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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(78)100
Vol.1978/9018

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COMMISSION •
DES
COMMUNAUTES EUROPEENNES
Secrétariat généralCOM(78)100final.
Bruxelles,^March19?8#
ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS WITHGREECE
PROPOSALS
concerning ^
Transitional Arrangements
inaspectof
IndustrieTradewiththirdcountries IndustrieTradewiththirdcountries
•.(Commission Communication totheCouncil)s
φ0$
CCM(78)100final.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages
·*.· -- ,
■*' .
Introduction .. 1-2
vjfpRt X-General Considerations^Characteristics andguidelines which apply tosectoral
proposals atthepresent state ofthenegotiations ......,,. 3
••Definition oftheare*covered bythe Proposals in
the présent Communication .... 4
-Economic^Mects forGreece of,application ofCommunity acquis
inExternap^lations 5-7-Maximum durat^P' oftransitional arrangements 8-9
-Liberalization ofimports from GATT members andstate trading
countries ...1(F)g
-Textile andclothing pr^ucts ........ 13,-14
*TheCommunity 'spreferenl4& agreements withthird countries ...... 15-2^\Part II-Specific Proposals <
>Liberalization ofimports (abolition ofquantitative restrictions )
-GATT members ,.....,... 22-28
-State trading countries ...29-34
*»Measures oféquivalent effect toquantitatiTÇM ,estrict1ons 25-40
Ml A •.• # I V .O.-The Community 'spreferential agreements
(i)Tariffs ......£ ,..41-51
(11)Quantitative import andexport restrictions S2-53
-Adoption byGreece ofthegeneralised preferences 54-56
-The problem ofGreece 'sbilateral trade agreements with
state trading countries /c2v...57-58

-1-
SECRET
I.V .>
INTRODUCTION
I. The present Communication deals with G-eece 'sapplication%ofthe Community 'sacquis concerning trad ?wi+hth^d countries in
Xindustrial products (excl .ofECSC and EAEC). Thespecific proposals which
*the Commission puts forward aretoalarge extent ,but not exclusively
based onthe Greek demands fortransitional arrangements inthat
context .
Inwt IoftheCommissioni CuFtauni caTinr?sr-ì;mxt aomo general
Q tftnarftBcbncei^frigthe "economic Jsurtiffcr-.licn cCtrniintion tsider thisChapter
Heading . Inthe view ofthe Commission there can benodoubt that
ingeneral transitional arrangements ortemporary derogations will
have tobeenvisaged ir^fltost ofthemain areas where Greece hasproposed
such arrangements . 42*
*
Transitional arrangements forthe application ofthe Community 's
acquis in"External Relations "raise some general problems .These are
alsodiscussed inPart Iandanumber o^proposals areputforward
concerning theprinciples onwhich speci <$^>solutions should bebased,
aswellasconcerning theprocedures forth$^=gotiations underthis
Chapter Heading .
1- •*
® PartIIoftheCommunication contains theCommission 'sspecific
proposals concerning transitional arrangements for Greecj&s applicationvAl
ofthe Community 'sacquis asfar asindustrial trade with v&rd countries
isconcerned . While representing apositive response tothe<B*eek
requests inmostofthemain areas covered bysuch request ,the^6*
Commission does not find that itwill bepossible forthe Community
toaccept the Greek proposals asthey stand *This applies both in
theareaofnon-tariff barriers ,notably quantitative import restriction ^^
andinthearea oftariff preferences . 4es
/

The proposals follow closely the Commission 's
proposals inthefield ofinduotrial trad 3inside the enlarged
Community (l)# Inmany cacec ,what Wac propos edthere
will serve tosetthe parameters inthepresent proposals ,"both
ingeneral and insome cases indetail#
II# While thelimited issuq of "balanced transitior ^^
arrangements isreferred toinPart Iofthepresent sSteiimi cation
the Commission wishes tostress that the wider issue ofthe
effects which the Community 'senlargement will have upon third
countries and,consermontly ,uponth^ComtT^gyty 'srelations
withthese countries ,notleast inthe^§$<1of".trade ,fall
outside thescope ofthepresent Comii^jt&cation#
These wider issues ,which concern Community 'srelations
with developing countries ingeneral ,andit3relations with the
Mediterranean countries inparticular ,will betaken tipin
theCommission 'sInterim^j&ort ontheProblems ofEnlargement ,which will hfesubmittedJ^b theCouncil shortly#«#
S
(1)CCK(78 )21final

PART I-GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Characteristics and guidelines which apply tosectoral proposals at
the present stage ofthe negotiations
ν
a. ^.Asaresult oftheadoption ofthesector bysector approach ,
theProisSfe^ts setoutinPartIIofthis Communication arelimited
totrade wxyythird countries inindustrial (EEC)products .EAEC and
ECSC product s^nd fresh andprocessed agricultural products inAnnex II
ofthe EECTreaty aswell asoutside that Annex (e.g. under Regulations
(EEC)N°1059/69and (EEC)N°2682/72are not covered bythe Proposals ."\b
b. The Proposals reslsgfct thegeneral framework "ofthesectoral
approach asdefined bythe(^ncil on17October 1977 (1)andelaborated
further byCoreper on10November 1977 (2).
This framework includes sthefollowing three reservations ;
(i)the time hasnot yetarrived tofonraLde aposition onthe
duration oftransitional measures ;ancf&v .%
(ii)certain individual sectors ,e.g. agriculture ,need considerably
more thorough treatment before astart can bemade onnegotiating
them.Positions inonesector mustnottherefor^^allowed
toprejudge those tobeformulated later inothers .
(iii)any specific orpartial agreement which the Community and ureece
may reach asregards industrial trade with third countries cannot
beregarded asestablished until thefinal stage ofthenegotiation *
iwhen theoverall balance ofthenegotiations has emerged and can *
beweighed up.
(1)C0NF-GR /49/77
(2)C0NF-GR /55/77

i r
-4-
c#
B. Definition ofthe area covered bythe Proposals inthe present
Communication
a) The Communication only deals with matters oftrade policy fior industrr'ol
_ xF*
"EECproducts .Anyproblems which mayhave to "besolved jf^cther areas ofthe
Community 'spolicies towards third countries ,e.g.inthe^ransport
sector ,should betaken upatthe appropriate moment therelevant
Chapter Headings .
b) Thepropos^j intheprésentcS?
Communication arebased ontheGreek demanj^Cpror transitional arrange­
ments under thepresent Chapter Heading ^^^
Itistherefore assumed that inallother respects ,the
"-'*'Coranmnity 'strad© policy aaitstands atthedate ofti:£eece'e _accession
Kill beapplied "byGreece frjSythat date as.b;/anyother Il&ialifir State *.
# ^ –-# ίν>:■- - #.
Except asregards the Iiome
Convention thepresent Communication isbased onthe Community 's"acquis "
inthe area trade policy asitexiststo-day .Itsproposals are
therefore rifctfiout prejudice toanyfurther development inthis "acquis ".
Finally itshould bementioned that the several elements
ofthe Community 'strade policy "acquis "which Greece ,inthe course
ofthenegotiations ,hasdeclared herself ready toapply from the
date ofaccession are notreferred tointhepresent Communication .
Asexamples canbementioned the Community 'snon-preferential agreements ;^ regulation (EEC)N°2603/69concerning export restrictions ;export
duties etc(1 ).
(1)MEMO -GR/1/77and COÏÏF-GR /16/77
f

-5-
C.From Association toMembership -Economic Effects for Greece ofApplication
ofthe Community Acquis inExternal Relations
%
a. The Association Agreement ,apart from laying down rules forthe
^^gradual harmonisation oftheGreektariff withtheCCT,didnotinvolve
Greece inanyobligations asregards her commercial policy towards third
countries . Moreover in1962 the Community acquis inthis field was not
very substantial . Since 1963 Greece hasnotingeneral lowered her
protectid^pgainst imports fromthird countries atanything likethesame
rateasshe^^j against imports fromtheCommunity ,though shehaseffected
acertain degrw ofliberalization inthe context ofthe GATT ,
Since 1962,an^particularly since thelastenlargement ,the
Community 'sExternal Re^^ons policies havedeveloped veryfast.Asa
result theCommunity acqui^j ^thisfieldisnowverysubstantial .Ontheonehandthere hasbeena^lgnificant development oftheCommon
Commercial Policy ,intheoverall direction ofliberalization . Onthe
other hand the Community has concluded 21preferential agreements with
third countries ,aswell asestablishirt^Jhe system ofGeneralised Preferences .
These developments meanthatthissector f^j^contains anumber ofquestions
which areeconomically important andtechnicsfoy complicated andwhich
have tobesolved innegotiations between Greecd^and the Community end,
inmany cases ,innegotiations between the Community andthethird
countries concerned .
Theadoption oftheCommunity acquis to-day willlft^j^ve Greece
inaconsiderable liberalization ,on.topoftheefforts shemu^^jnaketocomplete thecustoms union withtheCommunity .Mostnotably^reece
will have toabolish many quantitative restrictions and some measures
ofequivalent effects towards GATT countries ,aswell astowards state2trading countries . Shewill also have toapply thetariff preferences
accorded inthe Community 'spreferential agreements .
i

About 2C$ofGreece 'simports from third countries were subject to
quantitative restrictions in1975 *About 2Ctfoofhertotal im^ortr ;
(including EEC)came from countries with which theCommunitv has x
preferential agreements andagainst whom Greece would have to
abolish orreduce tariffs# Someproducts appear inbothofthca^^
categories# Greece will ofcourse obtain some preferences :".n
return ,notably from theEFTA countries ,Spain ,Israel ,Cyprus ,
Malta andTurkey# A.
Thepattern ofGreek industrial foreign trad^j^i 1975was,
inround terms ,asfollows :sheexported $0%to oranuni ty,4$to
EFTA ,5/o"to "theUnited States ,6fotoEastern Europe esacltiding O
Yugoslavia ,yfotoLome ,12$totheModiterranep.n inclucli rgSpain ,
andabout 12$totheGSP# Esrindustrial imports were broken down
asfollows i60$from theCommunity , from EPTA ,12$from
Japan ,5«5$from theUnited Stat 4$from Eastern Europe ,
3/5fromSpain ,lessthan1$fro^&fle restoftheMediterranean ,
less than 1$from Lome ,andabout 3$from theGSPincluding
Yugoslavia# Onthis basis ,Greece will beinvolved ,inaddition
tothecompletion oft^.ff elimination vis-a-vi3theCommunity ,in
eliminating orlowe^^j tariffs onafurther 17-18$ ofherindustrial
imports ,whiles^Swill gaincorresponding advantages ononlyafurther
7-8$ofherindustrial exports (1975 figures)#
ftItisdifficult toevaluats the effect ofthis liberalization w
with «Rg?certainty# Ingeneral ,theprocess maycause less problems
aMpfctr ashighly industrialized countries areconcerned ,than in
<^lation tocountries whose level ofeconomic development isthe
same orlower than that ofGreece#
There aretworeasons forthis# First having already
substantially reduced tariffs towards onegroup ofhighly industri­
alized countries (theCommunity )hermost advanced industries will
already have felt theeffect ofcompetition# Secondly ,herless
advanced butlargest exporting industries such astextiles have not
been and -areunlikely tobeaffected bycompetition from advanced
countries ,butcould suffer from imports from theless-developed ,
once tariff protection isabolished# Existing Greek tariffs
towards third countries arestill high ,and inmany cases ,

