CELEX: 51995PC0660
Language: en
Date: 1995-12-14
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products as well as liver horses originating in Iceland

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                  Brussels, 14.12.1995
                                                  COM(95)660 final
                                                  95/0352 (ACC)
                                 Proposal for a
                        COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain
          fishery products as well as liver horses originating in Iceland
                        (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                         EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. The European Economic Community signed an Agreement with Iceland on 22 July
   1972.
2. The Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden requires further adjustment of
   the above Preferential Agreement as from 1 January this year, to take into account
   the trade arrangements for fishery products between the three new Member States
   and Iceland.
3. The Community has therefore concluded with Iceland, on the one part, an additional
   protocol to the preferential agreement and on the other part, an agreement under the
   form of an exchange of letters in which Community tariff quotas for certain fishery
   products and live horses originating in Iceland are opened respectively for a period
   running from 1 January to 31 December of each year.
4. The purpose of the annexed proposal is to implement this tariff quota for an indefinite
   period. Accordingly and for reasons of efficiency and simplifying the implementation
   of the measures concerned it seems desirable that the regulation should be
   pluriannual.
5. Furthermore, as the adaptations arising from the combined nomenclature of the
   TARIC and those concerning quotas volumes and quota rates laid down in Council
   or Commission decisions involve no change of substance, it is proposed that the
   Council should empower the Commission to implement theses measures by adopting
   regulations following receipt of an opinion from the Customs Code Committee.
6. As in the case of other Community tariff quotas, the proposal does not provide for
   the allocation among the Member States of the quota volumes but enables the
   Member States to draw from the quota volumes the quantities required to cover the
   actual imports recorded.
                                         i
 ---pagebreak---                                          Proposal for a
                                   COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
                                               of
    opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain
                 fishery products as well as liver horses originating in Iceland
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 an Agreement was concluded between the European Economic Community and
Iceland;*
Whereas, following the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, the above mentioned
quotas have to be adjusted to take into account, inter alia, the existing trade arrangements
for fishery products between these countries and Iceland;
Whereas an Additional Protocol to the above Agreement as well as an agreement on the
form of an exchange of letters has therefore been concluded between the Community and
Iceland and approved by Council Decisions;^ whereas by the provisions of this Protocol
the Community has undertaken to open Community tariff quotas at zero duty for a
number of products originating in Iceland, from 1 January to 31 December each year;
Whereas the tariff quota provided in the agreement in question relates to an indefinite
period and accordingly, for reasons of efficiency and simplifying the implementation of the
measures concerned, it appears suitable to provide that the application of this regulation
should be placed on a pluriannual footing;
Whereas, for reasons of simplification, provision should be made to empower the
Commission to give effect, following receipt of the Customs Code Committe, to necessary
amendments and technical adaptations of this regulation arising from amendments of the
combined nomenclature and TARIC codes, the extensions of tariff measures, the
necessary adaptations following the conclusion of protocols or exchange of letters, the
modifications of this regulation for the bringing into play of any other act in the
framework of this agreement as well as the adaptations of volume, periods and quota rates
arising from decisions by the Council or Commission;
Whereas all Community importers should be ensured equal and continuous access to the
said quota and the duty rate laid down for the quota should be applied consistently to all
imports of the product in question into all Member States until the quota is exhausted,
during the whole period of validity of the EEC Iceland Agreement.
1     OJ No L 301, 31.12.1972, p.2.
2     OJNoL...      ;OJNoL
                                              3
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas the decision for the opening, in the execution of its international obligations, of
tariff quotas should be taken by the Community, whereas, to ensure the efficiency of a
common administration of these quotas, there is no reasonable obstacle to authorising the
Member States to draw from the quota-volumes the necessary quantities corresponding to
actual imports; whereas this method of administration requires close cooperation between
the Member States and the Commission and the latter must in particular be able to
monitor the rate at which the quotas are used up and inform the Member States
accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                                  Article 1
1. From 1 January to 31 December of each year, the customs duties applicable to the
products referred to in this Regulation shall be suspended or reduced to the levels
indicated for each product, within the limit of the Community tariff quota shown for each
product.
2. Imports offisheryproducts shall not qualify for the tariff quotas unless the free-at-
frontier price established by the Member States in accordance with Article 22 of Council
Regulation (EEC) N° 3759/92 of 17 December 1992 on the common organization of the
market infisheryand aquaculture products-* is at least equal to any reference price which
has been fixed by the Community for the products or categories of products in question..
The provisions of the Protocol 3 of the Agreement between the European Economic
Community and the Republic of Iceland defining the concept of originating products and
setting out the arrangements for administrative cooperation as amended at last by
Decision No. 1/94 of the EC-Iceland Joint Committee of the 8 March 19944 shall apply.
                                               Article 2
The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be administered by the Commission, which
may take any appropriate administrative measures in order to ensure efficient
administration.
                                               Article 3
If an importer presents in a Member State a declaration of entry into free circulation
including a request for preferential benefit for a product covered by this Regulation, and if
this declaration is accepted by the customs authorities, the Member State concerned shall
draw, from the quota volume by means of notification to the Commission, a quantity
corresponding to those needs.
3
  OJ N° L 388, 31.12.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended
  by Regulation (EC) N° 3318/94 (OJ N° L 350 , 31.12.1994, p. 1).
4 OJ N° L 204, 6.8.94, p. 62
 ---pagebreak--- The requests for drawing, with the indication of the date of acceptance of the said
declarations, must be communicated to the Commission without delay.
The drawings are granted by the Commission on the basis of the date of acceptance of the
declaration of entry into free circulation by the customs authorities of the Member State
concerned, to the extent that the available balance so permits.
If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn, it shall return the as soon as possible
to the corresponding quota volume.
If the quantities requested are greater than the available balance of the quota volume,
allocation shall be made on a pro rata basis with respect to the requests. Member States
shall be informed thereof by the Commission.
                                           Article 4
Each Member State shall guarantee importers of the products in question equal and
continuous access to the quotas as long as the balance of the corresponding quota volume
allows.
                                           Article 5
 1.   The provisions necessary for the application of this Regulation, in particular:
      (a) the amendments and technical adaptations, insofar as necessary, arising from
          amendments of the combined nomenclature and Taric codes
      (b) the necessary adaptations resulting from the conclusion by the Council of
          protocols or exchange of letters between the Community and this country in the
          framework of the agreement envisaged by this Regulation
      (c) the prorogation of tariff measures conforming to the provisions contained in the
          agreement envisaged by this Regulation
      (d) the necessary adaptations of volumes, periods and quota duty arising from
          decisions adopted by the Council, and
      (e) the modifications of the present regulation necessary for the putting into practice
          of any other act in the framework of the agreement foreseen by this Regulation
          shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6
2.    The provisions adopted under Paragraph 1 shall not authorise the Commission to
          carry over a balance of preferential quantities from one period to another,
          modify the timetable laid out in the agreements,
          transfer quantities from one quota to another,
          open and manage quotas resulting from new agreements,
          adopt legislation effecting the management of quotas which are the subject of
          certificates of importation
 ---pagebreak---                                            Article 6
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Customs Code Committee set up by Article
    247 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (5).
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the
    measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a
    time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter.
    The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the
    Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal
    from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within
    the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman
    shall not vote.
    The Commission shall adopt the measures, which apply immediately. However, if
    these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, they shall be
    communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event:
         - the Commission shall defer application of the measures which it has decided for
           three months from the date of such communication;
         - the Council, acting by qualified majority, may take a different decision within
           the period referred to in the previous paragraph.
3. The Committee may examine any question concerning the application of this
    Regulation which is raised by its chairman either on his own initiative or at the request
    of a Member State.
                                           Article 7
Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely in order to ensure that this
Regulation is complied with.
