Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. In response to requests from several Member States, the Commission's departments, together with the government experts concerned, considered whether to open, increase and extend autonomous tariff quotas for certain industrial products.

2. Following the discussion, at a meeting of the "Economic Tariff Questions" Group, it was concluded that the Member States could approve new quotas, increases or extensions to quotas for the products covered by the proposal for a Regulation, without disturbing the markets for such products.

Hence the attached proposal for a Regulation.

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

amending Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 26 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [1],

[1] OJ C

Whereas:

(1) By virtue of Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 [2], the Council opened Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products. Community demand for the products in question should be met under the most favourable conditions. Community tariff quotas should therefore be opened at reduced or zero rates of duty for appropriate volumes, and certain existing tariff quotas should be increased or extended for the whole of 1999, avoiding any disturbance to the markets for those products.

[2] OJ L 345, 31.12.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1969/1999 (OJ L 244, 16.9.1999, p. 38).

(2) It is no longer in the Community's interest to maintain a Community tariff quota on some of the products covered by Regulation (EC) No 2505/96, and those products should therefore be removed from the table in Annex I to that Regulation.

(3) In view of the large number of amendments with effect from 1 January 2000 and in order to clarify matters for the user, those amendments should be made by replacing the table in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 by the table in the Annex to this Regulation.

(4) Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 should be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 shall be amended as follows:

(1) (a) the amount of the tariff quota for order number 09.2939 shall be set at 135 000 000 units,

(b) the amount of the tariff quota for order number 09.2943 shall be set at 60 000 000 units,

(c) the amount of the tariff quota for order number 09.2944 shall be set at 48 000 000 units,

(d) the amount of the tariff quota for order number 09.2966 shall be set at 12 000 tonnes,

(e) the amount of the tariff quota for order number 09.2711 shall be set at 1 035 000 tonnes.

(2) The table is replaced by the table annexed to this Regulation.

Article 2

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2000. However, Article 1(1) shall apply as from 1 January 1999 until 31 December 1999.

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

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President

ANNEX

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(a) Control of the use for this special purpose shall be carried out pursuant to the relevant Community provisions.

(b) However, the tariff quota is not allowed where processing is carried out by retail or catering undertakings.

(1) The specific additional duty is applicable.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1. Title of operation

Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products.

2. Budget heading(s) involved

Chapter 12, Article 120 (1210 + 1060)

3. Legal basis

Article 26 of the Treaty

4. Description of operation

4.1 General objective

To ensure that the Community processing industry is supplied on favourable terms.

5. Financial impact

5.1 Method of calculating total cost of operation (relation between individual and total costs)

A. Effective in 1999:

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Total loss of revenue in relation to the previous quota period: - EUR 6 296 700.

B. Effective from 2000:

Note: this table lists only products from the annex to the Regulation which have a financial incidence.

>TABLE>

Total loss of revenue in relation to the previous quota period: - EUR 49 125 480.

6. Fraud prevention measures

Provisions on the management of tariff quotas include the measures needed to prevent and protect against frauds and irregularities.