomdutiesfortherelevanttariffheadings
areshownhereafter :
MrFrancisco Botella,
Technical DeputySecretary-General
attheMinistry ofAgriculture
HeadoftheSpanishDelegation

I/247/74-F
(inPtss/lOOkg)
ι
!Spanish
iCustoms
iTariffN°
'-! •
j :Product
ι
i ■,
k . ..
I '•"jThreshold
ipriceCustoms
dutyPricefree
atSpanish
frontier
! ■04.04>
!I
I
!Alal
I1WholeEmmentaler cheeses i17.533,29 |3.500 ii11.700 !
Ala2 :WholeEmmentaler cheeses !13.386,24 ,!2.800 .1
ιi13.100 f
ι ι
!Albl|Emmentaler pieces j18.789,42 j3.430 ;,ii12.850 j
« t
Alb2 ;Emmentaler pieces !19.667,34 j2.700 •iI•I4.3OO 1
1 1
jAlclEmmentaler pieces !19*509,94 .!!3.400 ï..i
ι [-.13«500 j
!Alc2Enmentaler pieces j20.478,81 jI2.700,■J!15.000 1
!.A2
IEmmentaler ,other j
t!17.545.43J
1 1'■■■45£ !-(1)
!C2
1 IBlue-veined cheeses I6.900.o2 •i!■'-451···ι-ίj10.144 j
IPIa !
j.andb j1
JProcessed Emmentaler |
!-..cheese !
!. 1: . I1 l
i . i
i16.909,66 !I
I
!3.460
11
t,
i11.200
D1c
Déa!Processed Emmentaler
|cheese|
17.2a;,51 !1
3.590 !■
«
1
11.400 j
I
jOtherprocessed cheese j16.114,65 !j45?• ii9.669 j
S <
|D2b i
>r
1Otherprocessed cheese ;16.513,2 ;i:45% i9.913
jD2c jIOtherprocessed cheese |16.912,61 !
I I!45ί ίί10.151 ί
ΐ1)3 ιι
iOtherprocessed cheese !!19.672,00 !45£ iI(1)i
■ •
|G1a2 j
ί!Other(exceptParmesan)iS18.897,80 !!45f< !
1 1iCD
ι *
G1bl j
! 1iCheddar . !!17.200,00 i!45% !10.325
IG1bl IProcessed Cheddar • !!15.741,00
ι!45% I9.443|
jClb3'jEdam116.900,^2 i(2)451 !10.144
j01b4|Softcheese 1i45i |
jG1b5jOther 1
1 <|19.119,33 i45i j
a(1)i
|G1c2j! IFreshcheese 1ί19.119,33 j45i i(i)j
!02 ;
j IOther I
1
1
I19.119,83 i45f
1
I!(1)
1 i
i
(l)Variableregulatory duty
(2)Spécifiedutyof4.565Ptas/100kg

I/247/74-F
2.Subheading O4.O4C2oftheSpanishCustomsTariffisamendedas
follows :
(inptas/100kg)~ta'f■■1«
""-threshold regulatory customs free^-atr .
^...s.*-•,Price--duty --dutySpanish-.frontier
- price
O4..O4C:-Blue-veined cheese "," ,.••*,
2:Gorgpnzola »Bleudej3 , ;
Crusses,Bleu/l'Auvergne ,Bleude ;/
$resse,Fourmed'Ambert,>•. . >■
(Saingorlon ,EdelpilzkSse ,Bleufort , - < .l'ir;
SIeudeGex,>BleuduJuraetde
Septmoncel ,Danablu,Mycella'et
BlueStilton 1whichcomply-wi'th ;4 ot
theconditions stipulated in . :•*.;*tr*
Note1 16.900,82 100 '4570.v10.144
. .. -, ■ν=.
Ishouldbeobligedifyouwouldkindlyconfirmthatyouarein
agreement withtheabove#
*
HeadoftheDelegation ofthe
Commission oftheEuropean
Communities 4■

I/247/74-F
ANNEX II
Recommendation fopCouncil Regulation
onthe conclusion ofanagreement with St>ain
onthe subject ofcertain cheeses
THECOUNCIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , "
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community ,
andinparticular Article 113thereof ;
Having regard totheDecision oftheCouncil of25May1970 »authorizing
theCommission toenter into negotiation orconsultation ingiven circum­
stances with third countries which sirecontracting parties toGATT j
HaTing regard totherecommandation from theCommission ;
Whereas ,attherequest ofSpain ,theCommission hasentered into conerflilta -
tions with that country with aview toreexamining theprice ofcertain
cheeses listed intheAgreement of5June 1970 between theEECandSpain ,
asmodified on12June 1972 ;whereas theDelegation oftheCommission and
that ofSpain have reached anagreement andtheprovisions ofthis agreement
areacceptable ;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Article 1
TheAgreement consisting oftwoexchanges ofletters ,thetexts ofwhich
areannexed tothis Regulation ,isconcluded onbehalf oftheEuropean
Economic Community .
Article 2
ThePresident oftheCouncil ishereby authorized todesignate theperson
empowered tosign theexchanges ofletters referred toinArticle 1andto
confer onhimthepowers required inorder tobind theCommunity .
For theCouncil ,
ThePresident ,