Commission Regulation (EC) No 252/2002 of 11 February 2002 derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 as regards the export licences issued by Austria in the beef and veal sector
Date: 2002-02-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Austria, beef, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, export licence, health legislation

L 40/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

12.2.2002

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 252/2002

of 11 February 2002

derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 as regards the export licences issued by Austria in
the beef and veal sector

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17
May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef
and veal (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC)
No 2345/2001 (2), and in particular Article 29(2) and Article
41 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Article 8(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/
2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down common detailed
rules for the application of the system of import and
export licences and advance fixing certificates for agri-
cultural products (3), as amended by Regulation (EC) No
2299/2001 (4), states that an export licence gives rise to
an obligation to export the specified quantity of relevant
product during its period of validity.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1445/95 (5), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 2492/2001 (6),
lays
down rules of application for import and export licences
in the beef and veal sector.

Following the first case of bovine spongiform encephal-
opathy recorded in Austria on 7 December 2001, the
health measures taken by the authorities of certain third
countries in regard to exports of bovine animals and
their meat have seriously affected the financial interests
of exporters. Export options have thus been seriously
restricted.

It is therefore necessary to limit the adverse impact on
exporters by allowing them, notwithstanding Article
8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000, to cancel export
licences which they can prove they are unable to use.

This measure should benefit only operators who can
show on the basis of
the documents referred to in
Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 (7),
as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3235/94 (8), that
they have in the circumstances been unable to export
and that, in particular, their licences were requested in
order to export to the third countries that have adopted
restrictive health measures.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 315, 1.12.2001, p. 29.
(3) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 308, 27.11.2001, p. 19.
(5) OJ L 143, 27.6.1995, p. 35.
(6) OJ L 337, 20.12.2001, p. 18.
(7) OJ L 388, 30.12.1989, p. 18.
(8) OJ L 338, 28.12.1994, p. 16.

(6)

(7)

Given the way in which the situation has evolved, this
Regulation should be brought into force immediately.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

This Regulation shall apply to the products listed in
1.
Article 1(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 for which an
export licence as referred to in the second subparagraph of
Article 29(1) of that Regulation has been issued in Austria.

2.
It shall apply only in cases where the exporter shows to
the satisfaction of the competent authorities that he was unable
to export owing to the introduction of health measures by the
authorities of the countries of destination in response to the
discovery of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in
Austria on 7 December 2001.

The competent authorities shall base their assessment on the
commercial documents referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation
(EEC) No 4045/89.

Article 2

Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 notwithstanding,
at the holder's request export licences issued under Regulation
(EC) No 1445/95 that were applied for by 14 December 2001
shall, if their validity did not expire before 1 December 2001,
be cancelled and the security released. The decision to cancel
shall be limited to the quantity of product
that was not
exported.

Article 3

Each Thursday Austria shall notify the quantities of products to
which the cancellation referred to in Article 2 was applied in
the preceding week, specifying the date of issue of the licences
and the category involved.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

12.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 40/7

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

Done at Brussels, 11 February 2002.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission