Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the common rules for imports (Codified version)
Date: 2009-03-26
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: coal, codification of EU law, common organisation of markets, exchange of information, export, import, market protection, marketing, simplification of legislation, steel

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(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory)

I

REGULATIONS

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 260/2009

of 26 February 2009

on the common rules for imports

(Codified version)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

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

establishing the European

and the

processed

agricultural markets

Having regard to the instruments establishing the common
instruments
organisation of
concerning
in
adopted
agricultural
pursuance of Article 308 of the Treaty, in particular in so far
as they provide for derogation from the general principle that
quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent effect
may be replaced solely by the measures provided for in the
said instruments,

products

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Council Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 of 22 December
1994 on the common rules for imports and repealing
Regulation (EC) No 518/94 (1) has been substantially
amended several times (2). In the interests of clarity and
rationality the said Regulation should be codified.

The common commercial policy should be based on
uniform principles.

The Community has concluded the Agreement estab­
lishing
the World Trade Organisation, hereinafter
referred to as the ‘WTO’. Annex 1A to that Agreement
contains inter alia the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and an Agreement on Safe­
guards.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

The Agreement on Safeguards meets the need to clarify
and reinforce the disciplines of GATT 1994, and speci­
fically those of Article XIX. That Agreement requires the
elimination of safeguard measures which escape those
restraints, orderly
rules,
marketing arrangements and any other similar import
or export arrangements.

voluntary export

such as

The Agreement on Safeguards also covers coal and steel
products. The common rules for imports, especially as
regards safeguard measures, therefore also apply to those
products without prejudice to any possible measures to
apply an agreement specifically concerning coal and steel
products.

The textile products covered by Council Regulation (EC)
No 517/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for
imports of textile products from certain third countries
not covered by bilateral agreements, protocols or other
arrangements, or by other specific Community import
rules (3) are subject to special treatment at Community
and international
should therefore be
excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

level. They

The Commission should be informed by the Member
States of any danger created by trends
in imports
which might call
for Community surveillance or the
application of safeguard measures.

In such instances the Commission should examine the
terms and conditions under which imports occur, the
trend in imports, the various aspects of the economic
and trade
the
measures to be applied.

and, where

appropriate,

situations

(1) OJ L 349, 31.12.1994, p. 53.
(2) See Annex II.

(3) OJ L 67, 10.3.1994, p. 1.

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(9)

a

subject

If prior Community surveillance is applied, release for
the products concerned should be
free circulation of
made
surveillance
of
presentation
to
document meeting uniform criteria. That document
should, on simple application by the importer, be
issued by the authorities of the Member States within a
certain period but without the importer thereby acquiring
any right to import. The surveillance document should
therefore be valid only during such period as the import
rules remain unchanged.

(10)

States

The Member
and the Commission should
exchange the information resulting from Community
surveillance as fully as possible.

(11)

(12)

It falls to the Commission and the Council to adopt the
safeguard measures required by the interests of
the
Community. Those interests should be considered as a
whole and should in particular encompass the interests
of Community producers, users and consumers.

Safeguard measures against a member of the WTO may
be considered only if the product in question is imported
into the Community in such greatly increased quantities
and on such terms or conditions as to cause, or threaten
to cause, serious injury to Community producers of like
or directly competing products, unless international obli­
gations permit derogation from this rule.

(13)

‘threat of serious injury’ and
The terms ‘serious injury’,
‘Community producers’ should be defined and precise
criteria for determining injury should be established.

(14) An investigation should precede the application of any
safeguard measure, subject to the reservation that the
Commission be allowed in urgent cases to apply provi­
sional measures.

(15)

There should be detailed provisions on the opening of
investigations, the checks and inspections required, access
by exporter countries and interested parties to the infor­
mation gathered, hearings for the parties involved and
the opportunities for those parties to submit their views.

(16)

The provisions on investigations
introduced by this
Regulation are without prejudice to Community or
national rules concerning professional secrecy.

(17)

It is also necessary to set time limits for the initiation of
investigations and for determinations as to whether or
not measures are appropriate, with a view to ensuring

that such determinations are made quickly, in order to
increase legal certainty for
the economic operators
concerned.

In cases in which safeguard measures take the form of a
quota the level of the latter should be set in principle no
lower than the average level of imports over a represen­
tative period of at least three years.

In cases in which a quota is allocated among supplier
countries each country’s quota may be determined by
agreement with the countries themselves or by taking
as a reference the level of imports over a representative
period. Derogations from these rules should nevertheless
be possible where there is serious injury and a dispropor­
tionate increase in imports, provided that due consul­
tation under the auspices of the WTO Committee on
Safeguards takes place.

The maximum duration of safeguard measures should be
determined and specific provisions regarding extension,
progressive liberalisation and reviews of such measures
be laid down.

The circumstances in which products originating in a
developing country which is a member of
the WTO
are to be exempt from safeguard measures should be
established.

than measures

Surveillance or safeguard measures confined to one or
the Community may prove more
more regions of
the whole
suitable
Community. However,
be
should
authorised only exceptionally and where no alternative
exists. It is necessary to ensure that such measures are
temporary and cause the minimum of disruption to the
operation of the internal market.

to
such measures

applying

In the interest of uniformity in rules for imports, the
formalities to be carried out by importers should be
simplified and made identical regardless of
the place
where the goods clear customs. It is therefore desirable
to provide that any formalities should be carried out
using forms corresponding to the specimen annexed to
the Regulation.

issued in connection with
Surveillance documents
Community
valid
throughout the Community irrespective of the Member
State of issue,

surveillance measures

should be

(18)

(19)

(20)

(21)

(22)

(23)

(24)

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

General principles

Article 1

(a)

trends and the
import,
terms and conditions of
various aspects of the economic and commercial situation
with regard to the product in question;

import

(b) the measures, if any, to be taken.

This Regulation applies to imports of products originating

1.
in third countries, except for:

(a)

textile products subject to specific import rules under Regu­
lation (EC) No 517/94;

Consultations may be conducted in writing if necessary.
4.
The Commission shall in this event inform the Member States,
which may express their opinion or request oral consultations
within a period of five to eight working days, to be decided by
the Commission.

(b) the products originating in certain third countries listed in
Council Regulation (EC) No 519/94 of 7 March 1994 on
common rules for imports from certain third countries (1).

2.
The products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be freely
imported into the Community and accordingly, without
prejudice to the safeguard measures which may be taken
to any quantitative
under Chapter V, shall not be subject
restrictions.

CHAPTER II

Community information and consultation procedure

Article 2

shall

inform the Commission if

Member States
in
imports appear to call for surveillance or safeguard measures.
information shall contain the evidence available, as
This
determined on the basis of
laid down in
the
Article 10. The Commission shall immediately pass this infor­
mation on to all the Member States.

criteria

trends

CHAPTER III

Community investigation procedure

Article 5

1. Without prejudice to Article 8, the Community investi­
gation procedure shall be implemented before any safeguard
measure is applied.

2.
Using as a basis the factors referred to in Article 10, the
investigation shall seek to determine whether imports of the
threatening to cause
product
serious injury to the Community producers concerned.

in question are causing or

3.

The following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘serious injury’ means a significant overall impairment in the
position of Community producers;

Article 3

(b) ‘threat of serious injury’ means serious injury that is clearly

Consultations may be held either at

1.
Member State or on the initiative of the Commission.

the request of a

2.
Consultations shall take place within eight working days
of the Commission receiving the information provided for in
Article 2 and,
in any event, before the introduction of any
Community surveillance or safeguard measure.

Article 4

shall

Consultations

1.
take place within an Advisory
Committee, hereinafter called ‘the Committee’, made up of
representatives of each Member State with a representative of
the Commission as chairman.

2.
The Committee
chairman. He shall provide
relevant information as promptly as possible.

shall meet when convened by its
the Member States with all

imminent;

(c)

‘Community producers’ means the producers as a whole of
the like or directly competing products operating within the
those whose collective
territory of
output of the like or directly competing products constitutes
a major proportion of the total Community production of
those products.

the Community, or

Article 6

1. Where, after the consultations referred to in Articles 3 and
it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient
4,
the
evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation,
Commission shall
initiate an investigation within one month
of receipt of information from a Member State and publish a
notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. This notice
shall:

3.

Consultations shall cover in particular:

(1) OJ L 67, 10.3.1994, p. 89.

(a) give a summary of the information received, and require
that all relevant information is to be communicated to the
Commission;

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(b) state the period within which interested parties may make
known their views in writing and submit information,
if
such views and information are to be taken into account
during the investigation;

Where the Commission finds that any interested party or
third party has supplied it with false or misleading information,
it shall disregard the information and may make use of facts
available.

(c) state the period within which interested parties may apply
to be heard orally by the Commission in accordance with
paragraph 4.

The Commission shall commence the investigation, acting in
cooperation with the Member States.

2.
The Commission shall seek all information it deems to be
necessary and, where it considers it appropriate, after consulting
to check this information with
the Committee, endeavour
importers,
trade associations and
organisations.

traders, agents, producers,

The Commission shall be assisted in this task by staff of the
Member State on whose territory these checks are being carried
out, provided that Member State so wishes.

3.
The Member States shall supply the Commission, at its
request and following procedures laid down by it, with the
information at their disposal on developments in the market
of the product being investigated.

4.
Interested parties which have come forward pursuant to
the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 and representatives of the
exporting country may, upon written request, inspect all infor­
mation made available to the Commission in connection with
the investigation other than internal documents prepared by the
authorities of the Community or its Member States, provided
that that information is relevant to the presentation of their case
and not confidential within the meaning of Article 9 and that it
is used by the Commission in the investigation.

7. Where it appears to the Commission, after the consul­
tations referred to in Articles 3 and 4, that there is insufficient
evidence
inform the
Member States of its decision within one month of receipt of
the information from the Member States.

to justify an investigation,

shall

it

Article 7

At the end of the investigation, the Commission shall

1.
submit a report on the results to the Committee.

initiation of

2. Where the Commission considers, within nine months of
the
that no Community
investigation,
surveillance or safeguard measures are necessary, the investi­
the Committee
gation shall be terminated within a month,
having first been consulted.

the

The decision to terminate the investigation, stating the main
conclusions of
the
reasons therefore, shall be published in the Official Journal of
the European Union.

the investigation and a summary of

3.
If the Commission considers that Community surveillance
or safeguard measures are necessary, it shall take the necessary
decisions in accordance with Chapters IV and V, no later than
nine months from the initiation of the investigation. In excep­
tional circumstances, this time limit may be extended by a
the Commission
further maximum period of
shall
the
Journal of
European Union setting forth the duration of the extension and
a summary of the reasons therefore.

then publish a notice in the Official

two months;

Interested parties which have come forward may communicate
their views on the information in question to the Commission.
Those views may be taken into consideration where they are
backed by sufficient evidence.

1.
The provisions of this Chapter shall not preclude the use,
at any time, of surveillance measures in accordance with Articles
11 to 15 or provisional safeguard measures in accordance with
Articles 16, 17 and 18.

Article 8

5.
The Commission may hear the interested parties. Such
parties must be heard where they have made a written appli­
cation within the period laid down in the notice published in
the Official Journal of the European Union, showing that they are
actually likely to be affected by the outcome of the investigation
and that there are special reasons for them to be heard orally.

Provisional safeguard measures shall be applied:

(a)

in critical circumstances where delay would cause damage
which would be difficult to repair, making immediate action
necessary; and

6. When information is not supplied within the time limits
set by this Regulation or by the Commission pursuant to this
significantly impeded,
Regulation, or
investigation is
the facts available.
findings may be made on the basis of

the

(b) where a preliminary determination provides clear evidence
that increased imports have caused or are threatening to
cause serious injury.

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The duration of such measures shall not exceed 200 days.

Article 10

2.
Provisional safeguard measures shall take the form of an
increase in the existing level of customs duty, whether the latter
is zero or higher, if such action is likely to prevent or repair the
serious injury.

The Commission shall

3.
investigation measures are still necessary.

immediately conduct whatever

4.
Should the provisional safeguard measures be repealed
because no serious injury or threat of serious injury exists,
the customs duties collected as a result of
the provisional
measures shall be automatically refunded as soon as possible.
The procedure laid down in Article 235 et seq. of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing
the Community Customs Code (1) shall apply.

Article 9

Information received pursuant to this Regulation shall be

1.
used only for the purpose for which it was requested.

Neither

the Council, nor

the Commission, nor

2.
the
Member States, nor the officials of any of these shall reveal
any information of a confidential nature received pursuant to
this Regulation, or any information provided on a confidential
basis without specific permission from the supplier of such
information.

