Commission Regulation (EC) No 2340/2003 of 29 December 2003 derogating, for the year 2004, from Regulation (EC) No 1279/98 laying down detailed rules for applying the tariff quotas for beef and veal provided for in Council Decisions 2003/286/EC, 2003/298/EC, 2003/299/EC, 2003/18/EC, 2003/263/EC and 2003/285/EC for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Hungary
Date: 2003-12-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, beef, import licence, tariff quota

31.12.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2340/2003

of 29 December 2003

derogating, for the year 2004, from Regulation (EC) No 1279/98 laying down detailed rules for
applying the tariff quotas for beef and veal provided for in Council Decisions 2003/286/EC, 2003/
298/EC, 2003/299/EC, 2003/18/EC, 2003/263/EC and 2003/285/EC for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Romania, the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Hungary

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

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 market in beef and
veal (1), and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 32(1)
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Detailed rules for the application of concessions as
regards the importation of beef and veal products under
the Czech
the
Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Poland and Hungary, were
adopted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1279/98 (2).

tariff quotas opened for Bulgaria,

Subject to the ratification of the Treaty of Accession of
the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania,
Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (herein-
after referred to as ‘the new Member States’), the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary will accede to
the European Union on 1 May 2004. The quotas attribu-
table to those countries should therefore only be opened
until the date of their accession.

In order to allow operators from the new Member States
to benefit
from the preferential quotas granted to
Bulgaria and Romania as specified in Regulation (EC) No
1279/98, the quantities available for the quota period
running from 1 January 2004 to 30 June 2004 should
be divided into two tranches on a pro rata temporis basis.
The first tranche should be opened for the period from
1 January 2004 to 30 April 2004.

Quantities available for the period from 1 January 2004
to 30 June 2004 within the tariff quotas opened under
Regulation (EC) No 1279/98 for the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Poland and Hungary should be made fully
available before 30 April 2004.

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

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21; Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1782/2003 (OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 176, 20.6.1998, p. 12; Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1144/2003 (OJ L 160, 28.6.2003, p. 44).

Article 1

By way of derogation from the first paragraph of Article
1.
2 of Regulation (EC) No 1279/98,
for the period from 1
January to 30 June 2004, the quantities shall be broken down
as follows:

(a) from 1 January to 30 April 2004, 50 % of the relevant
quotas referred to in Article 1 of that Regulation, as regards
products originating in the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland and Slovakia;

(b) as regards products originating in Bulgaria and Romania;

(i) from 1 January to 30 April 2004, 33 % of the relevant

quotas referred to in Article 1 of that Regulation;

(ii) from 1 May to 30 June 2004, 17 % of the relevant

quotas referred to in Article 1 of that Regulation.

2.
By way of derogation from the second paragraph of
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1279/98, where the quantities
covered by import licence applications submitted in respect of
the tranche from 1 July to 31 December 2003 are lower than
those available, the remaining quantities shall be added to those
available for the tranches referred to in points (a) and (b)(i) of
paragraph 1 of this Article.

The remaining quantities of the tranche referred to in para-
graph 1(b)(i) shall be added to those available for the tranche
referred to in paragraph 1(b)(ii).

Article 2

By way of derogation from Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1279/98, import licences issued from 1 January 2004 to 30
April 2004 shall be valid for 120 days from their actual day of
issue within the meaning of Article 23(2) of Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 1291/2000 (3). However, no licence shall be
valid after 30 April 2004 concerning products originating in
the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

(3) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.

L 346/32

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Official Journal of the European Union

31.12.2003

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the Euro-
pean Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2004.

Article 3

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

Done at Brussels, 29 December 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission