Commission Regulation (EC) No 2697/1999 of 17 December 1999 on the issuing of import licences for bananas under the tariff quotas and the quantity of traditional ACP bananas for the first quarter of 2000 and on the submission of new applications

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2697/1999
of 17 December 1999
on the issuing of import licences for bananas under the tariff quotas and the quantity of traditional ACP bananas for the first quarter of 2000 and on the submission of new applications
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 on the common organisation of the market in bananas(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999(2), and in particular Article 20 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 2362/98(3), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 756/1999(4), lays down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 regarding imports of bananas into the Community;
(2) Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 lays down that where, in the case of a given origin or origins referred to in Annex I, the quantities covered by import licence applications exceed the quantity available, a reduction percentage to be applied to applications must be set;
(3) the indicative quantities available for import under the tariff quotas and the quantity of traditional ACP bananas are laid down for the first quarter of 2000 by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2268/1999(5), which also lays down the conditions for issuing licences for the first quarter of 2000;
(4) in the case of the quantities covered by licence applications that are either less than or do not appreciably exceed the indicative quantities fixed for the given quarter, import licences are issued for the quantities applied for. However, for certain origins, the quantities applied for appreciably exceed the indicative quantities. A reduction percentage should therefore be set to be applied to each licence application for the origin or origins involved;
(5) the maximum quantity for which licence applications may still be submitted in accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 should be set, taking account of the applications accepted at the end of the application period and of the available quantities;
(6) this Regulation should apply immediately to permit licences to be issued as quickly as possible;
(7) the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Bananas,