1.
Examination of the trend in imports, of the conditions in
which they take place and of serious injury or threat of serious
injury to Community producers resulting from such imports
shall cover in particular the following factors:

(a)

the volume of imports, in particular where there has been a
significant increase, either in absolute terms or relative to
production or consumption in the Community;

(b) the price of imports, in particular where there has been a
significant price undercutting as compared with the price of
a like product in the Community;

(c)

consequent

the
impact on Community producers
indicated by trends in certain economic factors such as:

as

— production,

— capacity utilisation,

— stocks,

— sales,

— market share,

— prices (i.e. depression of prices or prevention of price

increases which would normally have occurred),

Each request for confidentiality shall state the reasons why

3.
the information is confidential.

— profits,

However, if it appears that a request for confidentiality is unjus­
tified and if the supplier of the information wishes neither to
make it public nor to authorise its disclosure in general terms
or in the form of a summary, the information concerned may
be disregarded.

— return on capital employed,

— cash flow,

— employment;

4.
Information shall in any case be considered to be confi­
dential if its disclosure is likely to have a significantly adverse
effect upon the supplier or the source of such information.

(d) factors other than trends in imports which are causing or
may have caused injury to the Community producers
concerned.

5.
Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not preclude reference by the
Community authorities to general information and in particular
to reasons on which decisions taken pursuant to this Regulation
are based. Those authorities shall, however, take into account
the legitimate interest of legal and natural persons concerned
that their business secrets should not be divulged.

a

2. Where
the
Commission shall also examine whether it is clearly foreseeable
that a particular situation is likely to develop into actual injury.

threat of

alleged,

serious

injury

is

In this regard account may be taken of factors such as:

(1) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.

(a)

the rate of increase of the exports to the Community;

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(b) export capacity in the country of origin or export, as it
stands or is likely to be in the foreseeable future, and the
likelihood that that capacity will be used to export to the
Community.

to the competent national authority), plus
the applicant
the applicant’s VAT registration number if he is liable for
VAT;

CHAPTER IV

Surveillance

Article 11

(b) where appropriate,
declarant or of
applicant (including telephone and fax numbers);

any representative

the full name and address of

the
appointed by the

1. Where the trend in imports of a product originating in a
third country covered by this Regulation threatens to cause
injury to Community producers, and where the interests of
import of that product may be
the Community so require,
subject, as appropriate, to:

(c) a description of the goods giving:

— their trade name,

— their combined nomenclature code,

(a) retrospective Community

in
accordance with the provisions laid down in the decision
referred to in paragraph 2;

carried out

surveillance

— their place of origin and place of consignment;

(b) prior Community surveillance carried out

in accordance

(d) the quantity declared, in kilograms and, where appropriate,

with Article 12.

any other additional unit (pairs, items, etc.);

The decision to impose surveillance shall be taken by the
2.
Commission according to the procedure laid down in the
second subparagraph of Article 16(6) and Article 16(7).

3.
The surveillance measures shall have a limited period of
validity. Unless otherwise provided, they shall cease to be valid
at the end of the second six-month period following the six
months in which the measures were introduced.

Article 12

Products under prior Community surveillance may be put
1.
into free circulation only on production of a surveillance
document. Such document shall be issued by the competent
authority designated by Member States, free of charge, for any
quantity requested and within a maximum of five working days
of receipt by the national competent authority of an application
by any Community importer, regardless of his place of business
in the Community. This application shall be deemed to have
been received by the national competent authority no later than
three working days after
is proved
otherwise.

submission, unless

it

The surveillance document shall be made out on a form

2.
corresponding to the model in Annex I.

(e)

the value of the goods, cif at Community frontier, in euro;

(f)

the following statement, dated and signed by the applicant,
with the applicant’s name spelt out in capital letters:

‘I, the undersigned, certify that the information provided in
this application is true and given in good faith, and that I
am established in the Community.’

The surveillance document shall be valid throughout the

3.
Community, regardless of the Member State of issue.

4.
A finding that the unit price at which the transaction is
effected exceeds that indicated in the surveillance document by
less than 5 % or that the total value or quantity of the products
presented for import exceeds the value or quantity given in the
surveillance document by less than 5 % shall not preclude the
release for free circulation of
in question. The
Commission, having heard the opinions expressed in the
Committee and taking account of the nature of the products
and other special features of the transactions concerned, may fix
a different percentage, which, however, should not normally
exceed 10 %.

the product

Except where the decision to impose surveillance provides
otherwise,
surveillance
documents shall contain only the following:

importer’s

application

the

for

(a)

the full name and address of
(including
telephone and fax numbers and any number identifying

the applicant

the

transactions

5.
Surveillance documents may be used only for such time as
arrangements for liberalisation of imports remain in force in
concerned. Such surveillance
respect of
documents may not in any event be used beyond the expiry
of a period which shall be laid down at the same time and by
means of the same procedure as the imposition of surveillance,
and shall take account of the nature of the products and other
special features of the transactions.

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to Article 11 so
6. Where the decision taken pursuant
requires, the origin of products under Community surveillance
must be proved by a certificate of origin. This paragraph shall
not affect other provisions concerning the production of any
such certificate.

Community importer, regardless of his place of business in
the Community. This application shall be deemed to have
been received by the national competent authority no later
than three working days after submission, unless it is proved
otherwise. Surveillance documents may be used only for such
time as arrangements for imports remain liberalised in respect
of the transactions concerned.

7. Where the product under prior Community surveillance is
subject to regional safeguard measures in a Member State, the
import authorisation granted by that Member State may replace
the surveillance document.

2.

Article 12(2) shall apply.

8.
Surveillance document forms and extracts thereof shall be
drawn up in duplicate, one copy, marked ‘Holder’s copy’ and
bearing the number 1, to be issued to the applicant, and the
other, marked ‘Copy for the competent authority’ and bearing
to be kept by the authority issuing the
the number 2,
document.
competent
purposes
administrative
For
authority may add supplementary copies to form 2.

the

9.
Forms shall be printed on white paper free of mechanical
pulp, dressed for writing and weighing between 55 g and 65 g
per square metre. Their size shall be 210 mm × 297 mm; the
type space between the lines shall be 4,24 mm (one sixth of an
inch); the layout of the forms shall be followed precisely. Both
sides of copy No 1, which is the surveillance document itself,
shall in addition have a yellow printed guilloche pattern back­
ground so as to reveal any falsification by mechanical or
chemical means.

10. Member States shall be responsible for having the forms
printed. The forms may also be printed by printers appointed
by the Member State in which they are established. In the latter
case, reference to the appointment by the Member State must
appear on each form. Each form shall bear an indication of the
printer’s name and address or a mark enabling the printer to be
identified.

Article 13

Where import of a product has not been made subject to prior
Community surveillance within eight working days of the end
the
the consultations referred to in Articles 3 and 4,
of
Commission,
in accordance with Article 18, may introduce
surveillance confined to imports into one or more regions of
the Community.

Article 14

1.
Products under regional surveillance may be put into free
circulation in the region concerned only on production of a
surveillance document. Such document shall be issued by the
the Member State(s)
competent
concerned,
for any quantity requested and
five working days of receipt by the
within a maximum of
an application by any
national

authority designated by
free of charge,

authority of

competent

Article 15

1. Member States shall communicate to the Commission
within the first 10 days of each month in the case of
Community or regional surveillance:

(a)

in the case of prior surveillance, details of the sums of
money (calculated on the basis of cif prices) and quantities
of goods in respect of which surveillance documents were
issued during the preceding period;

(b) in every case, details of imports during the period preceding

the period referred to in point (a).

The information supplied by Member States shall be broken
down by product and by country.

Different provisions may be laid down at the same time and by
the same procedure as the surveillance arrangements.

2. Where the nature of the products or special circumstances
so require, the Commission may, at the request of a Member
for
State or on its own initiative, amend the timetables
submitting this information.

The Commission shall

3.
accordingly.

inform the Member

States

CHAPTER V

Safeguard measures

Article 16

1. Where a product is imported into the Community in such
greatly increased quantities and/or on such terms or conditions
as to cause, or threaten to cause, serious injury to Community
producers, the Commission, in order to safeguard the interests
of the Community, may, acting at the request of a Member
State or on its own initiative:

(a)

limit the period of validity of surveillance documents within
the meaning of Article 12 to be issued after the entry into
force of this measure;

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(b) alter the import rules for the product in question by making
its release for free circulation conditional on production of
an import authorisation, the granting of which shall be
governed by such provisions and subject to such limits as
the Commission shall lay down.

The measures referred to in this Article shall apply to
5.
every product which is put
into free circulation after their
entry into force. In accordance with Article 18 they may be
confined to one or more regions of the Community.

The measures referred to in (a) and (b) shall take effect immedi­
ately.

2.
As regards members of the WTO, the measures referred to
in paragraph 1 shall be taken only when the two conditions
indicated in the first subparagraph of that paragraph are met.

However, such measures shall not prevent the release for free
circulation of products already on their way to the Community
provided that
the destination of such products cannot be
changed and that those products which, pursuant to Articles
11 and 12, may be put into free circulation only on production
of a surveillance document are in fact accompanied by such a
document.

If establishing a quota, account shall be taken in particular

3.
of:

intervention by

6. Where
the Commission has been
requested by a Member State, the Commission shall take a
decision within a maximum of five working days of receipt
of such a request.

(a)

the desirability of maintaining, as far as possible, traditional
trade flows;

(b) the volume of goods exported under contracts concluded on
normal terms and conditions before the entry into force of
a safeguard measure within the meaning of this Chapter,
where such contracts have been notified to the Commission
by the Member State concerned;

(c)

the need to avoid jeopardising achievement of
pursued in establishing the quota.

the aim

Any quota shall not be set lower than the average level of
three representative years for which
imports over
statistics are available unless a different level
is necessary to
prevent or remedy serious injury.

the last

In cases in which a quota is allocated among supplier
them
the product

4.
countries, allocation may be agreed with those of
having
interest
concerned for import into the Community.

in supplying

substantial

a

Failing this, the quota shall be allocated among the supplier
imports into the
countries in proportion to their share of
Community of the product concerned during a previous rep­
resentative period, due account being taken of any specific
factors which may have affected or may be affecting the trade
in the product.

Provided that
its obligation to see that consultations are
conducted under the auspices of the WTO Committee on Safe­
guards is not disregarded, the Community may nevertheless
depart from this method of allocation in the case of serious
injury if imports originating in one or more supplier countries
have increased in disproportionate percentage in relation to the
total
the product concerned over a
imports of
previous representative period.

increase of

Any decision taken by the Commission pursuant to this Article
shall be communicated to the Council and to the Member
States. Any Member State may, within one month following
the day of such communication, refer the decision to the
Council.

If a Member State refers the Commission’s decision to the
the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may

7.
Council,
confirm, amend or revoke that decision.

If, within three months of the referral of the matter to the
Council, the Council has not taken a decision, the decision
taken by the Commission shall be deemed revoked.

Article 17

Where the interests of the Community so require, the Council,
acting by a qualified majority on a proposal
from the
Commission drawn up in accordance with the terms of
Chapter III, may adopt appropriate measures to prevent a
product being imported into the Community in such greatly
increased quantities and/or on such terms or conditions as to
cause, or
threaten to cause, serious injury to Community
producers of like or directly competing products.

Article 16(2) to (5) shall apply.

Article 18

Where it emerges, primarily on the basis of the factors referred
to in Article 10, that the conditions laid down for the adoption
of measures pursuant to Articles 11 and 16 are met in one or
more regions of the Community, the Commission, after having
examined alternative solutions, may exceptionally authorise the
application of surveillance or safeguard measures limited to the
region(s) concerned if it considers that such measures applied at
that
applied
appropriate
throughout the Community.

than measures

are more

level

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These measures must be temporary and must disrupt
operation of the internal market as little as possible.

the

The measures
provisions laid down in Articles 11 and 16.

shall be adopted in accordance with the

the
tations shall be held within the Committee, either at
request of a Member State or on the initiative of
the
Commission. If the duration of a safeguard measure exceeds
three years, the Commission shall seek such consultations no
later than the mid-point of the period of application of that
measure. The purpose of such consultations shall be:

Article 19

(a)

to examine the effects of the measure;

share of Community

No safeguard measure may be applied to a product originating
in a developing country member of the WTO as long as that
country’s
the product
concerned does not exceed 3 %, provided that developing
country members of the WTO with less than a 3 % import
share collectively account
total
Community imports of the product concerned.

for not more than 9 % of

imports of

(b) to determine whether and in what manner it is appropriate

to accelerate the pace of liberalisation;

(c)

to ascertain whether application of
necessary.

the measure is still

Article 20

1.
The duration of safeguard measures must be limited to the
period of time necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury
and to facilitate adjustment on the part of Community
producers. The period must not exceed four years,
including
the duration of any provisional measure.

2. Where, as a result of
the consultations referred to in
paragraph 1, the Commission considers that any surveillance
or safeguard measure referred to in Articles 11, 13, 16, 17
and 18 should be revoked or amended,
it shall proceed as
follows:

Such initial period may be extended, except in the case of
third subparagraph of

2.
the measures
Article 16(4) provided it is determined that:

referred to in the

(a) where the measure was enacted by the Council,

the
Commission shall propose to the Council
it be
revoked or amended. The Council shall act by a qualified
majority;

that

(a)

the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent
or remedy serious injury;

(b) in all other cases, the Commission shall amend or revoke

Community safeguard and surveillance measures.

(b) there is evidence that Community producers are adjusting.

Where the decision relates to regional surveillance measures, it
shall apply from the sixth day following its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Union.

3.
Extensions shall be adopted in accordance with the terms
of Chapter III and using the same procedures as the initial
measures. A measure so extended shall not be more restrictive
than it was at the end of the initial period.

If

the duration of

4.
the
measure must be progressively liberalised at regular intervals
including the period of
during the period of application,
extension.

the measure exceeds one year,

The total period of application of a safeguard measure,
5.
including
any provisional
measures, the initial period of application and any prorogation
thereof, may not exceed eight years.

the period of

application of

Article 22

1. Where imports of a product have already been subject to
a safeguard measure, no further measure shall be applied to that
product until a period equal to the duration of the previous
measure has elapsed. Such period shall not be less than two
years.

Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a safeguard measure of 180

2.
days or less may be re-imposed for a product if:

(a) at least one year has elapsed since the date of introduction
of a safeguard measure on the import of that product; and

Article 21

1. While any surveillance or safeguard measure applied in
accordance with Chapters IV and V is in operation, consul­

(b) such a safeguard measure has not been applied to the same
product more than twice in the five-year period immediately
preceding the date of introduction of the measure.

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CHAPTER VI

Final provisions

Article 23

Where the interests of the Community so require, the Council,
acting by a qualified majority on a proposal
from the
Commission, may adopt appropriate measures to allow the
rights and obligations of the Community or of all its Member
States, in particular those relating to trade in commodities, to be
exercised and fulfilled at international level.

Article 24

This Regulation shall not preclude the fulfilment of obli­
rules contained in agreements

1.
gations arising from special
concluded between the Community and third countries.

2. Without prejudice to other Community provisions, this
Regulation shall not preclude the adoption or application by
Member States:

(a) of prohibitions, quantitative restrictions or

surveillance
measures on grounds of public morality, public policy or
public security; the protection of health and life of humans,
animals or plants,
treasures
possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value, or the
protection of industrial and commercial property;

the protection of national

(b) of special formalities concerning foreign exchange;

(c) of

formalities

introduced

pursuant

to

international

agreements in accordance with the Treaty.

The Member States
the
measures or formalities they intend to introduce or amend in
accordance with the first subparagraph.

inform the Commission of

shall

In the event of extreme urgency,
formalities
in question shall be
Commission immediately upon their adoption.

the national measures or
communicated to the

Article 25

This Regulation shall be without prejudice

1.
to the
operation of the instruments establishing the common organi-
sation of agricultural markets or of Community or national
administrative provisions derived therefrom or of the specific
instruments applicable to goods resulting from the processing
of agricultural products. It shall operate by way of complement
to those instruments.

In the case of products covered by the instruments
2.
referred to in paragraph 1, Articles 11 to 15 and Article 22
shall not apply to those in respect of which the Community
rules on trade with third countries require the production of a
licence or other import document.

Articles 16, 18 and 21 to 24 shall not apply to those products
in respect of which such rules provide for the application of
quantitative import restrictions.

Article 26

Regulation (EC) No 3285/94, as amended by the acts listed in
Annex II, is repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as
references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance
with the correlation table in Annex III.

Article 27

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Brussels, 26 February 2009.

