Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on common rules for imports (codification)
Date: 2014-05-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: codification of EU law, import (EU), import restriction, originating product, protective clause, quantitative restriction, simplification of legislation













EUR-Lex - 52014PC0321 - EN











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52014PC0321

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on common rules for imports (codification) /* COM/2014/0321 final - 2014/0166 (COD) */









EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.           In the context of a people’s
Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying
the law of the Union so as to make it clearer and more accessible to citizens,
thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific
rights it gives them.
This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous
provisions that have been amended several times, often quite substantially,
remain scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument
and partly in later amending ones. Considerable research work, comparing many
different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.
For this reason a codification of rules that
have frequently been amended is also essential if the law is to be clear and
transparent.
2.           On 1 April 1987 the Commission
decided[1]
to instruct its staff that all acts should be codified after no more
than ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum requirement and that
departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter intervals the texts for
which they are responsible, to ensure that their provisions are clear and
readily understandable.
3.           The Conclusions of the Presidency
of the Edinburgh European Council (December 1992) confirmed this[2], stressing the
importance of codification as it offers certainty as to the law
applicable to a given matter at a given time.
Codification must be undertaken in full
compliance with the normal procedure for the adoption of acts of the Union.
Given that no changes of substance may be made
to the instruments affected by codification, the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement
dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for the
fast-track adoption of codification instruments.
4.           The purpose of this proposal is
to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EC)
No 260/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the common rules for imports[3]. The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in
it[4]; this proposal fully
preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than
bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by
the codification exercise itself.
5.           The codification proposal was drawn up on the
basis of a preliminary consolidation, in 22 official languages, of Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 and the
instrument amending it, carried out by the Publications Office of the European
Union, by means of a data-processing system. Where the Articles have been
given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown
in a table set out in Annex III to the codified Regulation.
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
2014/0166 (COD)
Proposal for a
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
on common rules for imports (codification)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty Ö on the
Functioning of the European Union Õ , and in
particular Article  Ö 207(2) Õ thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission
After transmission of the draft legislative
act to the national Parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the
European Economic and Social Committee[5],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary
legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1)       Council
Regulation (EC) No  Ö 260/2009[6] Õ has been
substantially amended[7]. In the interests of clarity and rationality, Ö that Õ Regulation
should be codified.
(2)       The
common commercial policy should be based on uniform principles.
(3)       The
Ö European Õ Community concluded
the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the ‘WTO’). Annex 1A to that
Agreement contains inter alia the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Ö hereinafter
referred to as Õ ‘GATT 1994’)
and an Agreement on Safeguards.
(4)       The
Agreement on Safeguards meets the need to clarify and reinforce the disciplines
of GATT 1994, and specifically those of Article XIX. That Agreement requires
the elimination of safeguard measures which escape those rules, such as
voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing arrangements and any other
similar import or export arrangements.
(5)       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.
(6)       The
textile products covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94[8] are subject to special treatment at Ö Union Õ and
international level. They should therefore be excluded from the scope of this
Regulation.
(7)       The
Commission should be informed by the Member States of any danger created by
trends in imports which might call for Ö Union Õ surveillance
or the application of safeguard measures.
(8)       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 situations and, where appropriate, the measures to be applied.
(9)       If
prior Ö Union Õ surveillance
is applied, release for free circulation of the products concerned should be
made subject to presentation of a surveillance 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)     The
  Member States and the Commission should exchange the information resulting
from Ö Union Õ surveillance
as fully as possible.
(11)     It falls to the Commission to adopt the
safeguard measures required by the interests of the Ö Union Õ . Those
interests should be considered as a whole and should in particular encompass
the interests of Ö Union Õ producers,
users and consumers.
(12)     Safeguard
measures against a member of the WTO may be considered only if the product in
question is imported into the Ö Union Õ in such
greatly increased quantities and on such terms or conditions as to cause, or
threaten to cause, serious injury to Ö Union Õ producers of
like or directly competing products, unless international obligations permit
derogation from this rule.
(13)     The
terms ‘serious injury’, ‘threat of serious injury’ and ‘ Ö Union Õ producers’
should be defined and precise criteria for determining injury should be Ö laid down Õ .
(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
provisional 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 information gathered, hearings for the parties involved and the
opportunities for those parties to submit their views.
(16)     The
provisions on investigations Ö laid down
in Õ this
Regulation are without prejudice to Ö Union Õ 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.
(18)     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 representative period of at least three years.
(19)     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 disproportionate increase in imports, provided that due consultation
under the auspices of the WTO Committee on Safeguards takes place.
(20)     The
maximum duration of safeguard measures should be determined and specific
provisions regarding extension, progressive liberalisation and reviews of such
measures be laid down.
(21)     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.
(22)     Surveillance
or safeguard measures confined to one or more regions of the Ö Union Õ may prove more
suitable than measures applying to the whole Ö Union Õ . However,
such measures should be 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.
(23)     In
the Ö interests Õ of uniformity
in rules for imports, the formalities to be carried out by importers should be Ö simple Õ and 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 Ö this Õ Regulation.
(24)     Surveillance
documents issued in connection with Ö Union Õ surveillance
measures should be valid throughout the Ö Union Õ irrespective
of the Member State of issue.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19 (adapted)
(25)      Ö The Õ implementation Ö of this
Regulation Õ requires uniform conditions for adopting provisional and definitive
safeguard measures, and for the imposition of prior surveillance measures. Those
measures should be adopted by the Commission in accordance with
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council[9].
(26)     The
advisory procedure should be used for the adoption of surveillance and
provisional measures given the effects of such measures and their sequential
logic in relation to the adoption of definitive safeguard measures. Where a
delay in the imposition of measures would cause damage which would be difficult
to repair, it is necessary to allow the Commission to adopt immediately
applicable provisional measures,
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
General principles
Article 1
1. This Regulation applies to imports of
products originating in third countries, except for:
(a)          textile products subject to
specific import rules under Regulation (EC) No 517/94;
(b)          the products originating in
certain third countries listed in Council Regulation (EC) No  625/2009[10].
2. The products referred to in paragraph 1
shall be freely imported into the Ö Union Õ and
accordingly, without prejudice to the safeguard measures which may be taken
under Chapter V, shall not be subject to any quantitative restrictions.
CHAPTER II
 Ö Union Õ information and consultation procedure
Article 2
Member States shall inform the Commission
if trends in imports appear to call for surveillance or safeguard measures.
This information shall contain the evidence available, as determined on the
basis of the criteria laid down in Article 9. The Commission shall immediately
pass this information on to all the Member States.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(2)
Article 3
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a
Committee on Safeguards. That Committee shall be a committee within the meaning
of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this
paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
3. Where reference is made to this
paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
4. Where reference is made to this
paragraph, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with
Article 5 thereof, shall apply.
5. Pursuant to Article 3(5) of Regulation
(EU) No 182/2011, where recourse is made to the written procedure for
adopting definitive measures pursuant to Article 16 of this Regulation, such
procedure shall be terminated without result where, within the time-limit set
down by the chair, the chair so decides or a majority of committee members as
defined in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 so request. Where
recourse is made to the written procedure in other instances where there has
been a discussion of the draft measure in the committee, that procedure shall
be terminated without result where, within the time-limit set down by the
chair, the chair so decides or a simple majority of committee members so
request. Where recourse is made to the written procedure in other instances
where there has not been a discussion of the draft measure in the committee, that
procedure shall be terminated without result where, within the time-limit set
down by the chair, the chair so decides or at least a quarter of committee
members so request.