-7-
\\
very high forproducts ofthe22yearlist.When t@thisis
addedth^ole played bynon-tariff barriers ,thelossofprotection will
beconsidel^le .Itisnottoofar-fetched tosaythatinadopting
theCommunit /<^fluis inthefield ofExternal Relations Greece willprovide
anexample ofacountry ,half waybetween developing anddeveloped ,adopting
thecommercial policy ofadeveloped country .This will surely beachallenge ,
anditwill come ontop^f thechallenge provided bythecompletion ofthe
customs union. ^ -
Inthe® circumstances the Commission believes 1hatitiswise toforesee
problems which maydevelop andtotake thenecessary precautions to
prevent them becoming serious .Inotnak .words ,transitional arrangements
aregenerally necessary ,inthethisarea^>Theyarejustified ontheir
ownmerits ,eveniftheposition taken bytheCjtammunity intheChapter
Heading ofthe Customs Union didnot make some ofthem inevitable .
%T
i
8
%%%
/

-8-
*>■;ffeximum duration oftransitional arrangements A
While specific proposals asregards themaximum duration of
transitional arrangements cannot besubmitted atthepresent stage ,the
Commission hasthe following general comments onthis aspect :
(i)Theduration ofindividual transitional arrangements etleast
aslongastheduration ofsucharrangements inthe^^nework ofthe
Customs Union ,whentheBsuneproducts crAthenam^type oftranci - £
Iional arrangement isinvolved .
(ii)Inareas where notransitional arrangeme ^^areforeseen inthe
Customs Uniontheduration ofsuchaq^Efcjements towards third
countries shallbedetermined ont^^asis oftheireconomic
justification ,aswell asonthe%Ssis oftheneed forrelatively
simple arrangements ;
(iii)As regards preferential^greements ,theduration oftransition
will ofcourse have determined innegotiations with the
third countries c^^erned ;
(iv)Theduration ofthevarious arrangements neednotbeidentical
hutwher^a particular arrangement isforeseen foraparticular
group^^third countries (e.g.EFTA),theduration should "be
th<^§^rao forallmembers ofthatgroup .A^ageneral rule -,transitional arrangements forquantitative
import restrictions should only heenvisaged inexceptioral
cases andshould notheautomatically continued throughout the
maximum period oftransitional arrangements unless obviously
justified andsubject toprogress ivity .
/

TheGreekrequestsfortransitional arrangements donot
meetaltthecriteriasetoutabove.Themaximumdurationproposed
^byGreeceis8years;thisproposalappliestotransitional arrangements
fortheabolitionofdutiesincertainsensitiveproductsfromtheEFTA
countries.
InallJjgbercases,maybe^xcludinatheJ5SPrGreecehasorooosedtTansitiof&iarrangementsofauniformduration(fivoyears)–'Xk,
s?fnffheaboK^onoflimport.duties...aswellasfortheabolition
rtf importrestrictions*...–L–
Initsproposalconcerningindustrialtradeintheenlarged
1
CommunitytheCommissiorlv^nsidered whethertheGreekproposalfora5
yeartransitionalperiodwe$^ongenoughinthatsectorfandconcluded
thatwhileitwasnotpossibl^onthebasisofavailableinformation
todrawanydefiniteconclusions,theevidencetendedtopointtheother
way.Theavailableevidenceconcerningtheneedfortransitional
arrangementsinrespectofindustrialttfedewiththirdcountries,consi­
deredonitsownmerits,leadstheCommissfontohavesimilardoubts
aboutthedurationproposedbyGreeceunder<f»isChapterHeading *1.–. –
TheCommissionwishestopointoutthattheCustoms_Unionwi.llnot
havebeencompleteduntilalltransitionalarrangements^orimportduties
"vis-a-vis"theCommunity'spreferential partnershavec4d&toanend.
■■■■■•--V
Itwillnotbepossible,asproposedbyGreece,toenvisagethattransitional
arrangements forimportdutiesforspecificproductsorinspecific
relationships extendbeyondthatdate. j*%>
CCM(78)21final

-10-
E#Liberalization ofimports from OATT member 's(apart ,from
preferential partners )andState trading countries x
TheGreek requests inthis area raise some questions of
procedure andofprinciple#
Inprinciple ,theCommunity hasagreed thattransitional
arrangements will "bepossible inrespect ofthetwoCorw^jj^'
Liberalization Lists for"alimited number ofveryse^^tive products "*
AGreece subsequently ha3submitted requests forsuch arrangements w
inrespect ofthetwoCommon Liberalization Lists inEEC
regulations 1439/74and109/70(l)«The^onmission'a cpecific
proposals concerning these requests areA^?^boutinPartII«
.X _j . ji -_é*Asstated bytheCommunity a^the third Conference of
Deputies (2),itmust beensured that thetransitional arrangements
concerning thecommon liberalization lints arenot "more favourable "
tothird countries thai^fc theCommunity init3present composition®
Itmustfurthermore ^^ennured thatthetransitional arrangements
concerning thecqtSj^n liberalization list ofregulation IO9/7O
donotprovide formore favourable treatment ofState Trading
countries thanofthethird countries covered byregulation Q
.1439/74**
a)<pSheral Procédure
Toensure aclear legal basis forthetransitional
' arrangements ortemporary derogations inrespect ofthe
Treaties andtheCommunity ^secondary legislation ,such
arrangements orderogations must beprovide !forinthe
v9 Accession Instruments .
(l)KmO-GB /8/77'of19December 1977
(2)CCKP-CI^ll /77
ii

11
Ifthe Community ,asproposed bythe Commission xn
Part XI,agrees totransitional arrangements inthe form ofquotas
which areincreased progressively over aperiod oftransition ,
thelists ofthe products involved aswell astheir "basic
quotas ,growth percentage rates andthe dates forfull liberalization
in^£vpect ofeachproduct should "belaid dox-mintheAccession
Instrt^ftoits#%
Hypothetical transitional arrangements
Inaddit<^totransitional arrangements inrespect
ofthecommon liberalisation lists,astheystand to-day ,
Greece hassubmitted lisl^of hypothetical requests forsuch
arrangements incase theproducts inquestion were toheincluded
inthe common liberalization lists ,during the'Interim period "
"between signature andentiy into fefcee oftheAccession Instruments#\%
The Commission isoftheview however ,thatitwould
beinadvisable toprovide forhypothetical transitional arrangements
intheAccession Instruments ,Itwould constitutes ^departure fromthe
principles upon which theaccession negotiations are andit
could raise thequestion whether uiniilar contingency pi^^isionscould beenvisaged forapplication after accession .TheCommission 's
proposal howtodeal with the ;u2idorlyingproblem ofcubstance isset
out inPart II#

12
c.Deliberalization
The .majority oftheproducts for which Greece requests
transitional quota arrangements inrelation totheapplication ofthe
common liberalization lists canto-day beimported into Greece free of
import restrictions orsubject only toautomatic licencing '
V
TheGreek memorandum of19December 1977doesnotexi^fiinthereasons which haveledtheGreek delegation topropose su^j^
extensive ,albeit temporary ,deliberalization ontheoccasj^j^of Greece's
accesion totheCommunity . Theproposals maybefound<$$ *reflect a
wish for newprotection ,during atransitional period ,inordee to
compensate fortheprogressive lowering ofother protective measures ,
notably import duties andtheimport deposit serine .However ,with
alimited number ofexceptions (1)theGreek^jjiibort duties ontheproducts
involved areduetobeharmonized withth^3&T towards allthird countries
bytheendof1984under theAssociatiorf^and theimport deposit scheme
isbeing progressively abolished bythe same date without exceptions
friaccordance with Greece 'sobligations under GATT .
Leaving asidetheGreej^proposals fordeliberalization inrespect
oftextiles andctotRing pro^^ts which aredealt withbelow under point J?)
the Commission n'softhejjJ$fW that transitional quota arrangements or
■ vtemporary derogations from the liberalization obligations should ,not be
envisaged forproducts onthe two liberalization lists which to-day are
liberalized inGreece ,orsubject toautomatic licencing .
Noeconomic jy^ification canbeseentoexist forthese proposals
which morej^h runcounter tothebasic notions oftransition and-
asregards regulation 1439/74-would bedifficult tojustify inGATT ,
(1)Theexceptions arethose products which are exempted from tariff
5^harmonisation under Art20paragraph 3oftheAssociation .
Towards GATT members only one ofthenon-textiles products which
Greece proposes todeliberalize seemsto becovered bythis exemption .
Towards State trading countries 2,such products seem totieexempted from
harmonization atpresent .

