ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES 
DE LA COMMISSION 
 
 
 
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COM (83) 615 
 
 
 
 
Vol. 1983/0 226 
  
 
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Conformém ent au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983 
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique 
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, 
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003 
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents 
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit 
règlem ent. 
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Econom ic 
Communit y and the European Atom ic Energy Communit y (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as 
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243, 
27.9.2003, p. 1 ), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this 
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.  
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom  1. 
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen  
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgem einschaft (ABI. L 43 vom  15.2.1983,  
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. Septem ber 2003  
(ABI. L 2 43 vom  27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit  
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der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.  
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C O M(83) 615 final  
Brussels, 20 October 1983
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION_(EEC)
opening, allocating and providing for the administration of  
Community t a r if f  quotas for prepared or preserved sardines  
fallin g  within subheading 16.04 D  of the C o m m o n  Customs  
T ariff and originating in Tunisia (1984)
(submitted to the Council by the Commission)
C O M (8 3 ) 615 final

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1 .The 1978 Agreement between the Community and Tunisia provides that  
prepared and preserved sardines originating in this country may be  
admitted duty free into the Community on condition that certain minimum 
prices are respected. The periods and the technical rules for application of  
this system must be fixed by an exchange of letters between the  
contracting parties. Since this exchange of letters has never taken place,  
the Community from 1  January 1978 applied a Community tariff quota  
regime which takes the interests involved into account and which enables  
the provisions of the 1978 Agreement relating to prepared and preserved  
sardines to operate.
2. The Commission is proposing that the Council should extend the tariff  
quota regime and should therefore approve the attached proposal for  
Regulation opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a  
duty free Community quota tariff of 100 tonnes in respect of prepared and  
preserved sardines falling within subheading 16.04 D of the Common  
Customs Tariff originating in Tunisia.
The tariff quota shall apply from 1  January to 31 December 1984.
This is the subject of the annexed proposal.
3. The proposal for Regulation opening this quota provides - as is customary -  
for the division of the quota volume into two instalments, the first being  
allocated among the Member States as quota shares, the second being held  
as a reserve.
The allocation of the volume of the first instalment of the quota should, in  
the absence of significant imports in recent years, be based on a scale  
which takes account of the demand in Member States for the product in  
question.

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IMPORTATION OF PREPARED AND CONSERVED SARDINES  
ORIGINATING IN TUNISIA
Member
States(in tonnes)
1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
BX- - - - -
DK - - - - -
D - - - - -
GR - - - - -
F - 50 3 - 14
IRL - - - - -
IT - - - - -
UK - - - - -
C.E. - 50 3 - 14

Proposal for a
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for 
prepared or preserved sardines falling within subheading 16.04 D of the Common Customs 
Tariff and originating in Tunisia (1984)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 113 
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the Cooperation Agreement between the 
Community and Tunisia (') provides that prepared and 
preserved sardines, falling within subheading 16.04 D of 
the Common Customs Tariff and originating in Tunisia, 
may be imported into the Community free of duty; 
whereas the detailed arrangements must be fixed by an 
exchange of letters between the Community and Tunisia; 
whereas, since this exchange of letters has not yet taken 
place, it is advisable to renew until 31 December 1984 the 
Community arrangements which were applied in 1983 
whereas it is advisable to open a Community tariff quota, 
for the importation into the Community of the products 
in question of 100 tonnes free of duty; whereas this tariff 
quota is to apply from 1  January 1984 until either the 
conclusion of the exchange of letters provided for in 
Article 18 of the Cooperation Agreement between the 
Community and Tunisia, or until such time as 
Community arrangements for imports of the products in 
question are applied but until 31 December 198 4at the 
latest;calculated, on the one hand, by reference to the statistics 
for imports from Tunisia over a representative reference 
period and, on the other hand, by reference to the 
economic outlook for the quota period in question;
Whereas, during the last three years for which statistics 
are available, the corresponding imports into each of the 
Member States represent the following percentages of 
imports into the Community from Tunisia of the 
products concerned:
Member States 1980 1981 1982
Benelux —_
Denmark — —_
Ger
many
Greece
France 1 Ô Ô
(= 3 1tonnes)— 1ÔG
(= 14 ,  tonnes)
Ireland — — —
Italy — — —
United Kingdom — — —
Whereas these data cannot be considered as 
representative and cannot serve as a basis for allocation of 
the quota among the Member States; whereas it is 
difficult to forecast the Member States’  imports for 198 4 
because of the absence of any pattern in previous years; 
whereas, in order that the quota may be allocated fairly, 
the initial quota shares may be fixed approximately at the 
following percentages:
Whereas it is in particular necessary to ensure for all 
Community importers equal and uninterrupted access to 
the abovementioned quota and uninterrupted application 
of the rate laid down for that quota to all imports of the 
products concerned into all Member States until the 
quota has been used up; whereas, having regard to the 
above principles, the Community nature of the quota can 
be respected by allocating the Community tariff quota 
among the Member States; whereas, in order to reflect as 
accurately as possible the true trend of the market in the 
products in question, such allocation should be in 
proportion to the requirements of the Member States,
(') OJ No L 265, 27. 9. 1978, p. 5.Benelux 8
Denmark 4
GermanyGreece ¥
F  ranee 50
Ireland 2
Italy- 2
United Kingdom 16
Whereas, in order to take into account import trends for 
the products concerned in the various Member States, 
each of the quota amounts should be divided into two 
instalments, the first being shared among the Member 
States and the second constituting a reserve to cover at a 
later date the requirements of the Member States which 
have used up their initial quota shares; whereas, in order

