Commission Regulation (EC) No 583/2007 of 29 May 2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 1839/95 as regards the booking of imports of maize and sorghum and the communications to be made by the Member States concerned
Date: 2007-05-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Portugal, Spain, import, maize, sorghum, tariff quota, tariff reduction

30.5.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 138/7

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 583/2007

of 29 May 2007

amending Regulation (EC) No 1839/95 as regards the booking of imports of maize and sorghum and
the communications to be made by the Member States concerned

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

quota should be opened for Portugal for the second half
of 2007. This Regulation must therefore apply from 1
July 2007.

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 of 29
September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in
cereals (1), and in particular Article 12(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

trade

negotiations,

of multilateral

Under the agreements concluded during the Uruguay
the
Round
Community undertook, as from the 1995/96 marketing
year, to open reduced-tariff quotas (hereinafter abatimento
quotas) for imports into Spain of two million tonnes of
maize and 300 000 tonnes of sorghum respectively and
for imports into Portugal of 500 000 tonnes of maize.
Detailed rules for the application of abatimento tariff
quotas were laid down by 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 (2).

To ensure the proper application of these quotas, the
quantities of maize and of
sorghum imported into
Spain and Portugal are booked by the Commission on
an annual basis taking account of all
imports actually
carried out, including imports of certain cereal substitute
products which are deducted in proportion to the total
quantities to be imported into Spain.

In the case of maize imports,
the import period for
Portugal corresponds at present to the marketing year
while it corresponds to the calendar year in the case of
the
Spain. To ensure
abatimento quotas,
and accounting
periods should be fixed for those two countries, i.e. the
calendar year. However,
in order to avoid any overlap
between the new and old accounting periods, a specific

sound management of

the
identical

import

(1) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 78. Regulation as

(EC) No 1154/2005 (OJ

amended by
L 187,

Commission Regulation
19.7.2005, p. 11).

(2) OJ L 177, 28.7.1995, p. 4. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1996/2006 (OJ L 398, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

(4)

(5)

(6)

Community’s

the

that

ensure

To
international
commitments are met, an additional period should also
be provided for, running beyond the calendar year, so
enabling these commitments for each reference calendar
year to be met. The length of this additional period must
be the same for Spain and Portugal.

regards certain substitute products
the abatimento quotas

Changes were made to the customs nomenclature in
to be
2002 as
in Spain. CN
booked against
codes
and
residues)
(citrus
2308 10 00 were merged. The products concerned now
fall within CN code 2308 00 40. The list of products to
be booked within the framework of abatimento quotas
should therefore be adapted accordingly.

2308 90 30

pulp

of

the

the

since

trade

abatimento

quotas. They

certain specific

introduction of

these
concessions

quota
Moreover,
arrangements,
for
maize have been granted by the Community within the
framework of both preferential and non-preferential
arrangements. These new concessions apply indepen-
dently
presently
comprise the concessions granted by Council Regulation
(EC) No 2007/2000 of 18 September 2000 introducing
exceptional trade measures for countries and territories
participating in or linked to the European Union’s Stabili-
sation and Association process, amending Regualtion
(EC) No 2820/98 and repealing Regulations (EC) No
1763/1999 and (EC) No 2/2000 (3), by the Stabilisation
and Association Agreement between the European
Communities and their Member States, of the one part,
the other part (4),
and the Republic of Croatia, of
approved
and Commission Decision
by Council
2005/40/EC, Euratom (5), by the Interim Agreement on
trade and trade-related matters between the European
Community, of
the one part, and the Republic of
the other part (6), approved by Council
Albania, of
Decision 2006/580/EC (7), and by Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 969/2006 of 29 June 2006 opening
and providing for the administration of a Community
tariff quota for imports of maize from third countries (8).

(3) OJ L 240, 23.9.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 530/2007 (OJ L 125, 15.5.2007, p. 1).

(4) OJ L 26, 28.1.2005, p. 3.
(5) OJ L 26, 28.1.2005, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 239, 1.9.2006, p. 2.
(7) OJ L 239, 1.9.2006, p. 1.
(8) OJ L 176, 30.6.2006, p. 44. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 305/2007 (OJ L 81, 22.3.2007, p. 19).