13
F.Textile and Clothing Products
Greece isre-examining the problems inrelation toimports oftextile
and clothing products onthebasis oftheMultifibra Agreement and the
Community 'srecent bilateral agreements and autonomous arrangements . The
^Greek proposals ^fortransitional quota arrangements forthese products
^willtherefore notbeconsidered inthepresent Communication .The
Commission ,however ,wishes tomake some general comments -onthe way in
which this sector should beapproached .
Inthgffiiew ofthe Commission notransitional arrangement bshould be
foreseen asr^^rds imports intoGreece after accession oftextile andclo­
thing products from third countries with whom the Community has concluded
bilateral agreements concerning limitation ofimports into the Community ,
ortowards whom autonomies arrangements concerning such limitations have
beenorwillhavebeene^gjplished .Uhatwillbeballed forareadjustments
oftheagreements andarran^^nts inquestion inallcases where specificlimits arelaid down intheagreements andregulations .IfGreece should
submit justified requests forthelimitation ofher imports ofparticular
products for which nospecific limits arclaid down atpresent ,itmight be
possible tofindsolutions intheframetfj^Sr ^oftheprovisions concerning
limitations applying toaspecific region ^skthe Community .
%
Theadjustments which will have tobemade^o allthebilateral agree­
ments must beagreed innegotiations with thethird countries concerned
before the date ofGreece 'saccession . Any limits tobeestablished for
products which arenotlimited today must also betaken l^jdith theparti­
cularthirdcountries inquestion onthebasi3 oftheprova^^s oftheir
agreements .
Thebilateral textile agreements expire bythe endof1082 ,anditwill
not bepossible toprovide forparticular import regimes for Greece ,even ofa
temporary nature ,beyond thatdate.TheCommunity should however assure^Sje
Greek delegation that Greece will befully consulted ,indue course ,ifby
sheisnotalready amember oftheCommunity ,onanypreparations forthe^
period after 1January 1983 .
i •/.
ViEMO-GR/8/77 /

14
Greece isnot amember oftheMulti-fibre Agreement atthe moment ,
but will have tobecome amember upon her accession tothe Community .
Greece has declared her agreement onthis point .
Assoon asGreece has made clear her problems and wishes the
Commission will submit specific proposals concerning the adjustments
which will have tobemade inthebilateral textile agreements aswell
asinthe internal regulations concerning autonomous regimes and in
regulations concerning repartitions among Member States .
/ 
 
 
MïJflO–GR/1/77

15
G«The Community 'sPreferential Agreements with Third countries
The question oftransitional arrangements for Greece 's
application ofthe Connrunity 's21preferential agreements raises
anucber ofpro"fcl em3vd.I'n.apply tothe agreements ingeneral .
a)negotiation Procedures
First of^^L ,agreement ontheprinciple oftransitional arrangements ,aswellas^Je contents ofanysucharrangements mustbereached in
negotiations with the third countries concerned ,onthe "basis of
articles 113 and 238,respectively ,ofthe Rone Treaty#
Asstated "bytheConfl^ity Delegation attheThird Con.'.v-rem ©of
Deputies ,anyprotocol^j^oviding fortransitional measures and
technical adaptations shoi^t^be concluded between thedateof
signature oftheAccession Instrument andthe date ofitsentiy into
force \fsuchprotocols arenotconcluded ,Greece willhavean
obligation toapply ,from thedate of^cession ,allthepreferential
agreements (orinthecase ofmixed ag^fcments ,theprovisions falling
under the Comnhmity competence ).
The need fortransitional arrangements for Greece 'sapplication of
thepreferential agreements indicates that the conclusion ofthe
necessary protocols oftransition andtechnical adaptations will
involve the Community inaround ofquite substantial nlHtatiation ^
with itspreferential partners . cyfc.%Moreover ,ifthe Community were toagree tothe Greek wish
forare-equilibration ofthe EFTA agreements ,through new
agricultural concessions from the EFTA countries infavour
oftheenlarged Community (2),thenegotiations withthis ^
group ofthird countries would become more complicated .
V
The Commission will make its view known concerning this
Greek demand inaCommunication onAgricultural Trade with
Third countries ,tobesubmitted atalater stage .
(1)COIF-GR /11/77
(2)MEHO-GR /1/77

16
But,leaving aside thepossibility ofany"re-equilibrations "^
ofpreferential agreements itremains dear that the preparation
ofthenegotiations oftransitional arrangements will have tobegin
well inadvance ofQreeoe 'sacoession iftheprocess towar^full
application byGreece oftheCommunity 'sacquis inthis^j^a isto
begin uponaccession ,orshortly thereafter .^
The Commission understands that the Greek delegation shares this
view ,anditistherefore proposed ,that the Commission should hold
exploratory talks withallthepreferenti ^partners ,(withthe
exclusion oftheACPcountries ,seebe^p& under point d))during the
acoession negotiations withGreece.^^Thesetalks should befollowed
bynegotiations andbytheconductions ofprotocols during the
"interim period ",with theparticipation ofGreece inthe Community
delegation .
 

17
Iftinspite ofsuch preparations ,theconclusion ofprotocols
oftransition were to "beimpeded bydifficulties raised byprefer­
ential partners ,itnight benecessary ,for^Qfinoauo reasons ,
formally toprovide fortemporary suspension ofGreece *0integration
inthis area oftheCommunity *aactivities (orinpart ofit,if ^
protocols were concluded with samepartners ,andnotwith others )«<§
Thus,agreements would havetobeconcluded with eachp^jpher ,pro­
viding forthetemporary non-application ofthorele^^t preferential
agreements anawhole ,orpossibly cftheir ccmm^J^al provisions
only ,between Greece andthepreferential partner concerned .
Such agreements Ghould moreover provide for most-favoured nation
treatment inthese relationships -otherwise
Greece ,through herapplication from tjjrispoate .ofaccession ofthe
Community 'sacquis inotherparts^cj^tho present Chapter Heading ,might bo
treating other third countries favourably than the Community *a
preferential partners .
Thecontents oftheDirectives forNegotiations withPreferential
Partners '
(i)Thepurpose theCommission 'sproposals inPart IIofthe
present Coramunico /tion istoprovide thefirst elements forDirectives
which will have tobeagreed between Greece and the Community#
Itis^fcrever evident thatthoDirectives whenfinally agreed m^st
cov^^allaspects which areincluded intherespective preferential
j^&eements ,for .which transition ,?,arrangements areenvisaged .
Nomeaningful exploratory talks cantherefore beinitiated before
the questions oftransitional arrangements concerning agri­
cultural trade ,and possibly forthenon-trade provisions inthe
Associations and Cooperations agreements ,have been agreed between the
Community and Greece ,
Moreover ,separate directives will have tobeagreed inorder to
conclude separate protocols forthe ECSC Agreements with third
countries .The Commission 'sCommunication onthe Chapter Heading
ofthe'ECSCwill propose elements for such directives .

18
Asregards thenon-trade contents oftheAssociation and
Cooperation Agreements ,itcan "beadded that Greece does
not seem toforesee anydifficulties inrespect ofpro­
visions concerning industrial andfinancial cooperation (1),
which therefore would require notransitional arrangements .
AGreek request (2)has,ontheother hand ,been submitted
under the Chapter Heading ofSocial Affairs for atransi­
tional arrangement inthe application ofcertain provisions
inthe Community 'sbilateral agreements inthis area . This
request isatpresent being dealt with under the Social
Affaire Chapter Heading .
Ijj^will therefore notbepossible ,until alater stage ofthene^^ations toseeifthetransitional arrangements tobe
propo^^to eachofthepreferential partners arereasonably
balanced ,particularly inthe case ofagreements with amajor
agricultural content • Thepositions onwhich the Community
and Greece will agree ,inrespect ofindustrial trade ,may
oonoeivably thererf^havetobere-examined .
ItBustbeensured tha^^he transitional arrangements forprefer­
ential partners donot,onanypoint ,provide for "more favourable "
treataent ofsuch partners than that which will apply towards the
Communit yinitspresent composition .
Itmustaisobeensured thatthetran^j^Lonal arrangements for
preferential partners arenot"lessfavo^Jible "ingeneral terms
than those envisaged forother third countries .Specifically ,
transitional arrangements inrespect ofquantitative restrictions
cannot beenvisaged towards preferential partners respect of
products which arefreefromsuchrestrictions wheni^prted into
Greece fromother third countries fromthedateofaccel^fepn .%
(1)This attitude isnodoubt based ontheassumption that Greece
willnothave toapply anyoftheexisting financial protocols ^^aswell asontheassumption that Greece will befully consultecfyi *ifsheisbythennotalready aMember State ,onthepreparations ^ofnewfinancial protocols . The Commission shares these v*
assumptions .
(2)COÏÏF–GR/26/77and
K0ÎO-GR /5/77

c.Portugal andSpain ^
TheGreek proposals cover thequestion oftransitional arraj^fcr -
ments inrespect ofthe Community 'spreferential agreements with Portugal
and Spain . „
Portugal isone ofthe EFTA countries and Spain ofthe
Mediterranean countries ,withwhichtheCommunity hasc^^luded preferential
agreements .Therefore ,thepreceding remarks andth^^pecific proposals
inpart IIapply .
Thisimplies thatProtocols fixin^sghe modalities andthenecessary
transitional measures fortheapplicatioj^j ^the-two agreements inthe
relation between Greece andeachoftl^&wo countries havetobeconcluded
before Greece 'saccession ,topreven^any delay intheinitial steps towards
freeing trade between these countries .
Nevertheless it^tetobekeptinmindthatthetwocountries
arealsocandidates to^j^tession andthatasfromtheir accession theoriginal
trade jgreements betw^^them andtheCommunity andanyprotocol concluded
inorder toprovide V ortransitional measures between these countries and
Greece will automatically cease toapply .Atthat time transitional arran­
gements wiInmost probably still beapplied between Greece andthe (immunity .
1nitspi^l^nt composition .Ifthatweretobethecgse,special transi-
tional^^rangements mayhavetobeforeseen between Greece andeachofthe
twot&fier newMember States after their accessions .
These arrangements ,concerning the relation among Member States ,
will not constitute amere continuation ofthe above mentioned Protocols .
Onthe contrary ,these Protocols cannot inany way prejudge the solution
ofproblems ofatransitional nature tobelaid down eventually inthe
framework oftheperspective Accession Instruments for Portugal and Spain .
However itis-notpossible atthis stage ofthe accession negotiations with
Greece ,and ofthepreparations ofOpinions concerning the accessions of
Portugal and Spain ,tpadopt any .hypotheses concerning thetiming ofPortuguese
and SpaMsh^accessions inrelation tothat ofGreece .

