WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3730/97 by Daniel VARELA SUANZES- CARPEGNA to the Commission. Tuna supplies as raw material for the Community processing industry
Date: 1997-11-21
Institutions: European Parliament, VARELA SUANZES-CARPEGNA
Subjects: ACP countries, Lomé Convention, cannery, sea fish, supply, tariff exemption, tariff quota, tariff reduction, third country

C 196/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 6. 98

The  specific  problems  of  good  faith  and  the  standardisation  of  action  taken  by  Member  States  in  relation  to
recovery  are  given  precise  answers  in  that  communication.  With  regard  to  (cid:145)good  faith(cid:146),  the  Commission  is
naturally obliged to comply with the findings of the Court of Justice namely, that confidence in the validity of the
certificate of origin is not normally protected. This means that its validity may be contested if, for example, the
goods to which it relates were not obtained in compliance with the criteria of origin. Likewise, however reliable
the authorities issuing certificates of origin in a non-member country, the ability to contest their validity is still
necessary, should fraud occur after a certificate is issued (e.g. attempted importation into the Community of a
good other than that exported). To the Court of Justice (2), all these points constitute, among others, a normal
commercial risk.

Action  by  the  Member  States  lacks  the  desired  uniformity  because  the  Community  does  not  have  a  single
customs administration. The Commission will attempt to improve the situation either by means of a horizontal
instrument, or under Decision No 210/97/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 19 December 1996
adopting an action programme for customs in the Community (Customs 2000) (3).

(1)  COM(97) 402 final.
(2)  Case  of  Van  Gend  &  Loos  NV;  Joined  cases  98/83  and  230/83;  Judgment  of  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Communities  of

13 November 1994.
See also, however, Faroe Seafood › Joined cases C 153/94 and C 204/94 › Judgment of 14 May 1997.

(3)  OJ L 33, 4.2.1997.

(98/C 196/19)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3729/97

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(21 November 1997)

Subject: Opening of a reduced tariff quota of 1000 tonnes for (cid:145)loin(cid:146) fillets of tuna

Regulation (EC) No 702/97 (1) of 14 April 1997 provided for the opening of an autonomous Community tariff
quota for certain fishery products.

The  regulation  provided  for  the  entry  of  1000  tonnes  of  (cid:145)loin(cid:146)  fillets  of  tuna  from  third  countries  at  half  the
normal customs duty.

Will the Commission say why this possibility was opened to countries which enjoy generalized preferences and
agreements such as the Convention of Lome·?

Was this an exceptional measure or is it likely to be repeated in the near future?

(1)  OJ L 104, 22.4.1997, p. 8.

(98/C 196/20)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3730/97

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(21 November 1997)

Subject: Tuna supplies as raw material for the Community processing industry

Bearing in mind that the production of tuna and (cid:145)loin(cid:146) fillets of tuna in the ACP and OCT countries which benefit
from the provisions of the Lome· Convention, as well as the countries of the Andean Pact and Central American
Common Market included under the GSP, can be used to supply the Community processing industry with fresh
fish, given the shortages experienced in recent times, does the Commission consider that the tariff quota levels
for this product are adequate to enable these countries to supply the Community (cid:145)s fish processing industry, or
should they be increased?