CELEX: 51996PC0221
Language: en
Date: 1996-05-22
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) extending Regulation (EC) No 3066/95 establishing certain concessions in the form of Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products and providing for the adjustment, as an autonomous and transitional measure, of certain agricultural concessions provided for in the Europe Agreements to take account of the Agreement on Agriculture concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                  Brussels, 22.05.1996
                                                  COM(96) 221 final
                                                  96/0136 (ACQ
                                  Proposal for a
                         COUNCIL REGULATION q y >
extending Regulation (EC) No 3066/95 establishing certain concessions in the form of
    Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products and providing for the
    adjustment, as an autonomous and transitional measure, of certain agricultural
concessions provided for in the Europe Agreements to take account of the Agreement
on Agriculture concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations
                         (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                        EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.  In accordance with its obligations under the Agreement on Agriculture concluded
    during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, the Community
    replaced variable agricultural levies and other agricultural non-tariff barriers with
    fixed customs duties from 1 July 1995. This threatens to reduce the value of the
    agricultural concessions accorded under the Europe Agreements (Hungary, Poland,
    Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania), and in particular of preferential
    access to the Community market for certain agricultural products originating in
    the countries concerned.      In order to smooth the transition to the system
    applicable from 1 July 1995 and maintain the level of preferences accorded, the
    agricultural concessions provided for in the Europe Agreements need to be
    adjusted.
2.  At the same time, Articles 76, 102 and 128 of the Act of Accession require
    Austria, Finland and Sweden to apply, from 1 January 1995, the provisions of the
    preferential agreements concluded by the Community with certain non-member
    countries, among them Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland
•*  and Romania.
3.  On 6 March 1995 the Council adopted negotiating directives for the conclusion
    of additional protocols to the Europe Agreements, notably with regard to
    agricultural products. These negotiating directives provide for the adjustment of
    the agricultural concessions accorded under the Europe Agreements, taking
    account not only of the Community's obligations under the Agreement on
     Agriculture concluded during the Uruguay Round (see paragraph 1 above) but of
    the consequences of the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden (see
     paragraph 2 above).
 4.  Once these negotiations have been concluded, interim Additional Protocols
     relating solely to trade will be applied pending ratification of the Additional
     Protocols by all the parties concerned. In view of the time available, however,
                                          ^
 ---pagebreak---    there is no way that the interim Additional Protocols can enter into force on
   1 July 1996.
5. On 21 December 1995 the Council adopted a series of autonomous measures
   aimed at maintaining the level of preferences accorded under the Europe
   Agreements and taking account of pre-existing agricultural trade arrangements
   between the new Member States and the associated countries of Central and
   Eastern Europe. These measures apply until 30 June 1996.
6. This proposal is aimed at extending to 31 December 1996 the measures adopted
   by the Council on 21 December 1995.
 ---pagebreak---                          COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No ..../..
                                          of
extending Regulation (EC) No 3066/95 establishing certain concessions in the form of
    Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products and providing for the
     adjustment, as an autonomous and transitional measure, of certain agricultural
 concessions provided for in the Europe Agreements to take account of the Agreement
on Agriculture concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations
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 measures provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 3066/95 establishing
certain concessions in the form of Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural
products and providing for the adjustment, as an autonomous and transitional measure,
of certain agricultural concessions provided for in the Europe Agreements to take account
of the Agreement on Agriculture concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral
trade negotiations expire on 30 June 1996;
Whereas it was planned to replace those measures with interim Additional Protocols to
the Europe Agreements; whereas those Protocols cannot enter into force on 1 July 1996;
whereas Regulation (EC) No 3066/95 should therefore be extended to 31 December 1996,
 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
         OJ No L 328, 30.12.1995, p. 31.
 ---pagebreak---                                        Article 1
In Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 3066/95, the second sentence is hereby replaced by
the following:
"It shall apply from 1 January to 31 December 1996."
                                       Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 July 1996.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.
Done at Brussels,                                                       For the Council
                                                                          The President
                                                    -T
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                  ISSN 0254-1475
                                                           COM(96) 221 final
                                             DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                  02 11 03
                                     Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-233-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-78-04231-5
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
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