20
The Commission will submit atalater stage ofthsnegotiation
with Greece more detailed proposals astoarrangements tobeapplied
among Greece andthe twoother countries after their r»8p*otive aocesaions .
The Commission therefore proposes that the Instrument of
Acc^slon forGreece contain provisions which stipulate that anyparti-
cular^jransitional arrangements which might benecessary fortherelation
between ^^eceandother States acceding before theendofthetransitionalperiod provided forGreece ,shall besettled intheframework oftheacces -^
sion negotiations with each State .
%
•i
d)fhe Lomé-Convention
Irrespective ofthedat^tof Greek accession ,theCommission
isoftheopinion thattheappli^^on byGreece ofthepresent
Convention should not "beenvisaged . Convention expires on
1March 1980. &
Greece will however have toapply the new Convention from
thedateofheraccession orfromthedateofit^S^ntiy intoforce *ifthisisthelater ofthetwo*Ontheasnumptior^^at inrespect
ofindustrial trade thenewConvention willnotdiffe^jignificantl.y
fromthepresent Convention (l),theCommssion proposer :*/*
(l)eee CCM(78)47 final
%%

21
that .the Greek requests fortransitional arrangements in
respect ofindustrial trade under the present Convention
shall beexamined asrecroests fortransitional arrangements
for Greece 'sapplication ofthe new Convention . Theresult
ofthese examinations during the accession negotiations vail
constitute thedirectives fornegotiations ,with the ACP
countries ,ofatransitional protocol forGreece inth^Prame -
work ofthe new Convention itself .
TheCommission 'sproposals inPartIItti^efore cover
the substance oftransitional arrangements inrespect of
industrial products inthe framework ofthe new Convention with
the ACP countries .

-22-
paiît ii-proposais
•*•Liberalization ofimports
A A»y Imports from GATT members other than preferential partners .
First Greek proposals :*
1Inamemorandum tothe Conference ,dated 17January 1977
Greece proposed toaccept the import arrangements applied bythe
2B^to third countries other thanstate tracing countries at
the^^J .oftheproposed five-yeartransitional period ,while con-
tinuyi^^to applyquantitative restrictions "based ontheprovisions ^
inforce ,before accession ,during that'peiiciU
This position was maintained atthethird session ofthe Conference
atDeputy level ^9%S/s*
Community Position x
Inastatement atthe third session ofthe Conference at
Deputy Level ^theCommunity dre^^^tentiontothefactthata
morefavourable treatment couldnot^j ^,accorded tothird countries
thantoGreece'sCommunity partners ,affi^hat itwasfirst necessarytoagree ontheregime which Greece should ?apply after accession
vis-&-visthe Community before adefinition ofthe regime towards fl
5third countries could beelaborated •\
TheCommunity called forimmediate application ogf^Sropoo
fromaocession oftheregime andprocedures setoutinCol^feil Regulation
1439/74which contains acommon liberalization list ,andofthe
1KMO-GR /I/77 Vty
^Presumably Regulation 1439/74 ^
3CCKF-GR /12/77
4CONF-ffl0.l /7?
This equally applies tostate trading countries
1

-23-
procedures inCouncil Decision 455/72for causes not covered by
Regulation 1439/7 A
vV
Atransitional period fortheapplication ofthese regulations wasiir^^onei
dered possible !butalimited number ofvery sensitive products
oould ,ifneeded ,beput onlists ofexceptions for which different
trar .itional periods could "beforeseen# Any other approach would
cause considerable problems asregards thefreecirculation of
goods inthe Community .
<>£>
Revised Greek Proposals sS "
Λ «/
delegatior^jj^tated thatthe
examine ^^Atthe fourth session ofthe Conference atDeputy level
onMaroh 30th 1977theGreek delegatior^jj^tated thatthe
Community position wasbeing examine<^5 ?
Asaresult trevised proposals we^^preaented inamemorandum of
19December 19772# ^
1
CC3Np-Gi^i6 /77
2KmO-GR /8/n

-24- .,
According totherevised proposals ,Greece agrees toapply Regulation (EEC)
1439/74from thedate ofaccession andtoapply from the eame date the
^ regime ofthe'oommon liberalization listtotheproducts onthislist,as^ itstands atthemoment subject totheCommunity 'sacceptation oftheGreek^^requests fortransitional quotaarrangements forabout 53products onthe
*list ,(Annex IlatotheGreek memorandum of19December 1977)*These 53
separate products consist of27tariff headings and 26sub-headings .35
ofthese^roducts areatpresent freely imported intoGreece .Forallthese
products ^j^ece proposes toopenquotas corresponding tothevolume ofimports
(onavalue*^^is)intoGreece during thelastyearbefore accession .Quotas
should beincr^bed by10Joannually until theproducts arefully liberalized ,
five years after accession .
Inaddition tothese reqj^sts ,Greece submitted alist ofhypothetical
requests fortransitional^^ta arrangements inrespect ofproducts which
arenotonthecommon libsra^^tion listatthemoment ,incaseanyof
these products should beincluded inthat list during "the interim period ".
This list contains 30products consisting of20tariff headings and 10sub­
headings .Eight ofthese products are currently freely imported into Greece . UUI ,%
Therevised Greel ?proposals made noreferenca^to the procedures established
byCouncil Decision of19December 1972 (455/T«Q^TheCommission urderstands ,
however ,that Greece isready toapply thisdecision fromthedate ofaccession .
The 53products for which Greece requests transitional arrangements mthe
formofquotas include about adozen textile andclothing^k-oducts .As
announced inthe memorandum of19December 1977 9the Greek G^tfgation isnow
re-examining theproblems concerning theimport regimen forthe^^products ,
onthebasi3 oftheMultifibre Agreement ,andtheCommunity 'srecent bilateral
textiles agreements and autonomous arrangements .Textiles and clothing
products are therefore not covered bythe proposals set out below .
%
Commission Proposals
(a)Inaccordance with theprinciples described inPart Iofthepresent
Communication ,the Commission proposes first ofallthat the Community
declares itself unable toconsider for inclusion inanylist oftemporary
exceptions -from the common liberalization list products other

-25-
than textiles products which atpresent Isimported freoly into
Greece 'orwhich inimported from allsources subject toautomatic
licences » .cfy'o$r
(b)This leaves forconsideration trytheCommunity ,thefollowing
list ofproducts ontheGrecV list ofrequests fortransitional
arrangements intheformoftransitional quota arrangemer^f as
tenporaiy exceptions fromthecommon liberalisation li^&f
regulations 1439 (l)*
ex31.02 *
ex31.03 *engrais chimiques
ex31.05 * #
44.01 Bois dechauffage ••• xsjr
iv>69.07 Briques deconstructiOTï###
ex69.04 Tuiles###
ex73.37 *Chaudières e^Nradiateurs####
ex84.01 *Chaudièisr detoutes sortes###
o .ex84.10 *Pompe® ,motopompes###
ex 84.14 *Parties defours
ex84#15 Armoires frigorifiques ###
84#2fcî fAppareils etinstruments depesage
ex .®v24 Charrues
e3^85.15 * Récepteurs detélévision -meubles etcoffrets «##
(I)Thelist appears asnotfully comparable with theCommon liberalisation
li6t# Doubts exist ,inter alia ,concerning theexact coverage
ofex 31#02#
(2)This product isincorrectly included intheGreek list ofhypothetical
demands ,'but .itisontheCommon liberalization list atpresent#

-26-
The9products market with an*)areincluded (fully orpartly )among
the products for which Greece has requested transitional quota ,arrangements
towards therest ofthe Community . Tothe extent that such arrangements
are agreed in -thenegotiations under the Chapter Heading ofthe Customs
^ Union ,transitional arrangements willalsohavetoapply inrespect of
<%^]3reece ,sapplication ofregulation 1439/74andthatforaperiod which^satleast aslong asthat ofthetransitional arrangements intheCustoms
Union . Bat even iftransitional quota arrangements are not agreed for
particular products towards the Community there may beaneed for such
arrangements towards third countries .
TheCommi^jon isoftheviewthat inprinciple theGreek requests for *
quota arrangements forthe above products towards GATT members (apartf from
preferential partners )should beaccepted ,subject toagreement being reached
inthenegotiations ontfeemodalities and the duration ofthese arrangements .
TheCommission isconvincdS^hat anabrupt liberalization ofthose products
couldcauseserious difficul$ ^inGreece .Inthiscontext attention is -
drawn tothefact that thepresent import regimes forallbutthethree
products inChapter 31are very restrictive .
(d)TheCommission proposes thatthetransit^fe^l arrangements ,asproposed by.
Greece ,takethe "formofquotas ,whichare^^easedannually byafixed
percentage tobeagreed innegotiations .In-M^view oftheCommission
the modalities should however not bethose proposed byGreece ..Each quota
should atleast bedoubled bythedate offull liberalization oftheproduct
concerned ,andthebasic quotas ,expressed involume terms -wherever possible ,
andapplicable during thefirst year after accession ,shou^rcilso beagreed
inthenegotiations . L

–27–
(e)Acertain amount oftechnical work -should beundertaken without
commitment tothe common position regarding the Greek requests .
Thus ,theproducts listed under (c)above should betransposed A
into the Community tariff nomenclature . '_ ^
Moreover ,experts should beasked topr^§oie
data which can serve asabasis fornegotiating the size ofthebasic
quotas .For most ofthe products retained inthelist ,this poses a
particular problem because noquotas exist forGreek imports o^.these
products today.TheCommission proposes thatinsuchcase^j^he basic
quotas bedetermined asapercentage ofproduction inGi^^e ,as
wasthecaseintheCommunity (seeArticle 33»paragraSj^' 2;oftheRomeTreaty );
(f)Asregards thelist of"hypothetical "Greek requests ^,theCommit ion
proposes that theCommunity declares itself oSkdy toenter into substan­
tive consultations with Greece if,during war "interim period' },any
extension ofthecommon liberalization ^^;weretobeconsidered .
Although theCommunity cannot undertf^k toenter into anylegal commit­
ment asregards the outcome ofsuch consultations ,the Community should
declare that ,inorder tobeable totake appropriate account ofGreek
problems ,itwould bereadx^J examine carefully ,together withGreece t
iftheinclusion inthe^§mmonliberalization listofanyparticular
product ,which atpr^^^t isnotliberalized inGreece ,
> ■risks tocause serious difficulties for any
sector ofGreek industry orinparticular regions ofGreece . Itgoes
without sayi^that Greece remains freeuntil thedate ofsignature of
theAcces^^n Instruments tosubmit totheConference anyproposals for
transi^^nal arrangements inrespect ofadditions tothecommon liberalization
list ,which the Community might decide before that date .
The procedure ofconsultation should apply inall cases where an
sjy extension ofthe common liberalization list were tobeconsidered bythe
Community anditshould not belimited tothe products onthe Greek list
ofhypothetical requests . Inthe view ofthe Commission noparticular
status should beconferred tothe products onthis list inthe accession
negotiations .*Itshould bostressed however that itwill not bepossible
1Annex libtoMBlO-GR /8/77

-28-
forGreec ?rtoliberalize towards third countries onyproduct which
isnotonthe common liberalization listifsuch products arcsubject
totransitional quotas when imported from therest oftheCommunity .
Moreover ,Greece should beinformed thatitwill notbepossible for
hertode-liberalize towards GATT members anyproduct which isnot on
the common liberalization list .
Thep^j^cts remaining undertransitional restrictions towards the
Communit^^yst ofcourse remain equally under suchrestrictions towardsallthird c$5fntries .9suchproducts arementioned onpage 25.'
The remaining 9products onthe Greek list fortransitional restrictions
towards the Community areproducts not liberalized inthe Community
towards 3rdcountrie^peg 1439),andtheytherefore figure onthe
hypothetical listvis-«I^4s thirdcountries (AnnexIIb)tomemoof
19December-' .Since Greec^^nnot beallowed freedom toliberalize
these products towards third countries ortogive third countries any
advantage over the Community ageneral stipuldion tothis effect should
gointo the Accession Instruments .^\

-29-
ι
B.Imports from State Trading Countries
The Greek proposals concerning the application ofRegulation (EEC)
109/70follow thesame ' approach astheproposals concerning ^
Regulation (EEC)1439/74.Atfirst Greece proposed toadopt theCommunity
import regime towards State Trading countries bythe endofthetransitional
period (1).Inreply theCommunity stated thatitwaspremature to%xpress
anopinion onthe exact modalities ofthe adoption byGreece ofRegulation
109since themodalities fortheabolition ofGreek quantitative restric­
tionsvisa-vis othertradepartners hadnotbeendefined^S ^However
Greece 'sadoption ofRegulation 109/70should beco-or<^j§kted withthe
adoption ofRegulation 1439/74inorder toavoid -„^$5reece granting more
favourable treatment toState Trading countries than toother third
countries (2)
Greece hasdeclared herself readjc&o apply,from thedate of
trie
accession ,theprovisions ofCouncil ^scision of27March 1975(210 /75)concerning co-ordination ofimport^bimes,\. \^
 
(1)Mémo-GR /1/77
(2)CONF-GR /11/77

-30-
Revised Greek proposals
Revised Greek proposals concerning Regulation 109/70
were presented inthe memorandum of19December 1977 (l)«Greece
agrees inprinciple toapply this regulation from the date of
accession ,subject toCommunity acceptance ofthe Greek requests
quantitative restrictions forsensitive products during a5year
t^^itional period.
Asinutile case ofRegulation 1439/74Greece hassubmitted twolists
ofsensKive products (Annex IIIandIIIbofEEKO of19December ).
(i) Thefjbrst list ,containing come 26products consisting
of11ijjfeiffs headings and 16 ex,headings ,relates
toproduc$f£pn thecommon liberalisation listof
Regulation 1^/70.
15ofthese products areatpresent imported freely
from state trading countries into Greece .\e>%
(ii)*Asecond "contingency "lirSpxcontains hypothetical '
requests fortransitional qu€g& arrangements inrespect
ofproducts which are not onthe common liberalisation
list atpre ::onto
Itcontains 56products consisting of tariff headings
and22ex.headings . 24ofthese are^Staorted freely
into Greece from state trading countries#
IftheCommunity weretoliberalise imports of^rroducts
onthelist before the date ofGreece 'saccession ,Greece
would wish transitional arrangements toapply inaccordance
Λwith its requests .
%
(1)mvyHB /8/n

-31-
Asregards thelist at(i)above ,Greece proposes toopen quotas
corresponding toimports ,onavalue–basis ,intoGreece during thelast^
year before accession .Quotas should beincreased by10$annually over
afiveyearperiod attheendofwhich imports would befully liberaliz ^^
Asinthecase ofRegulation (ECC)1439/74theGreek requests in
respect ofRegulation (EEC)109/70comprises anumber oftextjj !^products .
Greece ishowever reconsidering theserequests atthemomer^Synd the./are
therefore not dealt vrith inthe follovring .
Commission Proposals
(a)Inaccordance v;iththeprinciples d^fij&ribed -inPart Iofthepresent
Communication theCommission prqa^es first ofallthattheCommunity
declares itself unable tocond^or forinclusion inanylist oftemporary
exceptions from thecommon liberalization list (Reg.109/70)products ,
other than textile products ,vrhich are atpresent freely imported
intoGreece fromthe^tevhe trading countries orwhich areimported
fromthesecountr^j^subject toautomatic licences only.é
(b) This leaves fortheconsideration oftheCommunity thefollowing list
ofpr^Juets which figure ontheGreek lintforrequests fortransitional
me^Jk^es intheformofquotas astemporary exceptions fromthecommon
<^^eralization listofRegulation 10?;
ex39*02 Autres produits depolymérisation
4-44.01 Bois dechauffage
ex69.05+Tuiles
ex73.37 Chaudières etradiateurs
ex84.01 *+Chaudières detoutes sortes
ex84.10 *+Pompes etmotopompes
ex84.14 *"1"Parties desfours âcimentation
*Included onthe list ofproducts for v:hich Greece hasrequested
transitional arrangements towards the res' ,oftheCommunity .
+Included onthe lfst ofproducts for rfcich Greece banrequested
transitional arrangements towards GATT members .

ex84.15
84.20 *+
ex84.24 +Armoires frigorifiques
Appareils etinstruments depesage
Charrues
Tothis list should "beadded three products which Greece thought
were not liberalized inthe Community and which therefore arc at
^^sentinthehypothetical list (annex IHb)oftheir memorandum
of^ftJanuary 1977 *
ex31.02 *+llitrate desodium naturel
ex31.03 *+ 3uperphosphat es
ex85.15 *+Keubles etcoffrets pour récepteurs de^ télévision
Those products marRcJ^with an*areincluded fully orpartly amongtheproducts forwhicf^Sreece hasrequested transitional quota
arrangements towards therest ofthe Community . Those products
markea +areproducts forwhich Greece hasrequested transitional
quota arrangements towards the countries . Any product sfor
which quota arrangements vis-a-vifS^je Community areagreed inthe
negotiations under theChapter Hoadir^jf>pf theCustoms Union will
alsohavetobethesubject ofquota ai^feigements towards thestate
trading countries .Moreover ,any products for which quotas :>re
agreed towards GATT countries but not towards the Community would
alsohavetobesubject ,toquotas vis–visstat^jfr^ading countries
iftheyareliberalised intheCommunity towards tii^^countries .
These transitional quotas will have toapply foraperj&i which Is
atleast aslong asthat ofthetrans itional arrangements for quota
inthe Customs Union vis-?.-vis the Community and the GATT countries
E?ven iftransitional quota arrangement sarenotagreed forpartio^JL
products towards the Community ortowards the GATT countries there ^
maystill beaneed for such arrangements towards state trading
countries .

-33-
■i
The Commission isofthe view that inprinciple the Greek re-ruents :
forquota arrangements forthe above products towards thestate
trading countries should heaccepted ,subject toagreement "being ^
reached inthenegotiations onthemodalities andduration ofthese
arrangements .TheCommission isconvinced that anabrupt liberal *^
ization ofthese products could cause serious difficulties inGreece .
Inthis context attention isdrawn tothefact that the present
regime formost oftheproducts listed in(i)above isvc^Af -restrictive .
The Commission proposes that thetransitional arra«j$toents# as
proposed byGreece ,take theform ofquotas ,whic& are ^increased
annually byafixed percentage tobeagreed innegotiations .In'^he
viev ;ofthe Commission the modalities should however not bethose
proposed byGreece .Eachquota shoul<^^least bedoubled bythe
date offull liberalization ofthe nris&tuct concerned ,andthebasic
quotas ,expressed involume term^&herever possible ,andapplicable
during thefirst year after acoesfeion ,should also beagreed inthe
negotiations .Ifduring two successive years imports ofany product
have been less than 90/&ofthequota opened ,andiftheproduct in
question ialiberaliz^^Eowards therestoftheCommunity ,Greece
should abolish the v<5wrta restrictions inquestion .
Asinthe case ofGATT quotas ,the products listed will have tobe
transposed into Community tariff nomenclature ,
andexR^ts should beasked toprovide data which should servo asa
baai^S^or negotiating thesizeofthebasic quotas .Onceagain,
a^^or theGATTlist,there isaproblem because inmost cases no
quotas exist atthe moment for Greek imports ofthese products today .

-34-,
(f) Asregards thehypothetical Greek requests ,the Commission
proposes that the Community declares itself ready toenter
2_^ intosubstantive consultations with Greece ifduring the
interim period any extension ofthe common liberalization list
towards the state trading countries were tobeconsidered .
Such consultations would besubject tothe same reserves as
spelled outinthecase ofGATT countries at(f)onpage £?.
(g) ThOTftnrust ,however ,beoneimportant difference ofapproach
betv;e^^the Greek hypothetical listtowards state trading
countries andthat towards GATT . The Community cannot insist
that Greece should not de-liberalize towards state trading
countries any pt&lucts which shecurrently imports from them
freely ort.l.a .%^cisting Member States oftheCocnmnity are
freetode-liberaliz^^p /ardsthestatetrading countriesproducts which arenotliberalized attheCommunity level . ;
(h)Finally ,allproducts remaining^nder transitional restrictions
towards theCommunity ortowards'^^T countries mustremain
equally tinder suchrestriction towai^^all third countries .-
These products arereferred toin(t) Theremaining
products onthe Greek list fortransitional restrictions towards
the Community ortowards the GATT countries which are not
included inthelist towards thestate trading cqa^tries are
products notliberalized intheCommunity towards s<fyg£e trading
countries andtherefore figure onthehypothetical lil^jfor
those countries atannex Xllb.Since Greece cannot be^ilowed
freedom to *liberalise these products towards thestate trading
countries orgive state trading countries anyadvantage over
either theCommunity ortheGATTcountries ,ageneral stipulation ^!^,tothis effect must gointo theAccession Instruments . 4
/