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to give importers in each Member State a certain degree of 
security, the first instalment of the Community quota 
might, under the circumstances, be fixed at 50% of the 
quota volume;
Whereas the Member States’ initial shares may be used up 
at different times; whereas, in order to take this fact into 
account and avoid any break in continuity, any Member 
State which has almost used up its initial quota share 
should draw an additional share from the reserve; 
whereas this must be done by each Member State as and 
when each of its additional shares is almost used up, and 
repeated as many times as the reserve allows; whereas the 
initial and additional shares must be valid until the end of 
the quota period; whereas this method of administration 
requires close cooperation between the Member States 
and the Commission, and the latter must be in a position 
to monitor the extent to which the quota volume has been 
used up and to inform the Member States thereof;2. A first instalment, amounting to 50 tonnes of the 
Community tariff quota referred to in Article 1, shall be 
allocated among the Member States; the shares, which 
subject to Article 5 shall be valid until the end of the 
period specified in Article 1, shall be as follows:
(tonnes)
Benelux ^
Denmark 2
Germany 8
GreeceFrance
Ireland 1
Italy 1
United Kingdom 8
3. The second instalment of 50 tonnes shall constitute 
the reserve.
Whereas if, at a given date in the quota period, a 
substantial quantity of an initial share remains unused in 
any Member State, it is essential that that Member State 
should return a significant proportion to the reserve to 
prevent a part of any tariff quota from remaining unused 
in one Member State when it could be used in others;
Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of 
the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 
are united within and jointly represented by the Benelux 
Economic Union, any operation relating to the 
administration of the quota shares allocated to that 
economic union may be carried out by any of its 
members,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:Article  3
1. If 90 % or more of a Member State’s initial share as 
specified in Article 2 (2), or 90 % of that share minus the 
portion returned to the reserve where Article 5 has been 
applied, has been used up, then, to the extent permitted 
by the amount of the reserve, that Member State shall 
forthwith, by notifying the Commission, draw a second 
share equal to 15 % of its initial share, rounded up where 
necessary to the next unit.
2. If, after one of its initial shares has been used up, 
90% or more of the second share drawn by a Member 
State has been used up, then, to the extent permitted by 
the amount of the reserve, that Member State shall, in 
accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, 
draw a third share equal to 7-5% of its initial share, 
rounded up where necessary to the next unit.
Article 1
From 1  January 198^ until the conclusion or the exchange 
of letters referred to in Article 18 of the Cooperation 
Agreement between the Community and Tunisia, until 
such time as Community import arrangements are 
applied or until 31 December 1984, whichever shall be 
the earliest, a duty-free Community tariff quota of 100 
tonnes shall be opened, for imports into the Community 
of Nine, of prepared or preserved sardines falling within 
subheading 16.04 D of the Common Customs Tariff and 
originating in Tunisia.
W ithin the Lim its of these  tariff quotas, the  
Hellenic Republic shall apply duties calculated  
in accordance with the relevant provisions in the  
1979 Act of Accession and Regulation (EEC)
No 1080/83  (1).
A rticle 2
1. The tariff quota referred to in Article 1  shall be 
divided into two instalments.
Cl) 0 J  N d~  L  120, 6.5.1983, p. 1.3. If, after one of its second shares bas been used up, 
90 % or more of the third share drawn by a Member State 
has been used up, that Member State shall, in accordance 
with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, draw a 
fourth share equal to the third.
This process shall continue until the reserve is used up.
4. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1,2 and 3, a 
Member State may draw shares smaller than those fixed 
in those paragraphs if there is reason to believe that they 
might not be used up. It shall inform the Commission of 
its reasons for applying this paragraph.
Article 4
The additional shares drawn pursuant to Article 3 shall be 
valid until the end of the period specified in Article 1.

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Article 5
The Member States shall return to the reserve, not later 
than 1  October 198 4-such unused portion of their initial 
share as, on 15 September 198 4 is in excess of 20% of 
the initial volume. They may return a larger quantity if 
there are grounds for believing that this quantity may not 
be used.
The Member States shall notify the Commission, not later 
than 1  October 1984, of the total quantities of the 
products in question imported up to 15 September 198 4 
and charged against the tariff quota and of any quantity 
of the initial shares returned to the reserve.
Article 6
The Commission shall keep an account of the shares 
opened by the Member States pursuant to Articles 2 and 3 
and, as soon as it is notified, shall inform each Member 
State of the extent to which the reserve has been 
used up.
It shall inform the Member States not later than 5 October 
1984, of the amount in the reserve after quantities have 
been returned thereto pursuant to Article 5.
It shall ensure that the drawing which exhausts any 
reserve does not exceed the balance available and, to this 
end, notify the amount of that balance to the Member 
State making the last drawing.
Article 7
1. The Member States shall take all measures 
necessary to ensure that additional shares drawnpursuant to Article 3 are opened in such a way that 
imports may be charged without interruption against 
their accumulated shares of the tariff quota.
2. The Member States shall ensure that importers of
the products in question have
free access to the shares allocated to them.
3. The extent to which a Member State has used up its 
shares shall be determined on the basis of the imports of 
the products in question originating in Tunisia and 
entered with customs authorities for free circulation.
Article 8
At the Commission’s request, the Member States shall 
inform it of imports of the products concerned actually 
charged against their shares.
Article 9
The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate 
closely to ensure that this Regulation is complied with.
Article 10 '
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1  January 
198 4 .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member 
States.
Done at Brussels,
For the Council  
The President