CELEX: 51981PC0793
Language: en
Date: 1981-12-14
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) opening, allocating and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for prepared or preserved sardines falling within subheading 16.04 D of the Common Customs Tariff and originating in Morocco (1982) (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (81) 793
Vol. 1981/0223
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
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concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
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p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
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file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
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Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                COM(81)793 final
                                                Brussels . 14 December 1981
                                I
                                     Proposal for a
                         -      COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
            opening / allocating and providing for the administration of
            Community tariff quotas for prepared or preserved sardines
              falling within subheading 16.04 D of the Common Customs
                        Tariff and originating in Morocco ( 1982 )
                                                       *
                                ? <    /y   "
                                      /V:> k
                     ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
                                            . *■ .       v
                                        V
COU ( 81 ) 793 final
 ---pagebreak---                               EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1 . The 1978 Agreement between the Community and      Morocco provide
     that prepared and preserved sardines originating in this country
     may be admitted duty free into the Community on condition that
     certain minimum prices are respected . The periods and the technical
     rules for application of this system must be fixed by an exchange
     of letters between the contracting parties . Since this exchange
    of letters has never taken place the arrangements provided for in
     the Agreement have not been implemented and those arising from the
     previous Association Agreement between the EEC and Morocco       were
     maintained in force until 31 December 1977 .
     The former arrangements in question provided for a tariff treatment
     which varied from one Member State to another .    They
    cannot be extended , since they are incompatible
     with the principles of the customs union and the rules of the Com­
     mon commercial policy .
2 . From 1 January 1978 therefore the Community replaced these arrange­
    ments by a Community tariff quota system which takes the interests
     involved into account pending the conclusion of the exchange of
     letters which will enable the provisions of the 1978 Agreement rela­
     ting to prepared and , preserved sardines to come into force .
3 . Pending the imminent entry into force of the exchange of letters
     in question for which negotiations are in progress , the Commission
     is proposing that the Council should extend the tariff quota system
     and should therefore approve the attached proposal for Regulation
    on the opening , allocating and administering of Community tariff
     quotas in respect of prepared and preserved sardines falling
     within subheading 16.04 D of the Common Customs Tariff originating
     in Morocco , i.e. :
                       - one tariff quota of h-.CCC tonnes , duty free ,
                       - one tariff quota of 2..<roo tonnes at 10 % .
 ---pagebreak--- These tariff quotas shall apply from the day of entry into force
of the regulation until 30 April 1982 .
This is the subject of the annexed proposals .
The proposal for regulation opening these tariff quotas provide
- as is customary - for the divis.ion of each of the quota volumes
into two instalments , the first being allocated among the Member
States as quota shares , the second being held as a reserve .
The allocation of the volume of the first instalment of the quota
should be based on the rules generally applied . These involve
calculating each Member State 's total imports of the last three
years as a proportion of total Community imports during the same
period and applying , for each Member State the percentage thus
obtained to the volume of the first instalment .
            IMPORTATION OF PREPARED AND CONSERVED'' SARDINES
                        ORIGINATING IN MOROCCO
                        –––––––                                   >
                               - in tonnes -
           MEMBER                ( in tonnes )
             STATE
                           1978         1979      1980
             BX          1 335        1 190     1 310
             DK            105            3          4
             D           1 626        2 022     1 335
             GR            578          196          0
                   I
              F .        6 603        7 100     8 020
              IRL           42            5          1
              IT            88           33        38
             UK          1 531        3 173     2 971
              CE        11 908       13 722    13 679
 ---pagebreak---                                                           PROPOSAL FOR A
                                                COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No .
                           opening, allocating and providing for the administration of Community tariff ;
                           quotas for prepared or preserved sardines falling within subheading 16.04 D of
                                    the Common Customs Tariff and originating in Morocco (198 2 ) ~
          THE COUNC IL OF THE EUROPEAN
          COMMUNITIES,                             (
          Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
          Economic Community, and in particular Article 113
          thereof.
          Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
i         Whereas the Cooperation Agreement between the
          Community and Morocco ( 1 ) ^ supplemented by the Council Regulation
             ( EEC ) No .                laying down the arrangements to the trade
    f ^
             between Greece and Morocco (2 )
                                           provides that prepared and
             preserved sardines, falling within subheading 16.04 D
             of the Common Customs Tariff and originating in
             Morocco, may be impcrted into the Community free
             of duties ; whereas the detailed arrangements must be
             fixed by an exchange of letters between the Commu­
             nity and Morocco ; whereas, since this exchange of
         . letters has not yet taken place, it is advisable to renew unti I 30 Apri I .
           •, 1982 the Community arrangements which were
        .• applied in 198l?whereas            it   is^ advisable
              to open                two Community tariff quotas for
              importations into the Community of the products in
              question, one duty-free tariff quota of 4 666 tonnes
              and the other of 2 000 tonnes at a rate of duty of
              10 % ; whereas these tariff quotas are to apply from the date of entry into force of this
  Regulation                  until the conclusion of the exchange of
              letters provided for in Article 19 of the Cooperation
              Agreement between the Community and Morocco,
              until such time, as Community' arrangements for                             '
              imports of the products in question arc applied or
              until 30 April           1982 / whichever shall be the
              earliest ;                                               i
              Whereas it it> in particular necessary to ensure for all
               Community importers equal and uninterrupted access
               to the abovementioned quotas and uninterrupted
              application of the rates laid down for these quotas to
              all imports of the products concerned into all Member
               States until the quotas have been used up • whereas,
               having regard to the principles mentioned above, tht
               Community nature of the quotas can be respected by
               allocating the Community tariff quotas among the
               Member States ; whereas, in order to reflect as accu­
               rately as possible the true trend of the market in the
               products in question, such allocation should be in
               proportion to the requirements of the Membc States, •     (A} 6*3 *io L 2CH ot a>        p- 3-
               calculated by reference to the statistics for imports         0"S
               from Morocco over a representative reference period
               and also to the economic outlook for the quota period ,
               in question ;                                    .......
 ---pagebreak---                                           - 2 -
 Whereas, during the last three years for which statis­
 tics are available, the corresponding imports into each
 of the Member States represent the following percen­
 tages of the imports into the Community from
 Morocco of the products concerned :
           Member States        1978     1979       ,9 80
                               11.21      8.67       9.58
  Denmark                       0.88    0.02         0.03
 Germany                       13.66 14.73           9.76
  Greece                        4.85    1.43         0.00
  France
                               55.45 51.74        58.63
  Ireland                       0.35    0.04         0.01
  Italy                         0.74    0.24      ' 0.27
  United Kingdom
                               12.86 23.13        21.72
  Whereas, in view of these factors and of the estimates
  submitted by certain Member States, initial shares may
  be fixed approximately at the following percentages :
        Bénélux                    • 9.75
        Of>nmark                     0.28
        Germany                     12.68
        Greece                       1.97
        France "                    55.26
        ireiand                      0.12
        Italy                        0.40
        United Kinedorr             19.54
Whereas, in order to take into account import trends
for the products concerned in the various Membei
States, each quota should be divided into two instal­
ments, the first being shared among the Membei
States and the second constituting a reserve to cover al
a later date the requirements of the Member States
which have used up their initial quota shares ;
whereas, in order to give importers in each Membei
State a certain degree of security; the first instalment
of the Community quotas should, under the circum­
stances, be fixed at 70 °/° respectively of the quota
volumes :                '
 ---pagebreak---                                 -3
    Whereas the Member States initial shares may be used
    up at different times ; whereas, in order to take this
    fact into account and avoid any break in continuity, .
    any Member State which has almost used up its initial
    quota share,s should draw an additional share from the
 . corresponding reserve ; whereas this must be done by
    each Member State as and when each of its additional
    shares is almost used up, and repeated as many times 1
    as the reserve allows ; whereas the initial and addi­
    tional shares must be valid until the end of the quota
    period ; whereas this method of administration
    requires close cooperation between the Member States '
    and the Commission, and the latter must be in a posi- 1
    tion to monitor the extent to which the quota
    amounts have been used up and to inform Member
    States thereof ;
    Whereas if, at a given date in the quota period, a
    substantial quantity remains unused in any Member ;           .
    State, it is essential that that Member State should
    return a significant- proportion to the corresponding [
    reserve to prevent a part of any tariff quota from
    remaining unused in one Member State when it could ;
    1 2 used in others ;
    Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the                 »
' Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of             >
     Luxembourg are united within and jointly represented       :
    by the Benelux Economic Union, any < operation              >
     relating to the administration of the quota shares alio-   j
     cated to that economic union may be carried out by i
     any of its members,                                       ■<
  '                              ^            \      '   ■.■■■*
     HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
                             Article !
 . 1 . From the date of entry into force of this Regula
   tion                            until the conclusion of the
     exchange of letters referred to in Article 19 of the
     Cooperation Agreement between the Community and
     Morocco, until such time ac Community import arran­
     gements are applied or until 30 Apr i I - 1982 / h ,
     wh'cbever shall be the earliest, a duty-free Commu- . .
     nity tariff quota of 4 666 tonnes shall be opened, for
     imports into the Community . - of prepared or •
     preserved sardines falling within subheading 16.04 D
     of the Common Customs Tariff and originating in
     Morocco.        .        '    V 4. : '     \              .j
 ---pagebreak--- 2 . From the date of entry into force
Of this Regulation until the conclusion of the
  exchange of letters referred to in Article 19 of the
  Cooperation Agreement between the Community and
  Morocco, until such time as Community import arran­
  gements are applied or until 30 April                         1982 ,
  whichever shall be the earliest, a Community tariff
 quota of 2 000 tonnes at a duty rate of 10 % shall be
 opened, for imports into the Community                            of
 prepared or preserved sardines falling within
 subheading 16.04 D of the Common Customs Tariff
 and originating in Morocco.