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
CHAPTER III
 Ö Union Õ investigation procedure
Article 4
1. Without prejudice to Article 7, the Ö Union Õ investigation
procedure shall be implemented before any safeguard measure is applied.
2. Using as a basis the factors referred to
in Article 9, the investigation shall seek to determine whether imports of the
product in question are causing or threatening to cause serious injury to the Ö Union Õ producers
concerned.
3. The following definitions shall apply:
(a)          ‘serious injury’ means a
significant overall impairment in the position of Ö Union Õ producers;
(b)          ‘threat of serious injury’ means
serious injury that is clearly imminent;
(c)          ‘ Ö Union Õ producers’ means
the producers as a whole of the like or directly competing products operating
within the territory of the Ö Union Õ , or those
whose collective output of the like or directly competing products constitutes
a major proportion of the total Ö Union Õ production of
those products.
Article 5
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(3)
1. Where it is apparent to the Commission
that there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation,
the Commission shall initiate an investigation within one month of the date of
receipt of information from a Member State and publish a notice in the Official
Journal of the European Union. That notice shall:
ê 260/2009
(a)          give a summary of the information
received, and require that all relevant information is to be communicated to
the Commission;
(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;
(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.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(3)
The Commission shall provide information to
the Member States concerning its analysis of the information normally within 21
days of the date on which the information is provided to the Commission.
2. The Commission shall seek all
information it deems necessary and, where it considers it appropriate, after
having informed the Member States, endeavour to check that information with
importers, traders, agents, producers, trade associations and organisations.
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
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 Ö this Õ 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
information made available to the Commission in connection with the
investigation other than internal documents prepared by the authorities of the Ö Union Õ or its Member
States, provided that that information is relevant to the presentation of their
case and not confidential within the meaning of Article 8 and that it is used
by the Commission in the investigation.
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.
5. The Commission may hear the interested
parties. Such parties must be heard where they have made a written application
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.
6. When information is not supplied within
the time limits set by this Regulation or by the Commission pursuant to this
Regulation, or the investigation is significantly impeded, findings may be made
on the basis of the facts available. 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.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(3)
7. Where it appears to the Commission that
there is insufficient evidence to justify an investigation, it shall inform the
Member States of its decision within one month of the date of receipt of the
information from the Member States.
ê 260/2009
Article 6
1. At the end of the investigation, the
Commission shall submit a report on the results to the Committee.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(4)
2. Where the Commission considers, within
nine months of the initiation of the investigation, that no Union surveillance
or safeguard measures are necessary, the investigation shall be terminated
within a month. The Commission shall terminate the investigation in accordance
with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 3(2).
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
3. If the Commission considers that Ö Union Õ 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 exceptional circumstances, this time limit
may be extended by a further maximum period of two months; the Commission
shall then publish a notice in the Official Journal of the
European Union setting forth the duration of the extension and a
summary of the reasons therefore.
Article 7
1. The provisions of this Chapter shall not
preclude the use, at any time, of surveillance measures in accordance with
Articles 10 to 14 or provisional safeguard measures in accordance with Articles
15, 16 and 17.
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
(b)          where a preliminary determination
provides clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are threatening
to cause serious injury.
The duration of such measures shall not
exceed 200 days.
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.
3. The Commission shall immediately conduct
whatever investigation measures are still necessary.
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  79 et seq. of Regulation (EC) No 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of
the Council[11] shall apply.
Article 8
1. Information received pursuant to this
Regulation shall be used only for the purpose for which it was requested.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(5)
2. The Commission and the Member States, including the officials of either, shall not 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.
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
3. Each request for confidentiality shall
state the reasons why the information is confidential.
However, if it appears that a request for
confidentiality is unjustified 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.
4. Information shall in any case be
considered to be confidential if its disclosure is likely to have a
significantly adverse effect upon the supplier or the source of such
information.
5. Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not preclude
reference by the Ö Union Õ 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.
Article 9
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 Ö Union Õ 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 Ö Union Õ ;
(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 Ö Union Õ ;
(c)          the consequent impact on Ö Union Õ producers as
indicated by trends in certain economic factors such as:
–              
production,
–              
capacity utilisation,
–              
stocks,
–              
sales,
–              
market share,
–              
prices (i.e. depression of prices or prevention
of price increases which would normally have occurred),
–              
profits,
–              
return on capital employed,
–              
cash flow,
–              
employment;
(d)          factors other than trends in
imports which are causing or may have caused injury to the Ö Union Õ producers
concerned.
2. Where a threat of serious injury is
alleged, the Commission shall also examine whether it is clearly foreseeable
that a particular situation is likely to develop into actual injury.
In this regard account may be taken of
factors such as:
(a)          the rate of increase of the
exports to the Ö Union Õ ;
(b)          Ö the Õ 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 Ö Union Õ .
CHAPTER IV
Surveillance
Article 10
1. Where the trend in imports of a product
originating in a third country covered by this Regulation threatens to cause
injury to Ö Union Õ producers, and
where the interests of the Ö Union Õ so require,
import of that product may be subject, as appropriate, to:
(a)          retrospective Ö Union Õ surveillance
carried out in accordance with the provisions laid down in the decision
referred to in paragraph 2;
(b)          prior Ö Union Õ surveillance
carried out in accordance with Article  11.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(6)
2. The decision to impose surveillance
shall be taken by the Commission by means of implementing acts in accordance
with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 3(2).
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
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 11
1. Products under prior Ö Union Õ surveillance
may be put 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 Ö Union Õ importer,
regardless of his place of business in the Ö Union Õ . 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.
2. The surveillance document shall be made
out on a form corresponding to the model in Annex I.
Except where the decision to impose
surveillance provides otherwise, the importer’s application for surveillance
documents shall contain only the following:
(a)          the full name and address of the
applicant (including telephone and fax numbers and any number identifying the
applicant to the competent national authority), plus the applicant’s VAT registration
number if he is liable for VAT;
(b)          where appropriate, the full name
and address of the declarant or of any representative appointed by the
applicant (including telephone and fax numbers);
(c)          a description of the goods giving
Ö their Õ :
–              
 trade name,
–              
 combined nomenclature code,
–              
 place of origin and place of consignment;
(d)          the quantity declared, in
kilograms and, where appropriate, any other additional unit (pairs, items,
etc.);
(e)          the value of the goods, CIF at Ö Union Õ 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 Ö Union Õ .’
3. The surveillance document shall be valid
throughout the Ö Union Õ , 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
the product 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 %.
5. Surveillance documents may be used only
for such time as arrangements for liberalisation of imports remain in force in
respect of the transactions concerned. Such surveillance 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.
6. Where the decision taken pursuant to
Article 10 so requires, the origin of products under Ö Union Õ surveillance
must be proved by a certificate of origin. This paragraph shall not affect
other provisions concerning the production of any such certificate.
7. Where the product under prior Ö Union Õ surveillance
is subject to regional safeguard measures in a Member State, the import
authorisation granted by that Member State may replace the surveillance
document.
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 the number 2, to be kept by the
authority issuing the document. For administrative purposes the competent
authority may add supplementary copies to form 2.
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 background 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.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(7)
Article 12
Where the import of a product has not been
made subject to prior Union surveillance, the Commission, in accordance with
Article 17, may introduce surveillance confined to imports into one or more
regions of the Union. The Commission shall provide information to the Member
States once it decides to introduce surveillance.
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
Article 13
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 competent authority
designated by the Member State(s) concerned, 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 Ö Union Õ importer,
regardless of his place of business in the Ö Union Õ . 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.
2. Article 11(2) shall apply.
Article 14
1. Member States shall communicate to the
Commission within the first ten days of each month in the case of Ö Union Õ 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 State or on its own initiative, amend the timetables for submitting this
information.
3. The Commission shall inform the Member
States accordingly.
CHAPTER V
Safeguard measures
Article 15
1. Where a product is imported into the Ö Union Õ in such
greatly increased quantities and/or on such terms or conditions as to cause, or
threaten to cause, serious injury to Ö Union Õ producers, the
Commission, in order to safeguard the interests of the Ö Union Õ , 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  11 to be issued
after the entry into force of this measure;
(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 (a) and (b)
shall take effect immediately.
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.
3. If establishing a quota, account shall
be taken in particular of:
(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 the achievement of
the aim pursued in establishing the quota.
Any quota shall not be set lower than the
average level of imports over the last three representative years for
which statistics are available unless a different level is necessary to prevent
or remedy serious injury.
4. In cases in which a quota is allocated
among supplier countries, allocation may be agreed with those of them having a substantial
interest in supplying the product concerned for import into the Ö Union Õ .
Failing this, the quota shall be allocated
among the supplier countries in proportion to their share of imports into the Ö Union Õ of the product
concerned during a previous representative 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
Safeguards is not disregarded, the Ö Union Õ 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 increase of imports of
the product concerned over a previous representative period.
5. The measures referred to in this Article
shall apply to every product which is put into free circulation after their
entry into force. In accordance with Article 17 they may be confined to one or
more regions of the Ö Union Õ .
However, such measures shall not prevent
the release for free circulation of products already on their way to the Ö Union Õ provided that
the destination of such products cannot be changed and that those products
which, pursuant to Articles 10 and 11, may be put into free circulation only on
production of a surveillance document are in fact accompanied by such a
document.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(8)
6. Where intervention by the Commission has
been requested by a Member State, the Commission, acting in accordance with the
examination procedure referred to in Article 3(3), or, in cases of
urgency, in accordance with Article 3(4), shall take a decision within a
maximum of five working days of the date of receipt of such a request.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(9)
Article 16
Where the interests of the Union so
require, the Commission, acting in accordance with the examination procedure
referred to in Article 3(3) and the terms of Chapter III, may adopt appropriate
measures to prevent a product being imported into the Union in such greatly
increased quantities and/or on such terms or conditions as to cause, or
threaten to cause, serious injury to Union producers of like or directly
competing products.
Article 15(2) to (5) shall apply.
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
Article 17
Where it emerges, primarily on the basis of
the factors referred to in Article 9, that the conditions laid down for the
adoption of measures pursuant to Articles 10 and 15 are met in one or more
regions of the Ö Union Õ , 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 level are more
appropriate than measures applied throughout the Ö Union Õ .
These measures must be temporary and must
disrupt the operation of the internal market as little as possible.
The measures shall be adopted in accordance
with the provisions laid down in Articles 10 and 15.
Article 18
No safeguard measure may be applied to a
product originating in a developing country member of the WTO as long as that
country’s share of Ö Union Õ imports of the
product concerned does not exceed 3 %, provided that developing country
members of the WTO with less than a 3 % import share collectively account
for not more than 9 % of total Ö Union Õ imports of the
product concerned.
Article 19
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 Ö Union Õ producers. The
period must not exceed four years, including the duration of any provisional
measure.
2. Such
initial period may be extended, except in the case of the measures referred to
in the third subparagraph of Article 15(4) provided it is determined that:
(a)          the
safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious
injury;
(b)          there is evidence that Ö Union Õ producers are
adjusting.
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.
4. If the duration of the measure exceeds
one year, the measure must be progressively liberalised at regular intervals
during the period of application, including the period of extension.
5. The total period of application of a
safeguard measure, including the period of application of any provisional
measures, the initial period of application and any prorogation thereof, may
not exceed eight years.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(10)
Article 20
1. While any surveillance or safeguard
measure applied in accordance with Chapters IV and V is in operation the
Commission may, either at the request of a Member State or on its own
initiative, and no later than the mid-point of the period of application of
measures of a duration exceeding three years:
(a)          examine the effects of the
measure;
(b)          determine whether and in what
manner it is appropriate to accelerate the pace of liberalisation;
(c)          ascertain whether application of
the measure is still necessary.