35
II.MEASURES OPESPIV ALEH *EFFECT TOWflrtTMTIVE RESTRICT IONS
(a)Import deponit andcash payments systems
Background
Asalready spelled out inthe Commission 'sProposals concerning the
Industrial Customs Union (CGM(78)?1 final ,page 50)»Greece demands cash
payment onimportation forproducts representing about 24$of^^alimports .
Withinthistotalabout areinaddition subject toimpo^^^eposits .
Theimport deposits aregradually being abolished toward^&he Community
under the terms ofthe Association Agreement inparallel with the abolition
ofcustoms duties . Greece isalso reducing import deposits towards third
countries bythesame rhythm assheisreducing^hem towards theCommunity ;
sheisnotobliged todothisbytheterms ogc^e Association Agreement ,
buthaschosen todoso,presumably toav^^charges ofdiscrimination in
GATT.Thecashpayments system ,howe-^s ^remains infullforce against
imports from all sources .
First Greek position
Inamemorandum o£^r January 1977 Greece proposed that import deposits
should begradually abolished towards third countries ,astowards the Community ,
according tothetimetable laid down inProtocol 11ofthe Association Agreement .
lJ . . Apossible
acceleratio^ef thisrhythm could beenvisaged ifthefiveyeartransitional
period c^sj^*toanendbefore November 1984 *Greece didnotatthatstage
refer t<^thecashpayments system .Thisposition wasthesameastheGreek
position inthe context ofthe Industrial Customs Union .
>

First Community position
Atthethird session atDeputy level theCommunity stated that Greek
fimport deposits vis-&-visthird countries should heabolished from thedate
y
*ofaccession ,with thoproviso that iftheabolition should pose problems of
■»
amonetary nature other means might beenvisaged todeal with such problems .
TheCommunity didnot atthat time take position onthecash payments system .\
Revised Greek^jfrosition
Inamemorandum of19December 1977 Greece made itclear that her new
position ontheimport^eposit scheme intheCustoms Union chapter ,asset
outinhermemoranda of^j^Sept emberand17October .1977^wasintended tobe
valid alsointhecontext d£jp^rade withthird countries .Greece proposes
thegradual elimination ofth"^system during afiveyeartransitional period
starting from accession .Greece hasnot ,however ,specifically taken position
concerning thefuture ofthecash payments system onimports from third
countries .%
Commission Proposals%–Th^-Gommissieift -^beiieves that ,whatever isdecided under theChapter Heading
oftheCustoms Union about thefuture oftheimport deposit scheme andi+pelidfj
hitherto ..
Ination should be_applicable er^a oirmes .This isthecourse Greece hasfollowed /
TheCommission alsobelieves thatthisprinciple should^feLytotheelimination
ofthocashpayments system .Ifasituation weretoarise,^jp£ter theexpiry
ofanytransitional measures ,whereby imports fromtheCoramuni^^scould bemade
onany credit terms commercially available while certain imports from third
countries were subject toacash payment requirement ,itwould becertain to
lead tosevere criticism intheGATT .Itcould also encourage deflecti&k .
oftrade . , - ^
•A
CONF-GR /11/7-7
?T/TAG/34/77Corr .1

37
TheCommission therefore proposes that the Fame s.-rstem be
applied totheelimination ofthese tv.oschemes onimports from third ^
countries ,asitproposed fortheir elimination onimports fromtherest^^
oftheCommunity initsCuntoneUnion Proposal onpa/re5'.Thismean^'
Greece bein<j offered achoice .Either shecould abolish the import
deposit scheme inthefirst year after accession infour three-monthly
stages andthecashpayments scheme inthesecond yearafter^Session
inthesamemanner ;orshecouldabolish bothschemes to^ij^ier overtwo
years .Whichever method were chosen byGreece ^atthe ofthesecond
year both schemes would have tobeentirely abolished .

38
Public Purchasing
Background
There arecurrently noCommunity obligations inthefield ofpublio
purchasing asregards trade with third oountries . Aspart ofthecurrent
round ofmultilateral trade negotiations anagreement onpublic purchasing
isb^ing negotiated amongst members ofthe GATT.When agreement isreacheditwi%^of course havetobeadopted andapplied bytheCemnjuaity inits
trade third countries andwill become part ofthe acquis communautaire .
Initial Greek Proposals
Greece original^^uggested thatpublic purchasing intheExternal
relations context should^foe examined intheframework ofthesecondary
legislation exercise ,
First Community position
TheCommunity merely saidthatanyrf^eek measures inthisfield must
beinaccordance withtheautonomous Coram4$^ommercial Policy aswellas
theother international obligations ofthe Community .
Commission Proposal % ^onim±t?Kxuri rrgputjai%
Greece hastaken noftirther position regarding publifi^^rchasing inexternal relations . TheCommission believes that inallt1&circumstances
itisnecessary atthis stage simply todraw theattention ofGreece totho
fact that shewill have toapply indue course the arrangement being worked
outintheframework ofthem.t.n.,whichislikely tobecome part o/^^e
aoquifl communautaire either before heraccession orshortly thereafter .
Sine# the GATT negotiations arestill continuing itisimpossible tobe
more specific ortosee which ofthe Greek practices set out onpage 60of
the Customs Union :Proposals might beaffected .

39
()Monopolies 
Initial Greek Proposals ^
1Inhermemorandum of17January 1977 Greece proposed theapplication
ofArticle 44oftheTreaty ofAccession ofthethree newMember Ctates
Λ
inthecaseofnational monopolies notcovered byinternati^© !convention
orincompatible withtheprovisions ofArticle 37ofthe^j^ie iraaty .
Greece seemed toimplythatthisshould applyregardiijg^inports fromthird
countries# aswell asinintra-Commun itytrade .
First Community position
Atthethird session ofDeputies Community stated merely that
measures applied inGreece regardin^^cnopolies should beinaccordance
with theregulations both oftheautonomous Common Commercial Policy and
with the international obligations oftheCommunity inthis area .
Revised Greek propossCS
Inamemorandum of19December 1977 Greece stated that asregards the
application byGreece oftheCommunity 'ssystem relative toexclusive
import rig^b forproducts subject tonational monopolies ,quotas forthoGe
product^^id perhaps certain others submitted toaspecial regiue inGreece 9
(inciting petroleum .,products )ought tobeopened towards third countries
aswell astowards theCommunity .Products and quotas should bedecided
indiscussions with theCommission .Inafurther memorandum dated 16January
1978 Greece made more specific proposals regarding quotas tobeopened
^ vis-S^-vistheCommunity ,
MÎMO-GR /1/77
2CONP-OR /ll/77
3MÏ*0-0R /8/77/

40
Commission Proposals /
Itmust beadmitted there isno obligation upon Greece
tophase out monopoly import rights asregards importB from third
countries ,either under theterns ofthe autonomous Common Commercial
Policy orunder any ofthe Community 1spreferential ornon-preferential
agreei^nts . Certain provisions ofthe Common Commercial Policy andofcer^&n ofthese agreements might touch uponcertain aspects ofthese
'C<t,
exclusive c^jort rights butcertain existing Member States maintainmonopoly import rights forcertain important products such a3manufactured
tobacco oralcohol . Greece has,however ,suggested that she should
abolish monopoly import rights towards allthird coxmtries inthe same
wayastowards theCorf^jjiity .Inviewofthelegal situation the
Community should avoid g^^ng formal acoeptanee tothisproposal ;it
could ,however ,note it.... Itwill not benecessary to
ask Greece which monopolies she intends toabolish inthis waytowards
third countries .
However ,ifGreece should embark progressive abolition of
monopolies towards third countries ,itis4^,ortant toensure thatshedoesnotdosoinsuchawayastogivethir^?ountries aneffective
preference over the Community during thetransitional period . An
undertaking tothis effect ought therefore tobeincluded inthe
Accession Instruments .

THE COMMUNITY 'SPREFERENTIAL AGREEMENTS
Greece has proposed transitional arrangements towards all the
preferential partners inrespect ofimport duties ingeneral (l);and^S *
inrespect ofquantitative restrictions forsensitive produts in^particular (2). ^
Greece has proposed a5year transitional period -from thedate
ofentry into force ofthe relevant protocols -forall these ...
arrangements withtheexception oftheabolition ofim^^E duties
towards the EFTA countries for certain sensitive for which
8years are proposed .
Import Duties
TheGreek proposals arepnly^^verygeneral terms.TheGreek
delegation has confirmed however what isenvisaged isaprogressive
abolition inthecourse ofatraditional period towards allthe
preferential partners#
Inits statement tothethird Conference ofDeputies the
Community stated tW^itcould only agree that aprogressive abolition
wasonepossibility ofproceeding .TheCommunity reserved itsfinal
position inthS^matter until alater stage ofthenegotiations (3).
COMMISSION PROPOSAIS
4^?" Asstated above aprogressive abolition ofallGreek import
duties towards .alltheCommunity 'spreferential partners isonepossible
way ofproceeding .Twoother possibilities are examined below under
points (a)and (c)
a)Onepossibility would bethat from thedate ofaccession Greece
should apply thetariff provisions ofthepreferential agreements
asthey stand atthat tinw^subject torespect ofthe "butoir "rule (*»)
(1)Memo^GR /1/77
(2)Memo-GR /8/77
(3)CÔEP-GR /ll/77
(4)The"butoir "rule means that Greece cannot atany time give more
favourable tariff treatment toanythird country than tothe
Community initspresent composition .

-4P-
This would inpractice mean that products which enter Greece free of
import duties when imported from the Community inits present composition
(products onthe "12year list "under theAssociation )would also ,when
this .isforeseen bythepreferential agreements and When fulfilling
thecriteria oftheorigin rules ,enter Greece free ofduty when imported
from thepreferential partners .Inother words :inrespect ofproducts
for which Customs Union regimes have "been completed under the Association
Greece would treat imports from preferential partners inthe same manner
asthe other Member States do.Produots onthe "22-year "list onthe
^S-^ther hand would asageneral rulebesubject tothesameimport duties
^^^reece whether imported fromtherestoftheCommunity^or -fromthe
__.Pre^J^ntial partners ,withthenecessary origin criteria fulfilled -Q
This approach would have the advantage ofexcluding allrisles
oftrade defl^^ion .Fromthepoint ofviewofthepreferential partnersitwould havet^^^eneral advantage ofgiving their products thesame
position ontheGr^fc .market asthatenjoyed byCommunity products ,from
---V WW w 4 t
thedateofGreek accession andnot,asproposed byGreece only from the
date when thetransitional arrangements come toanend,
Afarther advantage wottc^be thatthesameapproach could beused
towards'all thepreferential parti^^without posing theproblem ofwhether
*Greece ,asthepresent Member Staf^^have doneinthepast,should
abolish import duties towards developing partners inone move instead of
Plq^esf fngeff?5seFinally thisapproach would justify theCommunity in£
preferential partners whose agreements arebase^on reciprocity <>that
.. - ... ..-fromthedateofGreece'saccession Greekprodac^r^rhich qualify under
theorigin rules ,should beimported bythem subjec^jf^o thesama
preferences aswhenimported fromtherestoftheCommu^&^ty .This would
give Greece maximum reciprocal advantage from the beginning .
%
/

-43-
There would however besomedisadvantages too.Forcertainlysectors ofGreek industry theeffects ofasudden abolition ofimport^
duties onthe 12year list products and ofconsiderable initial tariff
reductions onthe 22year list products could present serious difficulties .
Inparticular the considerable tariff reductions -forthe 22 list cover
products which areingeneral more sensitive than those flfiirfche 12year List
andwhich to-day enjoy quite hightariff protection towards allthird
countries (20percent asanaithmetical average ). For those products
onthe Association 's'12year "list which are not produced inGreece or
which arenotsensitive there would benospecific economic problems ,
butaproblem ofimmediate instead ofprogressive lossofcustoms revenue .
Afewproducts onthe12yearlistareJJ&/ever known tobesensitive
inrelation tosomeoftheCommunit^f ,'preferential partners .
Onbalance the Commission isofthe view that inrespect of
the22yearlistthedisadvantages ofthisapproach would besogreat that
they would outweigh the^j^antages .Itshould therefore notbe.envisaged
thatGreece applies t^^ariff regimes ofthepreferential agreements ,
subject torespect §fthe"butoir "rule,toallindustrial imports from
thepreferential partners from thedate ofaccession .
^S&efore reaching thisconclusion theCommission hascarefully
studiedqJ^ie question oftrade deflection .

