CELEX: 51987PC0007(04)
Language: en
Date: 1987-01-14 00:00:00
Title: RECOMMENDATION FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ON THE CONCLUSION OF AN ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA

21. 4. 87                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 104/23
              Recommendation for a Council Decision on the conclusion of an Additional Protocol to the
              Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of
                                                           Tunisia
                                                      COM(87) 7 final
                             Submitted  by the Commission    to the Council on 14 January 1987
                                                       (87/C 104/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          Republic of Tunisia is hereby approved on behalf of
                                                                  the Community. The text of the Protocol is attached
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             to this Decision (2).
Economic Community, and in particular Article 238
thereof,
Having regard to the recommendation from the Com-
mission,
                                                                                              Article 2
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
ment,
                                                                  The President of the Council shall give the notification
Whereas it is necessary to approve an Additional Proto-           provided for in Article 5 of the Protocol.
col to the Cooperation Agreement between the Euro-
pean Economic Community and the Republic of Tuni-
sia (1), signed in Tunis on 25 April 1976,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:                                                                        Article 3
                           Article 1
                                                                  This Decision shall take effect on the day following its
The Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement              publication in the Official Journal of the European
 between the European Economic Community and the                  Communities.
                                                                   (2) The date of entry into force of the Protocol will be published
                                                                       in the Official Journal of the European Communities by the
  0) OJ No L 169, 26. 6. 1978.                                         General Secretariat of the Council.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 104/24                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                        21. 4. 87
                                                   ADDITIONAL P R O T O C O L
              adapting the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and the
                                                         Republic of Tunisia
              THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,
              of the one part, and
             THE REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA,
             of the other part,
             HAVING REGARD TO the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and the
             Republic of Tunisia, signed at Tunis on 25 April 1976, hereinafter referred to as the 'Agreement',
             CONSIDERING that the Community and Tunisia wish to strengthen still further their relations in order to
             take account of the new dimension created by the accession to the European Communities of Spain and
             Portugal, on 1 January 1986, and that Article 54 of the Agreement provides for the possibility of improvements
             in its terms,
             CONSIDERING that certain rules should be foreseen to enable the traditional export trade of Tunisia with
             the Community to be maintained,
             HAVE ACCORDINGLY DECIDED to conclude a Protocol adapting certain provisions of the Agreement,
             and to this end have designated as their Plenipotentiaries:
             THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
             THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA,
             Who having exchanged their Full Powers, found in good and due form,
             HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
                           Article 1                                    Community tariff quotas are indicated in the said
                                                                        Annex shall be eliminated progressively within the
1.    Customs duties applicable under the Agreement                     limits of such quotas.
to imports into the Community of products originating                   Once the volume of imports of these products exceeds
in Tunisia covered by the Agreement and listed in the                   the quotas, the Community shall apply the customs
Annex to this Protocol shall be phased out progressively                duties prevailing under the Agreement.
over the same periods and at the same rates as provided                 5.     For the purposes of eliminating customs duties
in the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal in respect                for new potatoes falling under the Common Customs
of imports into the Community as constituted on 31                      Tariff heading number 07.01 A II ex a) originating
December 1985 of the same products from Spain and                       in Tunisia, a reference quantity of 2 600 tonnes is
Portugal. This provision shall be applied in accordance                 established.
with the rules hereinafter set out in this Article.
                                                                        Should the volume of imports of this product exceed
                                                                        the reference quantity, the Community, having regard
                                                                        to an annual review of trade flows which it shall carry
In the course of this progressive elimination of customs
                                                                        out, may make the product in question subject to a
duties and where the level of customs duty in force
                                                                        Community tariff quota as provided for in paragraph
for imports into the Community as constituted on 31
                                                                        4, the volume of which shall be equal to the reference
December 1985 from Spain differs from that for Portu-
                                                                        quantity.
gal, products originating in Tunisia shall be subject to
the higher of the two rates.                                            6.     For the products listed in the Annex other than
                                                                        those mentioned in paragraphs 4 and 5, the Community
                                                                        may establish a reference quantity as provided for in
2.    Where the customs duty on a product, listed in                    paragraph 5 if it discovers, in the light of the annual
the Annex, is lower for Tunisia than for Spain, Portugal                review of trade flows which it shall carry out, that the
or both, elimination of the duty shall commence once                    volume of imports threatens to cause difficulties on the
the duty on the same product from both Spain and                        Community market.