                                           Article 8
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 January 1995 for the whole period of validity of the Agreement...
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
                                                                       For the Council
                                                                        The President
                                                G
 ---pagebreak---                                         ANNEX
Order No   CN code     Taric code                          Description                     Amount of Quota
                                                                                            quotas   duty
                                                                                                      (%)
 09.0791  0101 19 10               Live horses                                                 100     0
          0101 19 90         -                                                               head
 09.0793  0302 12 00               Salmon,freshor chilled                                     50 T     0
          0304 10 13               Salmon fillets,freshor chilled
          0304 20 13               Frozen salmon fillets
 09.0794  0302 23 00               Sole, fresh or chilled                                    250 T
            0302 29                Megrim and other flatfish,freshor chilled
          0302 69 85               Blue whiting fresh or chilled
          0303 32 00               Frozen plaice
          0303 79 96               Otherfrozenfish
          0304 10 19               Coalfish fillets, chilled or frozen
          0304 10 33               Fish of coalfisch,freshor chilled
          0304 10 35               Redfishfillets,freshor chilled
         EX 0304 10 38 -0304 1038  Other fish fillets, other than herring and Mackerel,
                             *10   fresh or chilled
                              20
                               50
                              90
          0304 10 98               Otherfishmeat,freshor chilled
          0304 20 19               Frozen salmon fillets
          0304 90 35               Frozenfilletsof otherfreshwaterfish
          0304 90 38               Frozen cod meat of the species Gadus macrocephalus
                                   Frozen cod meat of the species Gadus morhua
          0304 90 39               Frozen cod meat of the species Gadus ogac and frozen
                                   fish meat of the species Boreogadus saida
          0304 90 41               Frozen coalfish meat
          0304 90 47               Frozen hake meat of the genus Merluccius
          0304 90 59               Frozen blue whiting meat
         EX 0304 90 97 0304 90 97  Other frozen fish meat, except mackerel
                           •31
                            39
                            50
                            60
                            70
                            80
                            90
 09.0795  0305 61 00               Herring, salted but not dried or smoked, and herring in  1750T      0
                                   brine
 09.0796  0306 19 30         -     Frozen Norway lobsters (Nephrops norvegicus)               50 T     0
 09.0797  1604 12 91               Other prepared or preserved herring, in hermetically     2 400T     0
                                   sealed containers
           1604 12 99        -     Other prepared or preserved herring, other
 09.0798   1604 19 98              Other prepared or preservedfish,whole or in pieces         50 T     0
         EX 1604 20 90  1604 20 90 Other prepared or preserved fish meat, except herring
                          *20/80   and mackerel
                          30/80
                          35/80
                          50/80
                          90/80
                                                 ¥
 ---pagebreak---                                    FINANCIAL STATEMENT
 1.       Budget heading involved:     Chap. 12, Art. 120
 2.       Legal basis: Article 113
 3.       Title: opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for
                 certainfisheryproducts as well as liver horses originating in Iceland
 4.       Objective: To honour the undertakings given by the Community
 5.       Loss of revenue:
      Description           Quantity  Average price Normal average Duty applicable    Loss of revenue
                               (t)       (ECU)           rate       to quota (%)          (ECU)
                                                     of duty (%)
Fresh or chilled fish
Frozen fish                   300        2 305           6.6              0               45 639
Fish fillets and other
fish meat
Fish, dried, salted or       1 750        3 594           12              0              754 740
in brine
Crustaceans                    50         4 165           13              0               27 072
Prepared or                  2 450        5 967           7.9             0             1 154 912
preserved fish
Live horses                   100         3 600          16,9             0               60 840
                             head      Ecu/head
                                                                                ECU 2 043 203
                                                &
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  ISSN 0254-1475
                                                          C0M(95) 660 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                  02 03 11
                                     Catalogue number : CB-CO-95-747-EN-C
                                                            ISBN 92-77-98371-X
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