-44-
Duetothe lack ofOrigin Rules inthe Association and
asaresult ofthe extensive network ofpreferential agreements which
the Community has concluded with other third since the Association
wascreated ,the risk ofdeflection oftrade exists intheAssociatiprfo
Incertain circumstances products originating inthe Community 'spreferential
partners canenter Greece ,via theterritory ofthe Community ,duty free
oratreduced duties . Greek products inthe same manner ,canenter
into thepreferential partners via theterritory ofthe Community .
Acertain risk oftrade deflection also exists under the Association
.inrelation to other third countries ,due tothe lack of
parel®Aism between thenlythms fortariff harmonization andfortariff
abolittwL towards the EEC.
»5$prelation tothepreferential partners therisk oftrade
deflection under the Association isapermanent problem butitis
difficult toassess how real the risk is. The geographical position
ofGreece ,andthe fact that export documentation toanincreasing extent
isissued locally or/«tthe factory level and not atthefrontier ,
probably limit the riwuconsiderably .
Sofar,noparfljteular difficulties areJcnownto have beencaused bytrade deflection ti^Tder theAssociation .TheCommission
understands that the Greek Authorities ,bymeans ofexisting import
restrictions towards the Community ,ensure against "deflected "imports
ofsensitive products .Neither the Community exporters ,not ;the
preferential partners have raised theaproblem .-
%
<4+
\\

-45-
Inthecontent ofaccession ,therisk ofdeflection oftrade will ,
atthemost ,beatemporary problem which will disappear when Greooe
will apply theCommunity 'spreferential agreements fully .Inrelation
toother third countries ,itwill beconsiderably reduced ordiBtvopeai *
fromaccession ,because therythms oftariff abolition an<1hirmon:sa%^h
willbeparallel .If,asproposed byGreece ,thetransiticral arra^&ineni
forGreece 'sapplication ofthepreferential agreements aretov,^h.deforprogressive abolition ofimport duties ,theriskoftrade direction
will moreover decrease progressively asthepe arrangements progress
towards expiry .
Iftheprevention oftrade deflection after accession were regarded
ashaving absolute priority ,theapplication byGreecsMT?om thedate of
accession ofthetrade provisions ofthepreferarfcialx^re eraent sasthey
stand would betheonlypossible wayofproceeding ^Formanysectors
ofGreek industry theeconomic effects ofprocee^ng inthatwaywouldhowever beconsiderably more serious than those "likely tobecaused
byalimited degree oftrade deflection .
TheCommission istherefore oftheview that theproblem oftrade
deflection should not beadecisive faaSbr inthe determination ofthe
transitional arrangements forGreece Jjej&pplicat ionoftheCommunity 's
contractual andautonomous tariff preferences .However itought not
tobedisregarded altogether as^jiasbeen intheAssociation .
PromthedateofGreece 'sacceEUjfisfti theriskmustbeconsiderably
reduced sothat Greece will nolonger befaced with theproblem of
having tocontrol whether her imports from therest oftheCommunity
areofCommunity origin .
 

-46-
(b)Thewayofproceeding which Greece hasproposed hastheadvantage of
technical -&ndadministrative simplicity ,but ittakes noaccount ofthe
risk oftrade deflection .This istrue inparticular inrespect of
^ theproducts onthe12year list .Another weakness oftheGresk^proposals isthatforthegreat number ofproducts onthe"12yearlist"
which arenotproduced inGreece orwhich arenot sensitive inGreece it
isdifficult tojustify ineconomic terms arequest fortransitional
arraijj^pjpents towards thepreferential partners ,since these products are
importe^^?ee ofdutyfromthepresent Community .Themainarguments
forsucha^Jsquestwouldbetherelatively great importance ofcustoms £
revenues fortheGreek Government budget –aswell astheeconomic interest
ofthepresent Community inpreservhg aslong aspossible ,itspreferential
position ontheGred&market .%
There canbenodoubx^Jiat atleast comeofthepreferential partners
will insist that from the date ofGreece 'saccession -and within the limits
oftheir respective agreements -their exports toGreece should begiven
thesametreatment inrespect ofim^rt duties asthatwhich exports from
thepresent Community enjoy .BothtfSfyjcia .andSwitzerland haveapproached
Greece witha*viewtoconcluding interim^^e tradeagreements providing
forsuchregimes inpreparation ofGreece' s^^cession totheCommunity .
Theapproach proposed byGreece willtherefore mostlikely haveasa^
result thatthepreferential partners vhoseagreement^are based on
reciprocity would request transitional arrangements for^Leir application
ofallthetrade provisions oftheir agreements towards Gr<jj^,o foraslong
period asthat requested forGreece 'sapplication ofthese a£^ements .
– .Thesoluti on which Greece hasproposed moreover raises the
problem ,ofprinciple whether thesametransitional arrangements Ehoui$^
applytowards thedeveloping countries amongthepreferential partners^
astowards theindustrial partners .Asstated above ,this would const itut
adeparture from theCommunity 's -past practice .-■ .

-47-
Asageneral rule ,itmight notmake much difference tothe
developing partners whether Greek import duties onproducts onthe 12
year list -'areabolished uponaccession oreliminated progressively over ^
aperiod ,since their main industrial export products areonthe "22
year list **. Thereal question istherefore whether ,from thedate
accession ,Greece should treat products onthe22year list inthesame
manner inrespect ofimport duties when they are imported from the
preferential developing countries aswhen^heyare
imported fromtherestoftheCommunity .Anexamination ^P^ihelists
ofsensitive products which Greece hassubmitted inthe^jj^fatoxt ofliberali­
zation andwhicharepractically allincluded inthe,^^yearlist"leads
the Commission tobelieve that there would bearisk ofserious difficulties
forsome sectors ofGreek industry xf,upon accession ,Greece were toreduco
import duties onproducts onthe22year li^j^towards developing partners
Jnsuchawayastograntthesecountries-Immediate parity withtheexisting
Community . ^_ . .
Intheview oftheCommission thepractice ofapplying full tariff prefe -
ences tothedeveloping countries without transition orafter very Ehort
transitional periods ,ough^yiot tobefollowed inthecaseofGreece ,.
because theindustrial ^§>ortproducts ofdeveloping countries areamong
themostsensitive M^&ucts forGreece .

48
)TheCommission inhowever oftheview that theprodv.cts onthe
"12year list "and the'products ,onthe "22year list "should not
hetreated inthe sane manner .
TheCor -Tnisnion proposes that the duration oftransitional
arrangements fortheproducts onthe 22year list should "bethe
same astowards therest oftheCommunity *Therhythm oftariff
dismantlement should also bethe same#
However ,thearrangement should not "be "based onrespect ofthe
'S^^joir "rule# Greece should start theprocess ofdismantlement
frdfefche level oftheduties effectively applied towards third
count atthe name date asthat chosen for the Custom Ur.ion®
Thelevel ofthebasic duties forproducts onthe "22year list "
will beatleast double ashigh astowards theCommunity#
Thiswayofproc^jp^ing isjustified bythefactthatmanyofthe
products ortthe"2^fc§ar list"aresensitive ".forGreece ,in
relation totheCommun^^ 'spreferential partners ,towards whom
they areatpresent enjoying quite high protection#
Inafewcases ,thetransitional arrangements fortariffs will
havetotakeaccount ofexisting^fopiprocal minor tariff preferences
between Greece andcertain third cdVB&ries#
Asageneral approach ,theCom^inrion r^zPposes that there should
benotransition forproducts onthe "12year list"# •
Greece should apply thetariff provisions oftherespective
agreements .,forthe12yearlisjtproducts fully^^om thedate
ofaccession#\%

49
Inreturn thepreferential partners whose agreements provide
forreciprocity should berequested toapply thetariff provisions
oftherespective agreements toimports ofindustrial products from
Greece fully from thedate ofGreece 'saccession .
/ 

InrespectofsomeoftheCommunity'spreferential partners
afewof'theproductsonthe"12year"Listar«howeversensitive
productsforGreece.Thisisthecasef.inst.ofcertainfertilizers,
afewpaperproductsetc.Mostofsuchproductsarelikelytobe
sensitiveonlyinrelationtosomeofthepreferential partners.
Suchproductscouldbedeletedfranamongtheproductsforwhichdutiesshould
feeabolishedwithouttransitioninrespectofparticularpreferential ^
jaaM^enti'andbeaddedtothelistofproducts(ofthe"22^earlist")forwhich
Greek^k>ortdutiesshouldbedismantledover9period.-%"-"~*
Byproceedings^themannerdescribedaboveitshouldbe
possibletosolvecertafS^roblems whichGreeceseemstoforeseeand
forwhichsheseemstobe"Sparingrequestsfortransitionalquota
arrangements towardspreferential partners(seepointBbelow).
X%
%%%X
<2%%

51
The Greek proposal foran 8years*' transitional arrangement >
fortariff abolition oncertain sensitive products from the
EFTA countries only falls to "beconsidered insubstance
ifthe maximum duration for theabolition ofGreek import duties inless *
This proposal covers between 3and 7percent ofGreece 'simports
from Swj|« 1erland ^Sweden andNorway but38percent ofh^s»inports
from Portugal andAustria and44percent ofirnportno^&ni
ς*3Finland (1976 figures )•
# .
 

52
B.Quantitative Import and Export Restrictions inPreferential Agreements
1.Import Restrictions
Greece has proposed transitional arrangements fortheprogressive
abortion ofquantitative restrictions onimports fromthepreferentialpartrf^te (1). Theproducts involved areinprinciple thesame asthose
for whiw*uch arrangements arerequasted vis-a-vis GATT members . –
TheGreek delegation hasannounced that aspecification ,country by ^
country ,ofitsproposals inrespect ofeach ofthe preferential partners
will beforthcoming ^nanearfuture .Until these specific Greek proposals
havebeenreceived t^^Commission isunable tosubmit concrete proposals
inthisparticular arej&f thenegotiations .However ,certain comments
can bemade now : S
Ingeneral ,but leaving aside inthis context thespecial
problems oftextile products originating incertain preferential partners ,
the Commission proposes ihat thefollouapo points bemade tothe Greek
delegation : tyct*
(i) The Community oould not accept that products ,which atpresent
canbeimported into Greece freely ,oraresubject toTLAonly,
fromapreferential partner should besubmitt^^even temporarily ,
toquantitative restrictions fromthedateofGr^^ 'saccession ,
unless suchrestrictions arealready provided fori$^fe Agreement
in.question .Anydifficulties towhich the progressive abolition
ofGreek import duties may give rise will have tobesolved inthe
framework ofthetariff regimes ,i.e. through indioativa oeilj&ra
orpoMtbiy tariff quotas ,andnot "bymoves ofd®-li"beralizatioil ^%
<1i) All products which may become subject totransitional arrangements
inrespect ofquantitative restrictions towards the rest ofthe
Community should besubject tosuch arrangements vis-a-visall
thepreferential partners ,andthat for the same durations .
/
(1)Memo-GR /8/77 j ,

53
(iii)Inprinciple itwill bedifficult toenvisage transitional ^arrangements inrespect ofquantitative restrictions towards -5^*
preferential partners .f°rproducts other than those which
might besubject tosuch arrangements towards the rest ofthe
Community . A
(iv)Allproducts which from thedate ofaccession are^tberalized
byGreece towards GATT members ingeneral shoi^^also
beliberalized towards all thepreferential partners .
(v)Thetransitional arrangements inresult ofquantitative
restrictions shall take the form qofmport quotas which are
progressively increased over pe^Sods tobedetermined .
*Foreachproduct thebasic qq^?a,expressed involume ,the
annual percentage increase and the date forfull liberalization
shall beagreed with thepartners concerned and laid down inthe .
protocols oftrans itihp 'andadaptations .
(vi)Since the oblfcsrtions which Greece will beundertaking towards
thepreferential partners are based ontheexisting .provisions
ofeach preferential agreement the hypothetical Greek requests
for^ransitional arrangements concerning products inAnnex IIbti^fte Greek memorandu mof19December arenotrelevant inrelation
the Community 'sprefential partners .
/

54
IV-GENŒRAUSED PHEFEHEfTCES
Initial Gfreek Position
1Inamemorandum of17January 1977 Greece stated ,that she would
apply^the Community generalized preferences system fromthethird year of
implementation oftheActofAccession .Greece reserved generally therirhtto
puthe**vi^fj^n thepreparation ofthelists ofthose products for
which generalized preferences areannually granted tsoa.stoavoid anydisturbance
incertain sensitive a^eas ofher economy .%
Community Position
Inastatement atthethirdse£^p oftheConference atDeputy level' "
theCommunity tooknoteoftheGreek sug^fefcion that Greece should' apply
thegeneralized preference scheme only from tfgPthird year after accession .
Atthat stage theCommunity drew attention tothoproblems that would Q
arise ifduring aperiod oftv:oyears imports into Greece from the countries
benefi ting XfromtheCommunity 'sgeneralized preference"^teheme were'to "be
subject toimport duties which were higher than those which apply to
imports into Greece from countries inacomparable economic ;situation with
whom the Community had concluded preferential agreements . The Community%furthermore recalled the system ofquotas and ceilingBwhich i3part of .r/
MEMO-GR /1/77
2CŒIF-GR /I1/77

55
generalized 'preference scheme and suggested that the problems of
sensitive imports into Greece ,asinto the Community initspresent
composition ,might hemitigated ifnot solved through these mechanisms .
TheCommunity equally tooknoteoftheintention ofGr^w *to
putforward itsviews intheannual preparations oftheC£^unity ,s
generalized preference scheme andstressed that asafwcl member of
the Community Greece would participate inthe Community preparations
anddecisions concerning thecontinued develo^ant ofCommunity policies
inthisasinallotherareas.TheCon^S /tyemphasized thatitwas
determined continually andprogress iv^^toimprove itsgeneralized pre­
ference scheme .
Revised Greek Position ^
1Atthe fourth session ofDeputies on30March 1977 Greece expressed
thedesire Is^align thetwopoints ofview after receiving technical
explanations concerning the Community position .These explanations were
given inatechnical meeting between Commission and Greek experts on31March
21977 . However ,inamemorandum of19December 1977 Greece stated that
she wished"to goback onherinitial position ongeneralized preferences "
and reserved theright toadvance her ownpoint ofview indue course so
that certain aspects ofthis field should betaken into consideration to
1CONP-GR /l6/77
^mo-GR/Ô/II

56
avoid anydisruption ofcertain sectors ofthe Greek economy . Greece
has not inthe event made any new proposals .
Commission Proposals
These proposals are based onthe assumption that whatever scheme
follows thepresent GSP scheme after 1980 will bebroadly similar tothe
present scheme . The Commission believes that anytransitional measures
intl}^,field ofgeneralized preferences should take twoprinciples intoaccoun^b firstly ,Greece should makeacertain effort fromthebeginning .
Secondly regards tariffs ,Greece ought totreat the GSP countries as&favourably asthe Lome countries ,but not more favourably .Itistrue
that the Lom6 scheme iscontractual whereas the GSP soheme isautonomous ,
butboth schemes Bha^p thebasio aimofencouraging industrial development
inthedeveloping wor^^hrough tariff concessions .TheCommunity 'sGSP
scheme nowcovers allin^t^trial products .
Asregards tariffs ,therefore ,the Commission proposes that Greece
should reduce these under the GSP scheme inexactly the same way astowards
Lom5countries andtheother preferejjs^ial partners :
-forindustrial products onthel^j^ar listGreece should apply
theGSPscheme fully fromthedate <$£^coession ;
-forindustrial products onthe 22year list the same timetable
asinthe context ofpreferential agreements should beforeseen .
This should start onthedate ofaccession and^£uld involve a
smooth and even process ofelimination . %\
Asregards quotas andceilings ,the Community would have topropose
thenecessary technical adaptations tothe Community 'ssystem inthelast
year before Greek acoession when the Community scheme isbeing prepared
&JPfor thefirst year after accession * v

57
V . GREECE 'STRADE AGREEMENTS WITH STATE TRADING C0UMTIE3
Background
Greece hascommercial agreements with many state trading countries ^
All ofthese agreements will have expired by31December 1930cr provide the
possibility fordenunciation bythat date .During 1976around 13%of
Greece 'stotal exports wenttothestate trading countries .,0^*s
Initial Greek Proposal
Inamemorandum of17January 1977 ~reeoe stated .that her commercial
agreements -..ithstate trading countries remai^in forco until 31December
1980atwhich point denunciation waspossi^d ^. Greece askedtokeenopen
thepossibility ofextending theagrecm^feforatransitional period of
three years after theentry intoforo^?>f theActofAccession onthe
grounds that the volume oftrade and the structure ofher exports tothese
countries .included certain products which were particularly sensitive
for the Greek economy .
Community Position
Atthe third session ofDeputies the Community stated that Greece
densurefcihat her bilateral agreements with state trading count ri uiipéshould ensurc^ihat herbilateral agreements with state trading countries crime
v\ytoanendj^xthe date ofheraccession totheCommunity .There could beno
questi^Sof either prolonging theGreek commercial agreements withstate
trading countries during thetransitional period nor afortiori ofprolonging
them beyond the end ofthat period . The Community rejected the Greek
^arguments infavour ofaprolongation onthegrounds that thenine Ileniber States had been inthe same situation andtheir trade was developing normally
with the state trading countries .
/' ·
1MH'!0-GR /l/77 ■/

58
Further Greek statements
Atthe'fourth session ofDeputies on30March 1977 Greece took note of
theCommunity position andstated that ifasuitable solution could notbe
found theAgreements inforce atthetime ofaccession should remain in
1force until they expire oraredenounced . Inamemorandum of19
2December 1977 Greece said that shewas still awaiting thedefinitive
Community position onitsrequest concerning thepossibility ofextending
forth^^years during thetransitional period thosetradeagreements between
Greece anJf^tate trading countries which areinforce whentheActof
Accession isupplemented . 1
Commission Proposals\A,
ThedateofGreece*«i^pcession totheCommunity isofcourse not
settled .Butitislikely t^iatatransitional period ofthree years after
accession (which inthecircumstances ofthis case means atemporary derogation
from theCommunity acquis )would notexpire until towards themid1930s .
Itistobehoped that theCommunity have concluded agreements with
theindividual -statetrading countries be^jfep then ,andevenifithasnot
there isnoevidence thattheabsence ofsucis^^reements would adversely
affect~Greek exports tothe state trading countries . Inthese circumstances
theCommission proposes thattheCommunity should makenosubstantive Q
change initsposition thatallGreecc ,sbilateral comij^pcial agreements
withstatetrading countries should bebrought toanencf^j^the dateofher
accession totheCommunity .Aslight nuance could ,howe-v^^be introduced ;
since 31December 1980istheearliest datebywhich denunciators .ofall
theagreements iapossible ,andsince itisinadvisable toaskGreece
todenounce before shemay legc.lly doso,itcould beenvisaged that if
Greece joins theCommunity before 31December 1980thenanyagreements <^ch
donot contain provisions allowing denunciation before that date could be
continued until thatdate .Innocircumstances ,however ,could anyagreemerf ^
becontinued after that date . "
1C0ÎTF-GR /l6/77
^ÎHÏÏO–GR/8/77