Commission Regulation (EC) No 1118/2006 of  20 July 2006  on the suspension of the issuing of import licences for New Zealand butter imported under a tariff quota
Date: 2006-07-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: New Zealand, butter, import licence, import policy, tariff quota

21.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 199/11

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1118/2006

of 20 July 2006

on the suspension of the issuing of import licences for New Zealand butter imported under a tariff
quota

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

of the quota and are also insufficient to ensure proper
management of
the
utilisation of the quota.

the quota notably by control of

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 of 17
May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in milk
and milk products (1), and in particular Article 29(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2535/2001 of 14
December 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying
Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 as regards the
import arrangements for milk and milk products and
opening tariff quotas (2) set out such rules in particular
as regards ‘New-Zealand butter’ as defined in Article
25(1) of that Regulation.

und Trockenwerk

The Court of Justice of the European Communities in its
judgment of 11 July 2006 in Case C-313/04 Franz Egen-
berger GmbH Molkerei
v. Bundes-
für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung stated that:
anstalt
‘Article 35(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
2535/2001 of 14 December 2001 laying down
detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No
1255/1999 as regards the import arrangements for milk
and milk products and opening tariff quotas is invalid in
as much as it provides that applications for import
licences for New Zealand butter at reduced duty may
be lodged solely with the competent authorities of the
United Kingdom’; and ‘Articles 25 and 32 of Regulation
(EC) No 2535/2001, read in conjunction with Annexes
III, IV and XII to that Regulation, are invalid since they
permit discrimination in the issue of import licences for
New Zealand butter at reduced duty.’

The effect of this judgment of the Court of Justice is that
it is impossible to effectively operate the arrangements
for the import of New-Zealand butter under the tariff
quota concerned,
in particular as those provisions of
Regulation (EC) No 2535/2001 which are unaffected
by the judgment are insufficient
the
origin and quality of products purported to be
imported under the quota indeed meet the requirements

to ensure that

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 48. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1913/2005 (OJ L 307, 25.11.2005, p. 2).

(2) OJ L 341, 22.12.2001, p. 29. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 926/2006 (OJ L 170, 23.6.2006, p. 8).

(4)

(5)

(6)

ensuring

It will therefore be necessary to amend Regulation (EC)
No 2535/2001 in order to provide for such requirements
whilst
the
requirements as set out in the judgment of the Court
Justice. Such amendments cannot be made imme-
of
diately,
in particular since consultations with interested
parties need to take place.

such amendments meet

that

In order to avoid speculation, to prevent the continuance
of the discrimination referred to in the judgment of the
Court of Justice and to avoid the risks of uncontrolled
utilisation of
the quota, and the import of products
under the quota which do not meet the quality and
the
origin requirements of products
quota it is therefore necessary to suspend the issuing of
licences for New-Zealand butter until such amendments
to Regulation (EC) No 2535/2001 may be adopted. For
the same reasons it is necessary to do so with effect from
the day following the judgment of the Court of Justice,
namely 12 July 2006.

eligible under

However in respect of New-Zealand butter for which an
IMA 1 certificate had been issued before 12 July 2006
and had physically left New Zealand before that date, it is
necessary to continue to provide for
the issuing of
import licences in order to protect the legitimate expec-
tations of the operators concerned and to provide for
smoother trade flows whilst respecting the judgment of
the Court of Justice.

(7)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

By way of derogation from the provisions of Regulation (EC)
No 2535/2001, Member States shall suspend the issuing of
import licences for New-Zealand butter as defined in Article
25(1) of that Regulation. This derogation shall not apply to
New-Zealand butter for which an IMA 1 certificate was issued
before 12 July 2006, and which physically left New Zealand
before that date.

L 199/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.7.2006

Article 2

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

It shall apply from 12 July 2006.

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

Done at Brussels, 20 July 2006.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission