Council Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002 of 10 December 2002 on the arrangements applicable to agricultural products and goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products originating in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP States) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1706/98

Council Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002
of 10 December 2002
on the arrangements applicable to agricultural products and goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products originating in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP States) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1706/98
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 133 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas:
(1) Pending ratification by the Member States of the European Community and the ACP States of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000, hereinafter referred to as the "Cotonou Agreement"(1), early application of this Agreement is provided for by Decision No 1/2000 of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers of 27 July 2000 regarding transitional measures valid from 2 August 2000 until the entry into force of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement(2).
(2) In order to facilitate the transition to the new trading arrangements, and in particular the Economic Partnership Agreements, the non-reciprocal trade preferences applied under the Fourth ACP-EC Convention should be maintained during the preparatory period until 31 December 2007 for all ACP States, under the conditions defined in Annex V to the Cotonou Agreement.
(3) For agricultural products originating in the ACP States and listed in Annex I to the Treaty or subject to specific rules as a result of the implementation of the common agricultural policy, Article 1(a) of Annex V to the Cotonou Agreement provides for a more favourable treatment than that granted to third countries benefiting from the most-favoured-nation clause for the same products.
(4) In Declaration XXII to the Cotonou Agreement concerning agricultural products referred to in Article 1(a) of Annex V, the Community declared that it will take all the measures required to ensure that the corresponding agricultural regulations are adopted in good time.
(5) It should be specified that the advantages resulting from Annex V to the Cotonou Agreement are granted only to originating products within the meaning of its Protocol 1 concerning the definition of the concept of "originating products" and methods of administrative cooperation.
(6) For reasons of simplification and transparency, a complete list of the products concerned and the specific import provisions applicable to them should be contained in an Annex, with references to tariff quotas, tariff ceilings or reference quantities contained in a separate Annex.
(7) There have traditionally been trade flows from the ACP States to the French overseas departments and measures should therefore be maintained to encourage the import of certain products originating in the ACP States into the French overseas departments to cover local consumption requirements, including consumption following processing. Provisions should also be made for altering the arrangements governing access to the markets for products originating in the ACP States referred to in Annex V to the Cotonou Agreement, particularly in the light of the said departments' economic development requirements.
(8) Although the tariff advantages resulting from Annex V to the Cotonou Agreement are calculated on the basis of rates laid down in the Common Customs Tariff, and in accordance with the rules governing it, they should be calculated on the basis of the autonomous duty where, for the products concerned, that duty is lower than the conventional duty.
(9) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(3).
(10) It should be stipulated that the rules on safeguard measures provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 2285/2002 on the safeguard measures provided for in the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 3705/90(4) apply to the products covered by this Regulation.
(11) Since this Regulation is to replace Council Regulation (EC) No 1706/98 of 20 July 1998 on the arrangements applicable to agricultural products and goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products originating in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP States) and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 715/90(5), that Regulation should be repealed.
(12) As this Regulation implements international commitments, which the Community has already made, the Regulation enters into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities,