Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) extending Regulation (EC) No 3066/95 establishing certain concessions in the form of Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products and providing for the adjustment, as an autonomous and transitional measure, of certain agricultural concessions provided for in the Europe Agreements to take account of the Agreement on Agriculture concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations
Date: 1996-05-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Central and Eastern Europe, agricultural product, import policy, tariff preference, tariff quota

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  22.05.1996 
COM(96) 221 final 

96/0136  (ACQ 

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  q y> 

extending  Regulation  (EC) No  3066/95  establishing  certain concessions  in the  form  of 

Community  tariff  quotas  for  certain  agricultural  products and providing  for the 

adjustment,  as  an autonomous  and transitional  measure,  of  certain  agricultural 

concessions  provided  for  in the  Europe  Agreements  to take account  of  the  Agreement 

on  Agriculture  concluded  during the  Uruguay  Round  of  multilateral  trade  negotiations 

(presented  by  the  Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

1. 

In accordance  with  its obligations  under the Agreement  on  Agriculture  concluded 

during  the  Uruguay  Round  of  multilateral  trade  negotiations,  the  Community 

replaced  variable  agricultural  levies  and  other  agricultural  non-tariff  barriers  with 

fixed  customs  duties  from  1 July  1995.  This threatens to  reduce  the value  of  the 

agricultural concessions accorded under the Europe Agreements (Hungary,  Poland, 

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania), and in particular of  preferential 

access  to  the  Community  market  for  certain  agricultural  products  originating  in 

the  countries  concerned. 

In  order  to  smooth  the  transition  to  the  system 

applicable  from  1 July  1995  and  maintain  the  level  of  preferences  accorded,  the 

agricultural  concessions  provided  for  in  the  Europe  Agreements  need  to  be 

adjusted. 

2. 

At  the  same  time,  Articles  76,  102  and  128  of  the  Act  of  Accession  require 

Austria,  Finland  and  Sweden to apply,  from  1 January  1995, the provisions of the 

preferential  agreements  concluded  by  the  Community  with  certain  non-member 

countries,  among  them  Bulgaria,  the  Czech  Republic,  Slovakia,  Hungary,  Poland 

•* 

and  Romania. 

3. 

On  6  March  1995  the  Council  adopted  negotiating  directives  for  the  conclusion 

of  additional  protocols  to  the  Europe  Agreements,  notably  with  regard  to 

agricultural  products.  These  negotiating  directives  provide  for  the  adjustment  of 

the  agricultural  concessions  accorded  under  the  Europe  Agreements,  taking 

account  not  only  of  the  Community's  obligations  under  the  Agreement  on 

Agriculture  concluded  during  the  Uruguay  Round  (see paragraph  1 above)  but  of 

the  consequences  of  the  Act  of  Accession  of  Austria,  Finland  and  Sweden  (see 

paragraph  2  above). 

4. 

Once  these  negotiations  have  been  concluded,  interim  Additional  Protocols 

relating  solely  to  trade  will  be  applied  pending  ratification  of  the  Additional 

Protocols  by  all  the  parties  concerned.  In  view  of  the  time  available,  however, 

^ 

there  is  no  way  that  the  interim  Additional  Protocols  can  enter  into  force  on 

1 July  1996. 

5. 

On  21  December  1995  the  Council  adopted  a  series  of  autonomous  measures 

aimed  at  maintaining  the  level  of  preferences  accorded  under  the  Europe 

Agreements  and  taking  account  of  pre-existing  agricultural  trade  arrangements 

between  the  new  Member  States  and  the  associated  countries  of  Central  and 

Eastern  Europe.  These measures apply  until  30 June  1996. 

6. 

This proposal  is aimed  at extending  to 31  December  1996 the measures adopted 

by the  Council  on 21  December  1995. 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EC) No  ..../.. 

of 

extending  Regulation  (EC) No  3066/95  establishing  certain  concessions in the form  of 

Community  tariff  quotas  for  certain  agricultural  products and providing  for  the 

adjustment,  as an autonomous  and transitional  measure, of certain  agricultural 

concessions provided  for  in the  Europe  Agreements  to take account  of the  Agreement 

on  Agriculture  concluded  during  the  Uruguay  Round  of multilateral  trade  negotiations 

THE  COUNCIL  OF THE  EUROPEAN  UNION, 

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

Article  113 thereof, 

Having  regard  to the  proposal  from  the Commission, 

Whereas the measures provided  for  in Council Regulation (EC) No  3066/95  establishing 

certain  concessions  in  the  form  of  Community  tariff  quotas  for  certain  agricultural 

products  and  providing  for  the  adjustment,  as an autonomous  and transitional  measure, 

of certain agricultural concessions provided for in the Europe Agreements to take account 

of  the  Agreement  on  Agriculture  concluded  during  the  Uruguay  Round  of  multilateral 

trade  negotiations  expire  on  30 June  1996; 

Whereas  it  was planned  to replace those measures with  interim  Additional  Protocols to 

the  Europe Agreements; whereas those Protocols cannot enter into force on  1 July  1996; 

whereas Regulation (EC) No  3066/95 should therefore be extended to 31  December 1996, 

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION: 

OJ No  L  328, 30.12.1995, p. 31. 

Article 1 

In Article  11 of Regulation (EC) No  3066/95, the second sentence is hereby  replaced  by 

the  following: 

"It shall apply  from  1 January  to  31 December  1996." 

Article 2 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  third  day  following  its  publication  in  the 

Official Journal  of the European Communities. 

It  shall  apply  from  1 July  1996. 

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

States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the  Council 

The  President 

-T 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 221  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

02  11  03 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-96-233-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-04231-5 

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg