ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(77)28
Vol.1977/0010

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concerningtheopeningtothepublicofthehistoricalarchivesoftheEuropeanEconomic
Community andtheEuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunity (OJL43,15.2.1983,p.1),as
amendedbyRegulation(EC,Euratom)No1700/2003of22September2003(OJL243,
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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
DETERMINATION OPTRADEARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN
THECOMMUNITY ANDMALTA
(Communication andrecommendation fromtheCommissiontothe
Council)
COM(77)28final.COM(77)28final.
Brussels,16FeTaruaiy1977
&:'■■
V":.-

COT^TTSSTOH CQTTU!'TTCATICTTTOTOECOUTTCTL GTT
THEDgTERKTNATIOK OFTRADEAWJTOEEELTTS
BETVISBTTHECOT-Tj-ILTETITYAITDMALTA
1.ThefirststageoftheAssociation AgreementbetweentheCommunity
andMalta-whichenteredintoforceon1April1971–isduetoexpire
on30June1977*afterbeingextendedforfifteenmonthsin1976.Under
thetermsoftheAgreementthesecondstage–inprincipleoffiveyears1
duration–shouldprovideforafurthereliminationofobstaclestotrade
betweentheCommunityandMaltaandtheadoptionofMaltaoftheCommon
CustomsTariff.
2.FromthecontactswhichhavetakenplacebetweentheCommissionand
theMalteseauthoritiesinthepastfewweeksitwouldappearthatthe
MalteseGovernmentremainsattachedtotheobjectiveoftheAssociation
Agreement,viz.theprogressive establishment ofacustomsunionwiththe
Community.
3.InaccordancewiththeobjectivelaiddownintheAgreementthe
CommissionproposestotheCouncilthatnegotiations beinitiatedwith
Maltafortheestablishment ofacustomsunion.Tothisend,itis
transmitting totheCouncilitsrecommendations ,whicharegiveninAnnexIA.

-2-
Thesenegotiations shouldbeopenedpromptlysothatthecustoms
unionarrangements canbenegotiatedandestablishedby1July.
4.WithregardtoECSCproducts,theCommissionistransmitting tothe
Counciladraftdecisionontheopeningofnegotiations withMaltafor
theconclusionofaframeworkagreement(AnnexII).
5.InordertotakeaccountoftheviewsexpressedbytheMaltese
authorities regardingMalta'sabilityatthepresenttimetoassume
theburdensresultingfromtheestablishment ofacustomsunion,the
Commissionistransmitting totheCounciltransitional arrangements
whichcanhelpsolvethedifficultiesinquestion(AnnexI/B).
i
difficultiesinquestion(AnnexI/B).
Itisquitepossiblethatitmay
befoundinthenegotiations that1Julyistoosoonfortheimplementation
ofthecustomsunion.Moreover,itseemsthatitwillbedifficultto
negotiatetheprotocolbetweennowandMayandtoapplyiton1July
becauseoftheconsiderable technical workwhichwouldhavetobedonebefore
thatdate.
Ifthesepointsofconcernareconfirmedinthenegotiations the
Commissionwouldenvisagepostponingthecommencement ofthecustoms
unionwithMaltato,forinstance,1January1980.Prom1Julythe
tradearrangements wouldbegovernedbyare-extension ofthefirststageof
theAgreement(subjecttothemeasurescontainedinAnnexi/Bofthis
communication).
ThisextratimeshouldenabletheMalteseeconomytoprepareitself
forenteringintocustomsunionwiththeCommunity.Theeffortsmade
byMaltawouldbesupportedbytheCommunityonthebasisofthe
cooperationprotocolssignedin1976.Economiccooperation canbe
initiatedrapidlyandtheFinancialProtocolwillenterintoforce
atthebeginningofnextyear.•

Annex I
RECOMMENDATION FORACOUNCIL DECISION
CONCERNING THE DETERMINATION OPTRADE ARRANGEMENTS
BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN 'ECONOMIC COMMUNITY "AND MALTA
THECOUNCIL OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economio Community ,
andinparticular Article 238thereof ,
Having regard totherecommendation from theCommission ,
Whereas itisnecessary todetermine thetrade arrangements to "be
applied between theCommunity andMalta asfrom 1July 1977 »
HAS DECIDED ASFOLLOWS :
Sole Article
TheCommission ishereby authorised toopen negotiations with Malta .
Itshall conduct those negotiations within the framework ofthe
directives annexed hereto andsubject tofuture directives ,in
consultation with therepresentatives oftheMember States .