Portugal has fallen below that applying to imports
originating in Tunisia.                                                                            Article 2
                                                                         1.    For 1990 and for each successive marketing year,
                                                                        the Community shall decide, on the basis of the statisti-
3.    The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply                  cal review and analysis referred to in paragraph 2
within the limits and the special conditions foreseen for               below, and taking into account factors relevant to the
the tariff reductions laid down in Articles 19 and 21 of                objective of maintaining traditional trade flows in the
the Agreement.                                                          context of enlargement, whether to adjust the entry
                                                                        price, referred to in Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72, for
                                                                         fresh oranges falling within heading No 08.02 ex A of
4.    Customs duties on imports of products originating                 the Common Customs Tariff originating in Tunisia,
in Tunisia listed in the Annex in respect of which                       within a quantitative limit of 28 000 tonnes.
 ---pagebreak--- 21. 4. 87                            Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 104/25
2.     From 1987 onwards and at the end of each market-            The tariff exemption provided for in this paragraph
ing year, the Community shall carry out, on the basis              shall apply once the exchange of letters referred
of a statistical review, an analysis of the situation for          to in the first subparagraph has been concluded
oranges originating in Tunisia exported to the Com-                following verification of the equivalence of Tunisian
munity.                                                            and Community legislation with regard to wine
                                                                   entitled to a designation of origin; it shall apply
For this same product, from 1989 onwards and for each              from the date fixed in that exchange of letters.
subsequent year, the Community shall draw up together
with Tunisia, a forecast of production and deliveries.
                                                                   4.     For wine of fresh grapes falling within heading
3.     The possible adjustment provided for in para-               No ex 22.05 of the Common Customs Tariff pre-
graph 1 refers to the sum to be deducted, in respect of            sented in containers of two litres or less, the fixed
customs duty, from the representative prices recorded              amount added to the price referred to in Article 17
in the Community for the purpose of calculating the                of Regulation (EEC) No 337/79 on the common
entry price of this product, within the limits set out in          organization of the market in wine shall be phased
Article 152(2) of the Act of Accession of Spain and                out at the rate indicated below within the limit of
Portugal.                                                          an annual volume of 10 000 hectolitres:
                                                                   On the entry into force of the Additional Protocol
                                                                   the fixed amount shall be reduced to 75 %
                          Article 3                                on 1 January 1988 the fixed amount shall be reduced
                                                                   to 62,5 %
Article 20 of the Agreement is replaced by the fol-                on 1 January 1989 the fixed amount shall be reduced
lowing:                                                            to 50 %
                                                                   on 1 January 1990 the fixed amount shall be reduced
     Article 20                                                    to 37,5 %
     '1.     Customs duties on imports into the Com-               on 1 January 1991 the fixed amount shall be reduced
     munity of wine of fresh grapes falling within head-           to 25 %
     ing No ex 22.05 of the Common Customs Tariff                  on 1 January 1992 the fixed amount shall be reduced
     originating in Tunisia applicable at the time of entry        to 12,5%
     into force of the Additional Protocol dated... shall          on 1 January 1993 the fixed amount shall be reduced
     be phased out in accordance with the rules set out            to0%.
     in Article 1 of that Protocol.
     This provision shall apply within the limit of a              5.     The Community may fix a special frontier
     Community tariff quota of 160 000 hectolitres.                price for wine of fresh grapes falling within heading
                                                                   No ex 22.05 of the Common Customs Tariff pre-
     Customs duties on imports of the said wines into the          sented in containers of more than two litres if for
     Community shall be reduced by 8 0 % for imports in            the marketing year current at the entry into force
     excess of the quota.                                          of the Additional Protocol, it is established on the
                                                                   basis of information available at the end of this
     2.     The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply              current marketing year that there is a fall in the
     provided that the import prices of wine originating            level of exports of these wines to the Community
     in Tunisia plus the customs duties actually levied            compared to the previous marketing year. This lat-
     are not less at any given time than the Community              ter marketing year shall serve as a reference year.
     reference prices or the prices resulting from the              For subsequent marketing years, the exports made
     application of the specific provisions of paragraph 4          shall be compared to the reference year.
     and 5.
                                                                    Such special frontier price shall be fixed each year
      3.     Wine of fresh grapes falling within heading            before the marketing year and shall apply within
      No ex 22.05 of the Common Customs Tariff orig-                the limit of an annual volume of 150 000 hectolitres.
      inating in Tunisia which is entitled to a designation
      of origin under Tunisian law, listed in exchange of
      letters concluded between the Contracting Parties             The situation shall be reviewed before 1 January
      and put up in containers holding two litres or less,          1990.'
      shall be exempt from customs duties on importation
      into the Community within the limit of an annual
      Community tariff quota of 50 000 hectolitres.
      For the purposes of applying this paragraph, Tuni-                                  Article 4
      sia shall be responsible for verifying the identity of
      the above wines in accordance with its national
      rules; all the wine concerned shall be accompanied        1.     For each marketing year during the period
      by a certificate of designation of origin issued by       between the date of entry into force of this Protocol
      the relevant Tunisian authority, in accordance with       and 31 December 1990, within the limit of a quantity
      the model given in Annex D to this Agreement.             of 46 000 tonnes per marketing year, by derogation
 ---pagebreak--- No C 104/26                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                21. 4. 87
from Article 16 (1) and (2) and Annex B of the Agree-          2.    The Cooperation Council shall determine as soon
ment, a special levy shall be charged on imports of            as possible the composition of this Committee and
unprocessed olive oil falling within subheading 15.07 A        how it shall function, in accordance with Article 46
I a) or b) of the Common Customs Tariff wholly                 paragraph 3 of the Agreement. It may also decide,
obtained in Tunisia and transported direct from that           where appropriate, upon the submission of reports to
country to the Community. This levy shall be equal             the Council by the Committee.
to the difference between the threshold price fixed
in accordance with Articles 4, 9 and 10 of Council
Regulation No 136/66/EEC and the free-at-frontier
                                                                                        Article 6
price fixed in accordance with the procedure referred
to in Article 38 of this Regulation.
                                                               The Community and Tunisia shall as from 1995 exam-
2.    When determining the free-at-frontier price              ine the results of the cooperation between the Contract-
referred to in paragraph 1, the Community shall take           ing Parties in order to appraise the situation and the
into consideration:                                            future development of their relations in the light of the
                                                               objectives defined in the Agreement.
— the price guaranteed by the Tunisian Government
    to its producers,
— the cost involved in transporting the olive oil cif to                                Article 7
    the Community frontier crossing point.
Prices shall be adjusted to take account of any differ-        This Protocol shall form an integral part of the Cooper-
ences in quality by comparison with the designation or         ation Agreement between the European Economic
quality for which the threshold price was fixed.               Community and the Republic of Tunisia.
3.    Before 30 June 1990 the Community and Tunisia
will, taking the Community's policy in this sector into                                 Article 8
account, review the arrangements to be applied as from
1 January 1991.                                                1.    This Protocol shall be ratified, accepted or
                                                               approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with
                                                               their own procedures; the Contracting Parties shall
                                                               notify each other of the completion of the procedures
                                                               necessary to that end.
                         Article 5
1.    A Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee               2.    This Protocol shall enter into force on the first
shall be set up for the purpose of improving the oper-         day of the month following the said notification.
ation of the institutional mechanisms of the Agreement.
The Committee shall facilitate:                                                          Article 9
— the regular exchange of information on trade and
                                                               This Protocol is drawn up in duplicate in the Arab,
    production data and forecasts,
                                                               Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Ital-
— the regular exchange of information on the possi-            ian, Portugese, and Spanish languages, each of these
    bilities for cooperation in areas covered by the           texts being equally authentic.
    Agreement.
                                                                In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries
The office of the Chairman of the Committee shall be            have hereunto set their hands.
held alternately by a representative of the Commission
of the European Communities and a representative of
Tunisia.                                                        Done at Brussels
                                     For the Council of the European     Communities
                                               For the Republic of Tunisia
 ---pagebreak--- 21. 4. 87            Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 104/27
                                              ANNEX
             CCT
          heading No                                       Description
               01.01   Live horses, asses, mules and hinnies:
                       A. Horses:
                           II. For slaughter (a)
                           III. Other
               07.01   Vegetables, fresh or chilled:
                           A. Potatoes:
                                II. New potatoes:
                                    ex a) from 1 January to 15 May('):
                                           — from 1 January to 31 March
                           F. Leguminous vegatables, shelled or unshelled:
                                I.  Peas:
                                     ex a) from 1 September to 31 May:
                                            — from 1 October to 30 April
                                II. Beans (of the species Phaseolus):
                                    ex a) from 1 October to 30 June:
                                           — from 1 November to 30 April
                           G. Carrots, turnips, salad beetroot, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar
                                edible roots:
                                ex II. Carrots and turnips:
                                       — from 1 January to 31 March
                       ex H. Onions, shallots and garlic:
                                — Onions, from 15 February to 15 May
                       ex L. Artichokes:
                                — from 1 October to 31 December
                           M. Tomatoes:
                                ex I.   From 1 November to 14 May:
                                        — from 15 November to 30 April
                           S. Sweet peppers
               07.03   Vegetables provisionnally preserved in brine, in sulphur water or in other
                       preservative solutions, but not specially prepared for immediate consumption:
                       B. Capers
               07.05   Dried leguminous vegatables, chelled, whether or not skinned or split:
                       A. For sowing:
                           ex I. Peas (including stick peas) and beans (of the species Phaseolus):
                                    — Peas
                           ex III. Other:
                                    — Broad beans and horse beans
               08.02   Citrus fruit, fresh or dried:
                       ex A. Oranges
                                — Fresh (2)
                       ex B. Mandarines, including tangerines and satsumas; Clementines, wilkings or
                                other similar citrus hybrids:
                                — Fresh
                       ex C. Lemons:
                                — Fresh
 ---pagebreak--- No C 104/28                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                      21. 4. 87
                      CCT
                   heading No                                                Description
                       08.08             Berries, fresh:
                                         A. Strawberries:
                                             ex II. From 1 August to 30 April:
                                                     — From 1 November to 31 March
                   ex 08.09              Other fruit, fresh:
                                         — Melons, from 1 November to 31 May
                        12.03            Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing:
                                         E. Other (b)
                       16.04             Prepared or preserved fish, including caviar and caviar substitutes:
                                         E. Tunny
                       20.02             Vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid:
                                             A. Mushrooms
                                                — Cultivated mushrooms
                                                — Other
                                         ex C. Tomatoes:
                                                — Peeled tomatoes
                                             H. Other, including mixtures
                                                — Carrots and mixtures
                                                — Other
                       20.06            Fruit otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar
                                        or spirit:
                                        B. Other:
                                            II. Not containing added spirit:
                                                a) Containing added sugar, in immediate packings of a net capacity of
                                                    more than 1 kg:
                                                    ex 7. Peaches and apricots:
                                                           — Apricots
                                                    ex 9. Mixtures of fruit:
                                                           — Fruit salad (•')
                                                b) Not containing added sugar, in immediate packings of a net capacity:
                                                    1. Of 4,5 kg or more:
                                                        ex aa) Apricots:
                                                                — Apricot halves
                                                                — Apricot pulp( 4 )
                                                    2. Of less than 4.5 kg:
                                                        ex bb) Other fruits and mixtures of fruit:
                                                             — Apricot halves, peach halves and nectarine halves
              Entry under this subheading is subject to conditions to be determined by the competent authorities of
             the Community.
         (b) This concession is solely for seeds complying with the provisions of the Directives on the marketing of
              seeds and plants.
         (') Reference quantity of 2 600 tonnes.
         (2) Within the limit of a Community tariff quota of 28 000 tonnes.
             In accordance with the conditions referred to in Article 19 of the Agreement.
             Within the limit of the tariff quota referred to in Article 21 of the Agreement.
 ---pagebreak--- 21. 4. 87                         Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 104/29
              Joint Declaration by the Contracting Parties on Articles 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Protocol
                                           (to be annexed to the Protocol)
          The Contracting Parties agree that should the entry into force of the Protocol not coincide
          with the start of the calendar year or, as the case may be, the seasonal year, the quantitative
          limits referred to in Articles 1 and 2 of the said Protocol shall be applied on a pro rata basis.
          The Contracting Parties further agree that the charging against quantitative limits of Com-
          munity imports of products originating in Egypt and subject to such limits under the Protocol
          shall begin on 1 January of each year, except in respect of oranges coming under heading
          No 08 02 ex A of the Common Customs Tariff, for which the date of 1 July shall apply.
          Joint Declaration by the Contracting Parties concerning new potatoes falling within heading
                                No 07.01 A II ex a) of the Common Customs Tariff
                                           (to be annexed to the Protocol)
          To avoid disturbance on the Community market, the Contracting Parties agree to meet
          within an advisory working party to examine the situation on the potato markets (state of
          harvests and supply situation) both in the Community importing countries and in the
          Mediterranean exporting countries. The members of this working party will be designated
          by the Governments of the main exporting and importing countries.
          The working party, chaired by the Commission, would meet at least three times a year and
          in particular before sowing takes place in the exporting countries, and at the time of deliveries.
          These meetings would enable the main potato-exporting countries to be informed both about
          the receiving markets and about competing markets, and their purpose would be to draw up
          indicative export timetables designed to prevent deliveries being concentrated around sensitive
          periods for the Community market.