For the Council
The President

I. LANGER

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ANNEX I

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ANNEX II

Repealed Regulation with list of its successive amendments

(referred to in Article 26)

Council Regulation (EC) No 3285/94
(OJ L 349, 31.12.1994, p. 53)

Council Regulation (EC) No 139/96
(OJ L 21, 27.1.1996, p. 7)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2315/96
(OJ L 314, 4.12.1996, p. 1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2474/2000
(OJ L 286, 11.11.2000, p. 1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/2004
(OJ L 374, 22.12.2004, p. 1)

Only Article 1 and Annex I

Only Article 1(3) and Annex III

Only Article 1(3) and Annex III

Only Article 2

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ANNEX III

CORRELATION TABLE

Regulation (EC) No 3285/94

This Regulation

Title I

Article 1

Title II

Chapter I

Article 1

Chapter II

Articles 2, 3 and 4

Articles 2, 3 and 4

Title III

Article 5

Article 6(1) introductory wording

Article 6(1)(a)

Article 6(1)(b)

Chapter III

Article 5

Article 6(1),
initial wording

first

subparagraph,

introductory sentence,

Article 6(1), first subparagraph, introductory sentence, final
wording and points (a), (b) and (c)

Article 6(1) second subparagraph

Article 6(2) first and second subparagraphs

Article 6(2) first and second subparagraphs

Article 6(2) third and fourth subparagraphs

Article 6(4) first and second subparagraphs

Article 6(3)

Article 6(4)

Article 6(5)

Article 6(6)

Article 7(1)

Article 6(3)

Article 6(5)

Article 6(6)

Article 6(7)

Article 7(1)

Article 7(2) first sentence

Article 7(2) first subparagraph

Article 7(2) second sentence

Article 7(2) second subparagraph

Article 7(3)

Article 7(3)

Article 8(1) first subparagraph

Article 8(1) first subparagraph

Article 8(1) second subparagraph, introductory words

Article 8(1) second subparagraph, introductory words

Article 8(1) second subparagraph, first and second indents Article 8(1) second subparagraph, points (a) and (b)

Article 8(2)

Article 8(3)

Article 8(4)

Article 8(5)

Article 9(1)

Article 9(2)(a)

Article 8(1) third subparagraph

Article 8(2)

Article 8(3)

Article 8(4)

Article 9(1)

Article 9(2)

Article 9(2)(b) first subparagraph

Article 9(3) first subparagraph

Article 9(2)(b) second subparagraph

Article 9(3) second subparagraph

Article 9(3)

Article 9(4)

Article 10(1)

Article 9(4)

Article 9(5)

Article 10(1)

Article 10(2) introductory words, first phrase

Article 10(2) first subparagraph

Article 10(2) introductory words, second phrase

Article 10(2) second subparagraph, introductory words

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Regulation (EC) No 3285/94

This Regulation

Article 10(2), points (a) and (b)

Article 10(2) second subparagraph, points (a) and (b)

Title IV

Articles 11 to 15

Title V

Article 16(1) and (2)

Chapter IV

Articles 11 to 15

Chapter V

Article 16(1) and (2)

Article 16(3)(a) introductory sentence

Article 16(3) first subparagraph, introductory sentence

Article 16(3)(a) first, second and third indents

Article 16(3) first subparagraph, points (a), (b) and (c)

Article 16(3)(b)

Article 16(3) second subparagraph

Article 16(4)(a) first subparagraph

Article 16(4) first subparagraph

Article 16(4)(a) second subparagraph

Article 16(4) second subparagraph

Article 16(4)(b)

Article 16(5)(a)

Article 16(5)(b)

Article 16(6)

Article 16(7)

Article 16(8)

Articles 17 to 19

Article 20(1)

Article 16(4) third subparagraph

Article 16(5) first subparagraph

Article 16(5) second subparagraph

Article 16(6) first subparagraph

Article 16(6) second subparagraph

Article 16(7)

Articles 17 to 19

Article 20(1)

Article 20(2), introductory sentence

Article 20(2), introductory sentence

Article 20(2) first and second indents

Article 20(2)(a) and (b)

Article 20(3) to (5)

Articles 21 and 22

Title VI

Article 23

Article 24(1)

Article 20(3) to (5)

Articles 21 and 22

Chapter VI

Article 23

Article 24(1)

Article 24(2)(a) introductory sentence

Article 24(2) first subparagraph, introductory sentence

Article 24(2)(a)(i) to (iii)

Article 24(2)(b) first sentence

Article 24(2) first subparagraph, points (a) to (c)

Article 24(2) second subparagraph

Article 24(2)(b) second sentence

Article 24(2) third subparagraph

Article 25

Article 26

Article 27

—

Article 28

Annex I

—

—

Article 25

—

—

Article 26

Article 27

Annex I

Annex II

Annex III