AnnexI/A
AdditionalProtocoltotheAssociation Agreement
betweentheEuropeanEconomicCommunityandMalta
TheAdditionalProtocolwouldadopttheterms,proceduresand
timetablefortheprogressive establishment ofacustomsunionbetween
theEuropeanEconomicCommunityandMaltaoveratransitional period
ofsixyears.
Subjeottothearrangements describedbelow,theprovisionsofthe
Association Agreementwouldbemaintained.Theprotocolwouldform
anintegralpartofthatAgreement.
Thenotioerequiredfordenunciation oftheAgreementwouldbe
increasedtotwelvemonths.
I.INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
1.Freemovementofgoods
TheprovisionsbelowwouldcovergoodsproducedintheCommunity
ofMalta,includingthoseobtained,whollyorpartially,fromproducts
comingfromnon-membercountriesandinfreecirculationintheCommunity
orMalta,goodsfromnon-membercountriesinfreecirculation inthe
CommunityorMalta,andgoodsobtainedintheCommunityorIfeltain
whosemanufacture productshavebeenusedwhichcomefromnon-member
countriesandarenotinfreecirculation ineithertheCommunity
orMalta,providedthatacompensatory levywhoserateisequalto
apercentageoftheCommonCustomsTariffdutieslaiddownforthethird-
countryproductsusedintheirmanufactureischargedintheStatefrom
whichthosegoodsareexported.
Thesystemofsafeguardclauseswouldbereviewedandsupplemented ,
forexample,byaprovisionconcerningdeflectionoftrade

-2-
Productsimportedunderpreferential customsarrangements applied
onlybyoneofthetwocontractingpartieswouldnotbeeligiblefor
freedomofmovement.
TheCommunityandMaltawouldadoptmethodsofadministrative
cooperationfortheirtradeingoodssimilartothoseestablishedunder
theagreementsbasedonthecustomsunionconceptwhichhavebeen
concludedbytheCommunitywithothernon-membercountries.
Theywouldalso,wherenecessaryfortheproperfunctioning ofthe
customsunion,aligntheirlaws,regulations andadministrative provis­
ionsrelatingtocustomsmattersinordertoensureuniformapplication.
2.Elimination ofcustomsdutiesbetweentheCommunityandMalta
(a)UpontheentryintoforceoftheprotocoltheCommunitywouldabolish
customsdutiesandchargeshavingequivalenteffect,includingthe
customsdutiesofafiscalnature,applyingtoimportsfromMalta*
ForproductsfallingwithintariffheadingNo55*05»55*09»56.04,60.05
or61.01,theCommunitywouldapplyasystemofannualceilings;this
systemwouldbeabolishedbytheendofthetransitional periodatthe
latest.ForthepetroleumproductsinListBofAnnexItotheAgreement,
thepresentarrangements wouldnotbechangedbefore31December1979*
(b)Onthebasisofthedutiesactuallyappliedvis-a-vistheCommunity
onthedateofsignatureoftheprotocol,Maltawouldmakereductions
inthecustomsdutiesandohargeshavingequivalenteffect,including
customsdutiesofafiscalnature,inaccordancewiththefollowing
timetable;
Timetable Rateofreduction
fromentryintoforce 20%
fromthebeginningof
thethirdyear 40%
fromthebeginningof
thefifthyear "JOfo
fromthebeginningof
theseventhyear 100$
ThetreatmentapplicabletotheproductsinListAofAnnexIto
theAgreement(andalsotovermouthsandspirits)isdescribedinττ 'SectionII.

