Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 499/96 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products and live horses originating in Iceland
Date: 2004-06-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Iceland, equidae, fishery product, live animal, originating product, tariff quota

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.6.2004 
COM(2004) 434 final 

2004/0132 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 499/96 opening and providing for the 
administration of Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products and live horses 
originating in Iceland 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

By  its  Decision  2004/368/EC,  the  Council  approved  the  EEA  “enlargement”  package, 
including  an  Additional  Protocol  to  the  EC-Iceland  Free  Trade  Agreement  of  1972.  This 
Additional  Protocol,  inter  alia,  provides  for  the  opening  of  a  Community  tariff  quota  for  a 
fishery product (OJ L 130, 29.4.2004, page 85). 

To implement this new tariff quota, Council Regulation (EC) No 499/96 should be amended 
in accordance with the annexed proposal. 

This is the purpose of the present proposal. 

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2004/0132 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 499/96 opening and providing for the 
administration of Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products and live horses 
originating in Iceland 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 133 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Pursuant  to  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 499/96  of  19  March  1996  opening  and 
providing  for  the  administration  of  Community  tariff  quotas  for  certain  fishery 
products and live horses originating in Iceland2, Community tariff quotas were opened 
for such fishery products and live horses. 

Participation  of  the  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Cyprus,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Hungary, 
Malta,  Poland,  Slovakia  and  Slovenia  (hereinafter:  ‘the  Acceding  States’)  in  the 
European Economic Area was agreed by means of the EEA Enlargement Agreement, 
signed  between  the  Community  and  its  Member  States,  Iceland,  Liechtenstein,  and 
Norway and the Acceding States on 14 October 2003. 

Pending  the  completion  of  the  procedures  required  for  the  adoption  of  the  EEA 
Enlargement  Agreement,  an  Agreement  in  the  form  of  an  exchange  of  letters  was 
agreed,  which  provides  for  a  provisional  application  of  the  EEA  Enlargement 
Agreement. That Agreement has been approved by Council Decision 2004/368/EC3. 

The  EEA  Enlargement  Agreement  provides  for  an  Additional  Protocol  to  the  EC-
Iceland  Free  Trade  Agreement  of  1972,  which  provides  for  a  new  Community  tariff 
quota for a fishery product. That tariff quota should be opened. 

The conventional duty of the Common Customs Tariff for that fishery product during 
the  period  15 February  to  15  June  of  each  year  is  "free",  and  usage  of  the  above-
mentioned tariff quota is therefore unnecessary during that period. 

(6) 

Regulation (EC) No 499/96 should be amended accordingly. 

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2 
3 

OJ C …, …, p. … 
OJ L 75, 23.3.1996, p. 8. 
OJ L 130, 29.4.2004, p. 1. 

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(7) 

Since the EEA Enlargement Agreement has effect from 1 May 2004, this Regulation 
should be applicable from the same date and should enter into force without delay, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 499/96 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 1 the following paragraph 4 is added: 

“4.  The benefit of the tariff quota with order number 09.0792 shall not be granted 
for goods declared for release for free circulation during the period 15 February 
to 15 June.” 

(2) 

The Annex is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation. 

Article 2 

For 2004, the annual volume of the tariff quota with order number 09.0792 shall be reduced in 
proportion to the part of the quota period in whole weeks which has elapsed before the date 
given in the second paragraph of Article 3. 

Article 3 

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

It shall apply from 1 May 2004. 

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX 

In the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 499/96 the following item is inserted: 

Order 
No 

CN code 

TARIC code 

Description 

“09.0792  ex 0303 50 00  0303 50 00 20  Herrings  of  the  species  Clupea  harengus 
or Clupea pallasii, frozen, excluding livers 
and roes, for industrial manufacture (a)(1) 

Amount 
of quotas 
(in t) 

Quota 
duty (%) 

950 

0 

(a) 

(1) 

Entry under this subheading is subject to the conditions laid down in the relevant Community provisions 
(see Articles 291 to 300 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1)). 

The  benefit  of  the  tariff  quota  shall  not  be  granted  for  goods  declared  for  release  for  free  circulation 
during the period from 15 February to 15 June.” 

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

DATE:  

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

BUDGET HEADING: 
Chapter 12 Article 120 
TITLE: 
Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 499/96 opening and providing for the 
administration of Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products and live horses originating in 
Iceland 
LEGAL BASIS: 
Article 133 of the Treaty, and Article 5(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 499/96 
AIMS: 
To implement a new duty-free Community tariff quota for a fishery product provided in the Additional 
Protocol to the EC-Iceland Free-Trade Agreement approved by Council Decision 2004/368/EC 
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: 
This Regulation does not entail any financial losses or gains other than those in the financial statement 
made on the occasion of the above-mentioned Council Decision. 
FRAUD-PREVENTION MEASURES: 
Provisions for the management of tariff quotas include the measures necessary for preventing fraud and 
irregularities (application of the controls provided in the Community Customs Code and its 
implementing provisions) 

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