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EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.5.2007

Accordingly, in order to ensure the sound management
of the arrangements introduced by Regulation (EC) No
1839/95, while continuing to observe the Community’s
international obligations, the imports to be booked as
abatimento quotas should be clearly specified.

2. Article 2 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, CN code ‘2308 90 30’
‘ex 2308 00 40’;

is replaced by

(7)

(8)

(9)

lay down any rules

The current provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1839/95
the period for booking
provide for the extension of
imports into Spain to the end of February each year,
but do not
for Portugal. This
situation is unsatisfactory as it creates uncertainty in
to
the
sound
remove this uncertainty and to ensure
management of the abatimento quotas, provision should
be made for similar methods for booking imports of
maize and sorghum effected in Spain and in Portugal.

In order
the

application of

arrangements.

the

In order to attain this objective and to guarantee effective
monitoring by the Commission of the arrangements and
of the Community’s international obligations, provision
should be made for Spain and Portugal to communicate
to the Commission, each month, all
the
products concerned actually carried out, specifying the
calculation method applied.

imports of

(10)

Regulation (EC) No 1839/95 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

(11)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1839/95 is amended as follows:

1. Article 1(2) is replaced by the following:

‘2.
On 1 January each year an import quota shall be
opened for a maximum of 500 000 tonnes of maize for
release into free circulation in Portugal. Imports under this
quota shall be made on an annual basis under the conditions
laid down in this Regulation.

(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.

The Commission shall book:

(a)

for the quotas referred to in Article 1(1) and (2):

(i)

the quantities of maize (CN code 1005 90 00)
imported
and sorghum (CN code 1007 00 90)
into Spain and the quantities of maize (CN
code
Portugal
during each calendar year and, where necessary,
until the end of May of the following year;

1005 90 00)

imported

into

(ii) the quantities of residues of starch manufacture
from maize, brewing and distilling dregs and
waste and residues of citrus pulp referred to in
paragraph 1 of this Article imported into Spain
during each calendar year.

(b) for the quota referred to in Article 1(2a), the quan-
tities of maize (CN code 1005 90 00) imported into
Portugal during the second half of 2007 and, where
necessary, until the end of May 2008.

Where quantities are booked in respect of the months
following the reference calendar year in accordance with
points (a)(i) and (b) of the first subparagraph, these quan-
the
tities may no longer be booked in respect of
following calendar year.

3.
For the purposes of booking quantities as provided
imports of maize into Spain and
for in paragraph 2,
Portugal carried out under the following acts shall not
be taken into account:

(a) Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2000 (*);

(b) Council

and Commission Decision 2005/40/EC,

Euratom (**);

(c) Council Decision 2006/580/EC (***);

(d) Commission Regulation (EC) No 969/2006 (****).

Paragraph 2 notwithstanding, an import quota shall
2a.
be opened for 2007 from 1 July to 31 December 2007 for a
maximum quantity of 250 000 tonnes of maize for release
into free circulation in Portugal. Imports under this quota
shall be made under the conditions laid down in this Regu-
lation.’;

___________

(*) OJ L 240, 23.9.2000, p. 1.
(**) OJ L 26, 28.1.2005, p. 1.
(***) OJ L 239, 1.9.2006, p. 1.
(****) OJ L 176, 30.6.2006, p. 44.’;

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Official Journal of the European Union

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3. the following Article 2a is inserted:

4. The Annex to this Regulation shall be added as Annex III.

‘Article 2a

The competent authorities of Spain and of Portugal shall
notify the Commission, by electronic means, not later than
the 15th of each month, of the quantities of the products
referred to in Article 2(2)
imported in the course of the
penultimate month, on the basis of the model in Annex III.’;

Article 2

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

It shall apply from 1 July 2007.

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

Done at Brussels, 29 May 2007.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission

ANNEX

‘ANNEX III

Imports of maize (CN code 1005 90 00), sorghum (CN code 1007 00) and substitute products (CN codes
2303 10 19, 2303 20 00, 2309 90 20 and ex 2308 00 40)

(form to be sent to the following address: agri-c1@ec.europa.eu)

Releases for free circulation during [month/year]

Member State: [COUNTRY/Competent national authority]

Regulation

CN code

Country of origin

Quantity
(tonnes)

Applicable customs duty’