(c)Thetime-tableforMaltesetariffdismantlingcould,withinthe
limitsofthetransitional period,beadaptedasnecessarybythe
Association CounciltotakeaccountofMalta'seconomicdevelopment
andtheprioritieslaiddowninitsplan.
(d)Whereprotectivemeasuresprovenecessarytomeettherequirements
ofindustrialisation anddevelopment ,Maltacouldreintroduce ,increase
orestablishcustomsdutiesupto20$advaloremand,inexceptional
cases25Jo,upon10$ofthetotalvalueofMalteseimportsfromthe
Communityin1975*
Thesemeasuresshouldbeabolishednolaterthanthreeyearsafter
theendofthetransitional period.
(e)DuringthetransitionalperiodMaltacouldreplacethecustoms
dutiesofafiscalnaturebyajiinternaltaxinaccordancewith
decisionstobetakenontaxationmatters.
3.AdoptionbyMaltaoftheCommonCustomsTariff
TheMalteseCustomsTariffwouldbeprogressively alignedwiththe
CommonCustomsTariffasitstandsatanygivenmoment,onthebasis
ofthedutiesactuallyappliedbyMaltavis-a-visnon-membercountries
onthedateofsignature,asfollows:
-Inthecaseofproductsforwhichthedutiesactuallyapplied
byMaltadonotdifferfromtheCCTbymorethan15$either
way,theCCTdutiesaretobeappliedbyMaltaupontheentry
intoforceoftheprotocol.
-IntheothercasesMaltawillapplyupontheentryintoforce
oftheprotocoldutiesreducingby10$thedifferencebetween
therateactuallyappliedandthatoftheCCT.Thisdifference
shallagainbereducedby10$atthebeginningofthesecond,
thirdandfourthyearsandby20$atthebeginningofthe
fifth,sixthandseventhyears.

_4-
4.Eliminationofquantitativerestrictions betweenthe
Contracting Parties
(a)Maltawouldprogressively abolishquantatitiverestrictions and.
measureshavingequivalenteffectbytheendofthetransitional
periodatthelatestinaccordancewitharrangements tobedefined
duringnegotiations .
(b)Quantitativerestrictions onexportsandallmeasureshaving
equivalenteffectwouldbeprohibited betweentheContractingParties
andwouldbeabolishedbetweenthemnotlaterthanatthebeginning
ofthethirdyearaftertheentryintoforceoftheProtocol.
(c)Statemonopoliesofacommercialcharacterwouldbeprogressively
adjusteduptotheendofthetransitional periodinordertoensure
thatthereisnodiscrimination betweennationalsoftheMemberStates
oftheCommunityandMaltaregardingtheconditionsunderwhichgoods
areprocuredandmarketed.
5.Coordination ofcommercialpolicy
TheContractingPartieswouldholdconsultations withintheAssociation
Counciltocoordinatetheircommercialpoliciestowardsthirdcountries
inorderprogressively toachieveacommercialpolicybasedonuniform
principleswhichcouldalsocoverpreferential arrangements .
6.Alignmentofeconomicpolicies
Theconditionsanddetailedrulesfortheapplicationoftheprinciples
setoutinArticles85(agreementsbetweenundertakings),86(dominant
positionofanundertaking),90(publicundertakings),$2(aidsgranted
byStates),95(taxationofproducts),96(repaymentsonexportation),
97(turnovertaxes),98(remissionsandrepaymentsinrespectofexports)
and100(approximation oflaws)oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropean
EconomicCommunitywouldbelaiddownintheProtocol.

II. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS .
(a) Fortheproducts inList AinAnnex ItotheAgreement andfor
vermouth (22.06 )andspirits (22.09 ),theCommunity would abolish thefixed
component upon theentry into force oftheProtocol .
(b) During thetransitional period ,Malta would progressively bring
itsagricultural policy inline with that oftheCommunity .
Before theendofthetransitional period ,andfollowing the
adoption byMalta ofthecommon agricultural policy measures ,the
provisions required fortheestablishment offree movement ofagricultural
products between theCommunity andMalta andtheabolition ofthevariable
component fortheproducts referred toin(a)would beadopted .

AnnexIA3
Measuresleadingtotheestablishment oftheCustomsUnion
betweentheCommunityandMalta
1.ThefirststageoftheAssociation Agreementwouldbeextended
until31December1979•
Thetransitional periodfortheestablishment oftheCustomsUnion
wouldbeginon1January1980.
2.Asregardstheindustrialsect6r,theEECwouldgrantMaltaduty-
freeentryfrom1July1977fortheproductscoveredbythe'Agreement.
AsconcernstheproductsreferredtoinArticle3ofAnnexIto
theAgreement,theabolitionofcustomsdutiesrelatesonlytothefixed
component.ListAinAnnexItotheAgreementwouldbesupplemented by
theadditionofvermouth(22.06)andspirits(22.09).
Thederogations fromtherulesororiginwouldbemaintaineduntil
31December1979*
3.OnthebasisoftheMaltesecustomstariff,Maltawouldmaketariff
reductions asfollows:
Generalarrangements
ListA
ListB1.7.77 1.7.79
45£55%
35%457»
15%25%

AnnexII
DraftDécision
oftheRepresentatives oftheGovernments oftheMemberStates
oftheECSC,
meetinginCouncil,ontheopeningofnegotiations withMalta

THEREPRESENTATIVES OPTHEGOVERNMENTS OPTHEMEMBER STATES OP
THEEUROPEAN GOAL ANDSTEEL COMMUNITY ,MEETING INCOUNCIL ,
Whereas theabovementioned Member States have concluded between them the
Treaty establishing theEuropean Coal andSteel Community ;
Whereas they have also concluded theTreaty establishing theEuropean
Economic Community ,Article 232ofwhich stipulates that theprovisions
ofthat Treaty shall notaffect theprovisions oftheTreaty establishing
theEuropean Coal andSteel Community ,inparticular asregards therights
andobligations ofMember States ;
Mindful ofthefact that theAgreement establishing anAssociation between
theEuropean Economic Community andMalta does notapply totheproducts
covered bytheEuropean Coal andSteel Community ;
Desiring ,however ,tomaintain andincrease trade inthose products
between the Member States andMalta ,
HAVE DECIDED ASFOLLOWS :
1.TheCommission isrequested toopen negotiations with Malta onbehalf
oftheMember States .Theobjective ofthose negotiations will beto
investigate whether anagreement canbereached inrespect oftheproducts
covered bytheEuropean Coal andSteel Community onthebasis setout
below andsubject todirectives tobeissued subsequently .
2.TheCommission will beassisted bytheRepresentatives oftheMember
States intheimplementation ofthis Decision .

Annex
1.ForproductsfromtheMemberStatesandMaltacoveredbytheEuropean
CoalandSteelCommunity,customsdutiesandchargeshavinganequivalent
effectandquantitative restrictions andmeasureshavingequivalent
effectinforcebetweentheMemberStatesandMaltawouldbeprogressively
abolishedundertheconditionssetoutin2.
2.ThebarrierstotradewouldbeabolishedbytheMemberStatesand
Maltainaccordancewithatimetablefixedbymutualagreementbetween
theContractingParties.
TheContractingPartieswouldalsoestablishtheconditionsunderwhich
theproductsinquestionwouldbenefitfromthepreferential arrangements .
3.Maltacouldnotbeaccordedtreatmentmorefavourablethatthat
appliedbytheMemberStatesamongthemselves.
4.Consultations wouldbeheldbetweenthepartiesconcernedwherever,
intheopinionofoneoftheparties,theapplication oftheabove
provisions madethisnecessary.

date:1février1977
Lianebudgetajre_concernée :TitreI"Ressourcespropres"
tu_lé_de_>L_aetjon:Proposition delaCommission auConseil
concernant lerégimecommercial entrelaCommunauté etMalte
3.Baseju^çhçjue :article238duTraitéCEE
4. 5_de_l_action :Définition durégimecommercialentre
laCommunauté etMalteàpartirdu1erjuillet1977
5.Incidences_f inançières :pendantla
campagneexercice
encours
1977exercice
suivant
1978
5.0Dépenses
-àlachargedubudget
delaCE(restitutions /
interventions )■
-àlachargeadminist.
nationales
-àlacharged'autres
secteursnationaux
5.1Recettesι
ι
ιI
I
I
I
-ressources propres CE
(prélèvements /droits
dedouane)néant
(1)I
I
jnéant
I(1)ι
néant
(1)
-surlaplannational i
ii
i
i
i
5.0.1.
dépenses30066••••année....année.••«
5.1.1.
recettes
5.2.
(1)Ils'agitdeconfirmercontractuel lementlerégimede
lafranchise àl'importation pourlesproduitscouvertspar
l'accordquelaCommunauté accorde àMalteenvertude
l'extension àcepaysdurégimedespréférences généralisées .(
FICHEFINANCIERE