Where the Commission considers that the
application of the measure is still necessary, it shall inform the Member
States accordingly.
2. Where the Commission considers that any
surveillance or safeguard measure referred to in Articles 10, 12, 15, 16 and 17
should be revoked or amended, it shall, acting in accordance with the
examination procedure referred to in Article 3(3), revoke or amend the measure.
Where the decision relates to regional
surveillance measures, it shall apply from the sixth day following that of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
ê 260/2009
Article 21
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.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a safeguard
measure of 180 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
(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.
CHAPTER VI
Final provisions
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(11)
Article 22
Where the interests of the Union so
require, the Commission, acting in accordance with the examination procedure
referred to in Article 3(3), may adopt appropriate measures implementing
legislative acts to allow the rights and obligations of the Union or of all the
Member States, in particular those relating to trade in commodities, to be
exercised and fulfilled at international level.
ê 37/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .19(12)
Article 23
The Commission shall include information on
the implementation of this Regulation in its annual report on the application
and implementation of trade defence measures presented to the European Parliament
and to the Council pursuant to Article 22a of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1225/2009[12].
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
Article 24
1. This Regulation shall not preclude the
fulfilment of obligations arising from special rules contained in agreements
concluded between the Ö Union Õ and third
countries.
2. Without
prejudice to other Ö Union Õ provisions,
this Regulation shall not preclude the adoption or application by Member States
of:
(a)           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, the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or
archaeological value, or the protection of industrial and commercial property;
(b)           special formalities concerning
foreign exchange;
(c)           formalities introduced pursuant
to international agreements in accordance with the Treaty.
The Member States shall inform the
Commission of the measures or formalities they intend to introduce or amend in
accordance with the first subparagraph.
In the event of extreme urgency, the
national measures or formalities in question shall be communicated to the
Commission immediately upon their adoption.
Article 25
1. This Regulation shall be without
prejudice to the operation of the instruments establishing the common
organisation of agricultural markets or of Ö Union Õ 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.
2. In the case of products covered by the
instruments referred to in paragraph 1, Articles  10 to  14 and
Article 21 shall not apply to those in respect of which the Ö Union Õ rules on trade
with third countries require the production of a licence or other import
document.
Articles 15, 17 and 20 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 Ö 260/2009 Õ 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 Ö twentieth Õ day following Ö that of Õ 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,
For the European Parliament                        For
the Council
The President                                                 The
President
[1]               COM(87) 868 PV.
[2]               See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.
[3]               Entered in the legislative programme for 2014.
[4]               See Annex II
to this proposal.
[5]               OJ C […], […], p. […].
[6]               Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 of 26
February 2009 on the common rules for imports (OJ L 84, 31.3.2009, p. 1).
[7]               See Annex II.
[8]               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 (OJ L 67, 10.3.1994, p. 1).
[9]               Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).
[10]             Council Regulation (EC) No 625/2009 of 7 July 2009 on common rules for imports from certain third countries (OJ L 185, 17.7.2009, p. 1).
[11]             Regulation (EC)
No 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008
laying down the Community Customs Code (Modernised Customs Code) (OJ L 145,
4.6.2008, p. 1).
[12]             Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 of 30
November 2009 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members
of the European Community (OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 51).