 3 „ Within tb « limits of these tariff
 quotas , Greece shall apply duties
 calculated in accordance with the
 relevant provisions in the 1979 Act of
 Accession and the Regulation ( EEC ) No --
                           Article 2
1.    The tariff quotas laid down in Article 1 shall be
divided into two instalments .
2. A first instalment of each quota shall be shared
among the Member States ; the respective shares
which, subject to Article 5, shall be valid until the end
of the period specified in Article 1 shall be as follows :
                                                             (tonnes)
         Member States   ,       Article 1 ( 1 ) , ; Article 1 (2)
                                             1     '
Benelux                             318                  136
Denmark                              10                     4
Germany                           - 414 J                177 J
Grecia .                              64                  28
Prance                        > 1v805 J               •-.773
Ireland                                 L                   2
Italy                                 13                    6
United Kingdom                      638                  274
                       Total    3,266          ;.·   1.400
3.|   The second instalment of each quota, i.e. 1 400
and 600 tonnes respectively, shall constitute the corres­
ponding reserve.
                           Artide 3
 1.    If 90 % or more of a Member State s initial share
as specified in Article 2 (2), or 90 % of that share
 minus the portion returned to the corresponding
 reserve where Article 5 has been applied, has been
 used up, then , to the extent permitted by the amount
 of the reserve, that Member State shall forthwith, by
 notifying the Commission, draw a'second share equal
 to 10 % of its initial share, rounded up where neces­
 sary to the next unit.
 ---pagebreak---                                                             - 5 -
    2. If, after one of its initial shares has been used up,      and 3 and, as soon as it is notified, shall inform each
    90 % or more of the second share drawn by a                   State of the extent to which the reserves have been
    Member State has been used up, then that Member               used up.
    State shall, in accordance with the conditions laid
    down in paragraph 1 , draw a third share equal to 5 %
    of its initial share, rounded up where necessary to the       It shall inform the Member States, not later than 5
    next unit                                                     April 1982 /. of the amount in each reserve after
                                                                  quantities have been returned thereto, pursuant to
                                                                  Article 5.
    3.    If, after its second share has been used up, 90 %
    or more of the third share drawn by a Member State            It shall ensure that the drawing which exhausts any
    has been used up, that Member State shall, in accord­         reserve does not exceed the balance available and, to
    ance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 ,           this end, shall notify the amount of that balance to
    draw a fourth share equal to the third.                       the Member State making the last drawing.
                                                I
    This process shall continue until the reserve is used
    up.                                                                                   Artide 7
    4. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 , 2 and             1.    The Member States shall take all measures neces­
    3, a Member State may draw shares smaller than those          sary to ensure that additional shares drawn pursuant to
    fixed in those paragraphs if there is reason to believe       Article 3 are opened in such a way that imports may
    that they might not be used up. It shall inform the           be charged without interruption against their accumu­
    Commission of its reasons for applying this para­             lated shares of the tariff quota.
    graph.
                                                                  2. The Member States shall ensure that importers
                                                                  of the products in question established in their terri­
                                                                  tory have free access to the shares allocated to them.
                              Article 4
                                                                  3.    The extent to which a Member State has used up
                                                                  its shares shall be determined on the basis of the
    Each of the additional shares drawn pursuant to
    Article 3 shall be valid until the end of th6 period laid     imports of the products concerned originating in
    down in Article 1 .                                           Morocco and entered with customs authorities for free
                                                                  circulation .
                              Article 5                                                   Artide 8
  ■ The Member States shall return to the reserve, not            At the Commission s request, the Member States shall
    later than I April 198 2 , such unused portion of             inform it of imports of the products concerned
    their initial share as, on 15 March           198 2 ,is in    actually charged against their shares.
    excess of 20 % of the initial volume. They may return
    a larger quantity if there are grounds for believing that
    this quantity may not be used.                                                      - Artide 9
    The Member States shall notify the Commission, not            The    Member    States   and   the  Commission    shall
    later than 1 April 1982,of the total quantities of            cooperate closely to ensure that this Regulation is
    the products in question imported up to 15                    complied with.
     March 198 2 and charged against the tariff quota
    and of any quantity of the initial shares returned to
1   the reserve.
                                                                                          Article 10
                                                                  This Regulation shall enter into force on the day
                              Artide 6                             following its publication in the Official Journal of
                                                                   the European Communities.
    The Commission shall keep an account of the shares
    opened by the Member States pursuant to Articles 2
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 6 -
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States .
Done at Brussels ,
                                                         For the Council
                                                           The President