Commission Regulation (EC) No 555/2001 of 21 March 2001 opening an invitation to tender for the reduction in the duty on maize imported into Portugal from third countries
Date: 2001-03-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Portugal, award of contract, import, maize, tariff reduction, third country

L 82/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22.3.2001

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 555/2001

of 21 March 2001

opening an invitation to tender for the reduction in the duty on maize imported into Portugal
from third countries

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30
June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in
cereals (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1666/
2000 (2), and in particular Article 12(1) thereof,

take these facts into account a further reduction should
be made in the import duty for the purposes of invita-
tions to tender opened by this Regulation.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Cereals,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Pursuant to the Agreement on Agriculture concluded
during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade nego-
tiations, the Community has undertaken to import a
certain quantity of maize into Portugal.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1839/95 of 26 July
1995 laying down detailed rules for the application of
tariff quotas for imports of maize and sorghum into
Spain and imports of maize into Portugal (3), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 2235/2000 (4),
lays
down the rules governing the administration of those
special arrangements. This Regulation lays down the
special additional detailed rules necessary for imple-
menting the invitation to tender,
in particular those
relating to the lodging and release of the security to be
lodged by operators to ensure compliance with their
obligations and, in particular, the obligation to process
or use the imported product on the Portuguese market.

In the light of current market needs in Portugal, an
invitation to tender for the reduction in the duty on
imports of maize should be opened in the framework of
these special arrangements for imports.

As a result of the temporary closure of the Danube to
trade, transport costs for maize originating in countries
through which that river flows and which no longer
have access by sea to the Iberian peninsula have
increased considerably. Accordingly, the rate of duty
applying to such imports no longer reflects the real
impact of the costs of transport. As a consequence, to

Article 1

1.
An invitation to tender is hereby opened for the reduc-
tion in the import duty referred to in Article 10(2) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 1766/92 on maize to be imported into Portugal.

2.
The invitation to tender shall be open until 31 May 2001.
During that period, weekly invitations shall be issued with
quantities and closing dates as shown in the notice of invitation
to tender.

Regulation (EC) No 1839/95 shall apply save as other-

3.
wise provided for in this Regulation.

Article 2

Import licences issued under these invitations to tender shall be
valid 50 days from the date they are issued, within the meaning
of Article 10(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1839/95.

Article 3

The reduction in duty granted under the invitations to tender
shall be increased by EUR 10 per tonne for imports originating
in landlocked countries through which the Danube flows.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

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

Done at Brussels, 21 March 2001.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 177, 28.7.1995, p. 4.
(4) OJ L 256, 10.10.2000, p. 13.