CELEX: 31973D0048
Language: en
Date: 1973-01-04 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 4 January 1973 extending the authority for the application of two special tariff measures to the rail carriage of Lorraine iron ore to Belgium and Luxembourg

No L 83 /36                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                 30. 3 . 73
                                                 COMMISSION DECISION
                                                       of 4 January 1973
               extending the authority for the application of two special tariff measures to the rail
                                carriage of Lorraine iron ore to Belgium and Luxembourg
                                               (Only the French text is authentic)
                                                           (73/48/ECSC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                     Treaty were also being met in that the tariff measures
COMMUNITIES,                                                       would bring about an improvement in the living and
                                                                    working conditions of mineworkers in Lorraine ;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Coal and Steel Community and in                           Whereas these two measures have helped to halt the
particular Articles 2 to 5 and 70 thereof;                          drop in exports of Lorraine iron ore to Belgium and
                                                                   Luxembourg and to stabilize the rail traffic at the
                                                                   level it was when the special tariff measures were
Having regard to the Decision of the Commission of                  applied;
the European Communities No 68/349/ECSC of 31
July 1968 authorizing a special tariff for the rail
 carriage of Lorraine iron ore to Belgium ( OJ No                  Whereas the French and Luxembourg Governments
L 230, 19 . 9. 1968 , p. 8 );                                      support their request for extending the authority
                                                                   covering the two tariffs by stressing the importance
                                                                   which reduced tariffs, despite their adjustment as a
Having regard to the Decision of the Commission of                 result of a general tariff increase which took place in
the European Communities No 69/268/ECSC of 23                      the meantime, still have for both the SNCF and the
 July 1969 authorizing a special tariff for the rail               CFL;
carriage of Lorraine iron ore to Luxembourg ( OJ No
L 220, 1 . 9. 1969, p. 5);
                                                                   Whereas       Lorraine  iron    ore  faces   continuous
                                                                   competition from ores of better quality and at
Whereas, by a letter (ref. 1757) dated 31 December                 lower price which could be consigned to users in
1971     from     the    Office    of    the     Permanent         Belgium and Luxembourg by other routes and other
Representative of France to the European                           means of transport;
Communities, the French Government requested that
the authority given by the Commission Decisions                    Whereas the competition has recently become more
cited above in respect of the Franco-Belgian Tariff                 acute; whereas, therefore, it will be more and more
No 3232, Part III and of the Franco-Luxembourg                     difficult to sell Lorraine ore within the Community
Tariff No 3530, Part III A, be extended; and whereas,              unless the burden of transport costs is alleviated ;
by a letter (ref. 17. 2. 31 ) dated 30 November 1971 ,
the Luxembourg Government made a similar request
in respect of Tariff No 3530, Part III A;                          Whereas the circumstances which prompted the
                                                                   Commission to grant authority are still present, and
                                                                   whereas the effects of the tariff measures are not
Whereas the Commission of the European                             contrary to the principles of the Treaty; whereas, in
Communities by the above-cited Decisions, taken                    particular, the application of the tariffs is beneficial
pursuant to the fourth paragraph of Article 70 of the              to the carrier and does not affect the functioning of
ECSC Treaty, authorized the two special tariff                     the common market;
 measures under reference for the rail carriage of
Lorraine iron ore to Belgium and Luxembourg, after
having ascertained that they were consistent with the              Whereas the Commission must reserve the right to
Treaty; whereas its conclusion was based on the                    review its decision whenever the circumstances giving
particular benefit which the railways concerned could              rise to it vary or no longer apply; whereas it feels that
derive from a reduced tariff and on the trifling effect            these measures and the authority to apply them
which the tariff might have on normal conditions of                should be reviewed within two years at most even if
competition in the relevant coal and steel markets;                no such change has taken place; whereas they should
whereas the social policy objectives of the ECSC                   therefore be authorized for a limited period only;
 ---pagebreak--- 30 . 3 . 73                        Official Journal of the European Communities                          No L 83 /37
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :                                                         Article 3
                       Article 1                              This Decision is addressed to the French Republic
The authority given for the application to the rail           and,   as regards its          application to the
carriage of Lorraine iron ore to Belgium and to               Franco-Luxembourg Tariff No 3530, Part III A, to
Luxembourg of special tariff measures, namely the             the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Franco-Belgian Tariff No 3232, Part III, and the
Franco-Luxembourg Tariff No 3530, Part III A, shall
continue to be effective until 31 December 1974 .             Done at Brussels, 4 January 1973 .
                       Article 2
                                                                                              For the Commission
                                                                                                  The President
This Decision may be amended or repealed if the
Commission considers that it is no longer warranted.                                           S. L. MANSHOLT