CELEX: 51997PC0095
Language: en
Date: 1997-03-06
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) opening and providing for the management of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain live fish originating in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                    Brussels, 06.03.1997
                                                    COM(97) 95 final
                                                    97/0065 (ACC)
                                     Proposal for a
                           COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
opening and providing for the management of autonomous Community tariff quotas for
           certain live fish originating in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
                            (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                           EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Agreements in the form of an exchange of letters were concluded by the European
Community with the Czech Republic on 22 September 1994 and with Slovakia on
28 October 1994 to supplement the Europe Agreements with the two countries. Under
these agreements imports of live trout and carp have been exempt from customs duties
within tariff quotas of 50 tonnes for trout and 850 tonnes for carp originating in the
Czech Republic and 50 tonnes for trout and 50 tonnes for carp originating in Slovakia.
Following enlargement, the Council working party on Central and Eastern Europe
agreed to take account of the two countries' preferential exports of the fish in question
to the three new Member States up to a limit of 150 tonnes of trout from Slovakia and
310 tonnes of carp from the Czech Republic. It was decided to renew these preferences
by adding the quantities to those provided for in the agreements in the form of exchanges
of letters referred to above. This will be done through an additional protocol to the
European Agreements with the two countries. Pending the entry into force of these
protocols, the measures should be applied on an autonomous basis by opening tariff
quotas applicable from 1 January this year.
That is the purpose of the attached proposal for a Regulation.
                                                  i.
 ---pagebreak---                                         Proposai for a
                      COUNCIL REGULATION ŒQ No                      /97
                                        of      1997
    opening and providing for the management of autonomous Community tariff
      quotas for certain live fish originating in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular
Article 113 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the Agreements in the form of an exchange of letters between the European
Community and the Czech Republic, signed on 22 September 1994,1 and between the
European Community and Slovakia, signed on 28 October 1994,2 have supplemented the
European Agreements with these two countries by providing for duty-free tariff quotas
for trout and carp;
Whereas, following the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, the Council agreed
that existing preferential exports to these countries of 150 tonnes of live trout originating
in Slovakia and 310 tonnes of live carp originating in the Czech Republic should be taken
into account; whereas it also agreed to renew the Agreements in the forms of an
exchange of letters by adding the quantities arising from enlargement to those already
provided for;
Whereas these tariff measures will be set out in additional protocols to the Europe
Agreements with Slovakia and the Czech Republic; whereas these concessions should be
implemented autonomously pending the entry into force of these protocols; whereas
tariff quotas for the products should be opened from 1 January 1997 and apply until the
entry into force of the additional protocols,
Whereas all Community importers should be assured equal and uninterrupted access to
the tariff quotas; whereas the rates laid down for these quotas should apply to all imports
of the products in question in all the Member States until the quotas are exhausted;
1
     OJL272, 22.10.1994, p. 50.
2
     OJL 294, 15.11.1994, p. 27.
                                                 S
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas a decision on the opening of autonomous tariff quotas has to be taken by the
Community; whereas there is no reason why the Member States should not, in the
interests of an efficient common management of the quotas, be authorized to draw on the
quotas for the necessary quantities corresponding to actual imports; whereas, however,
this type of management calls for close liaison between the Member States and the
Commission, the latter having to be in a position to monitor the rate at which the quotas
are used up and notify the Member States accordingly,
                                                V
 ---pagebreak--- HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                           Article J
Import duties on products listed in the Annex originating in the Czech Republic and in
Slovakia are hereby suspended at the levels and within the limits of the annual
Community tariff quotas set for each.
                                           Article 2
The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be managed by the Commission, which may
take any appropriate administrative measures to ensure that they are managed efficiently.
                                           Article 3
Where an importer presents a declaration for release for free circulation in a Member
State, applying to take advantage of the preferential arrangements, and for a product
covered by this Regulation and the entry is accepted by the customs authorities, the
Member State concerned shall, by notifying the Commission, draw an amount
corresponding to its requirements from the appropriate quota volume.
Requests for drawings, indicating the date on which the entries were accepted, must be
sent to the Commission without delay.
Drawings shall be granted by the Commission in chronological order of the dates on
which the customs authorities of the Member States concerned accepted the entries for
release for free circulation, to the extent that the available balance so permits.
If a Member State does not use a drawing in full it shall return any unused portion to the
corresponding quota volume as soon as possible.
If the quantities requested are greater than the available balance of the quota volume, the
balance shall be allocated among applicants on a pro rata basis. The Commission shall
inform the Member States of the drawings made.
                                           Article 4
Each Member State shall ensure that importers of the products in question have equal
and continuous access to the quotas for as long as the balance of the relevant quota
volume so permits.
                                           Article 5
The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure that this
Regulation is complied with.
                                              x
 ---pagebreak---                                          Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication
in the Official Journal.
It shall apply from 1 January 1997.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.
Done at Brussels,
                                                              For the Council
 ---pagebreak---                                                  ANNEX
 Order No         CN code             Description          Duty (%) Annual quota volume
                                                                    Originating in Originating in
                                                                     the Czech        Slovakia
09.5261        0301 91 90        Live trout (Salmo trutta,            Republic
                                 Oncorhynchus mykiss,
                                 Oncorhynchus clarki,
                                 Oncorhynchus
                                 aguabonita,
                                 Oncorhynchus gilae)       o1            501            2001
09.5263        0301 93 00        Live carp                 o1           1 1601           50 t
  Subject to conformity with the preference price.
                                                         3
 ---pagebreak--- FINANCIAL STATEMENT
1.       Budget heading concerned: Chapter 12, Article 120
2.       Legal basis: Article 113 of the Treaty
3.       Title of tariff measure, proposal for a Regulation opening and providing for the
         management of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain live fish
         originating in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia.
4.       Objective: to renew the agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovakia
         concerning the preferential imports of certain live fish and to take account of the
         preferential trade flows between these two countries and the three new Member
         States.
5.       Method of calculation:
 Order No          Quota volume             Average price      Normal       Quota    Loss of
                       (tonnes)               (ECU/t)         duty (%)    duty (%)   revenue
                                                                                      (ECU)
                  CZ            SL         CZ          SL
09.5261        50           200       2 084        1911       12          0         58 368
(live trout)
09.5263        1 160         50        1282        1418       8           0         124 642
(live carp)
Total loss of revenue. ECU 183 010
These products were not subject to tariff quotas in 1995 and 1996.
         Anti-fraud measures: Provisions on the management of tariff quotas include the
         measures needed to prevent and combat fraud and irregularities.
                                        ff
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    ISSN 0254-1475
                                                             COM(97) 95 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
 EN                                                              02 03 11      01
                                    Catalogue number : CB-CO-97-081-EN-C
                                                              ISBN 92-78-16395-3
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