ê 260/2009
(adapted)
ANNEX I
   || EUROPEAN UNION || SURVEILLANCE DOCUMENT 
 1 || 1.    Consignee (name, full address, country, VAT number) || 2.    Issue number 
 Holder's copy ||   ||   
   || 3.   Proposed place and date of import 
   ||   
   || 4.   Authority responsible for issue (name, address and telephone No) 
   ||   
 5.    Declarant/representative as applicable (name and full address) || 6.    Country of origin        (and geonomenclature code) 
   ||   ||   
   || 7.    Country of consignment (and geonomenclature code) 
   ||   ||   
   || 8.    Last day of validity 
 1 ||   ||   
   || 9.    Description of goods || 10.     CN code and category 
   ||   ||   
   ||   || 11.     Quantity in kilograms (net mass) or in additional sets 
   ||   ||   
   ||   || 12.     Value in euro, cif at Union frontier 
   ||   ||   
   || 13. Additional remarks   
   ||   
   ||   
   || 14.  Competent authority's endorsement 
   ||   
   || Date: ………………………………………….   
   || Signature: ……………………………………. || (Stamp) 
   ||   ||   
 15.    ATTRIBUTIONS 
 Indicate the quantity available in part 1 of column 17 and the quantity attributed in part 2 thereof 
 16.    Net quantity (net mass or other unit of measure stating the unit) || 19.  Customs document (form and number) or extract No and date of attribution || 20.    Name, Member State, stamp and signature of the attributing authority 
 17.    In figures || 18.   In words for the quantity attributed ||   ||   
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 Extension pages to be attached hereto. 
   || EUROPEAN UNION || SURVEILLANCE DOCUMENT 
 2 || 1.    Consignee (name, full address, country, VAT number) || 2.    Issue number 
 Copy for the competent authority ||   ||   
   || 3.   Proposed place and date of import 
   ||   
   || 4.   Authority responsible for issue (name, address and telephone No) 
   ||   
 5.    Declarant/representative as applicable (name and full address) || 6.    Country of origin        (and geonomenclature code) 
   ||   ||   
   || 7.    Country of consignment (and geonomenclature code) 
   ||   ||   
   || 8.    Last day of validity 
 2 ||   ||   
   || 9.    Description of goods || 10.     CN code and category 
   ||   ||   
   ||   || 11.     Quantity in kilograms (net mass) or in additional sets 
   ||   ||   
   ||   || 12.     Value in euro, cif at Union frontier 
   ||   ||   
   || 13. Additional remarks     
   ||   
   ||   
   || 14.  Competent authority's endorsement 
   ||   
   || Date: ………………………………………….   
   || Signature: ……………………………………. || (Stamp) 
   ||   ||   
 15.    ATTRIBUTIONS 
 Indicate the quantity available in part 1 of column 17 and the quantity attributed in part 2 thereof 
 16.    Net quantity (net mass or other unit of measure stating the unit) || 19.  Customs document (form and number) or extract No and date of attribution || 20.    Name, Member State, stamp and signature of the attributing authority 
 17.    In figures || 18.   In words for the quantity attributed ||   ||   
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 1. ||   ||   ||   
 2. 
 Extension pages to be attached hereto. 
_____________
é
ANNEX II
Repealed
Regulation with the amendment thereto
 Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 (OJ L 84, 31.3.2009, p. 1) ||   || 
 || Regulation (EU) No 37/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 18, 21.1.2014, p. 1) || Only point 19 of the Annex 
_____________
ANNEX III
Correlation Table
 Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 || This Regulation 
 Article 1 || Article 1 
 Article 2 || Article 2 
 Article 4 || Article 3 
 Article 5 || Article 4 
 Article 6 || Article 5 
 Article 7 || Article 6 
 Article 8 || Article 7 
 Article 9 || Article 8 
 Article 10 || Article 9 
 Article 11 || Article 10 
 Article 12 || Article 11 
 Article 13 || Article 12 
 Article 14 || Article 13 
 Article 15 || Article 14 
 Article 16 || Article 15 
 Article 17 || Article 16 
 Article 18 || Article 17 
 Article 19 || Article 18 
 Article 20 || Article 19 
 Article 21 || Article 20 
 Article 22 || Article 21 
 Article 23 || Article 22 
 Article 23a || Article 23 
 Articles 24 to 27 || Articles 24 to 27 
 Annex I || Annex I 
 Annex II || Annex II 
 Annex III || Annex III 
_____________