Council Regulation (EC) No 1763/1999 of 29 July 1999 concerning the arrangements applicable to imports into the Community of products originating in Albania and amending Regulation (EC) No 2820/98 applying a multiannual scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 1 July 1999 to 31 December 2001 as regards Albania

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1763/1999
of 29 July 1999
concerning the arrangements applicable to imports into the Community of products originating in Albania and amending Regulation (EC) No 2820/98 applying a multiannual scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 1 July 1999 to 31 December 2001 as regards Albania
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) Relations between the European Union and non-associated countries in south-eastern Europe are governed by the EU's Regional Approach based on the conclusions of the Council of 29 April 1997 which contain a number of common principles and conditions, including for the granting of preferential trade concessions;
(2) All countries formerly part of Yugoslavia covered by the EU's Regional Approach concerning the non-associated countries in south-eastern Europe who comply with relevant conditionality benefit from preferential trade concessions;
(3) Albania is equally covered by the EU's Regional Approach and currently complies with the relevant conditionality in the framework of the EU's Regional Approach for the granting of autonomous trade preferences;
(4) The Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Albania on trade and commercial and economic cooperation(1) does not provide for the granting of preferential trade concessions comparable with those applying as autonomous trade preferences to countries formerly part of Yugoslavia;
(5) The granting of autonomous trade preferences for Albania in addition to the GSP would make it possible to supplement the provisions of the said Agreement in the direction of a comparable trade regime with regional standards without the opening of negotiations, while taking into account the specific situation of trade between the European Community and Albania; these autonomous trade preferences would be governed by the same basic rules as those which apply to countries which emerged from former Yugoslavia; it is therefore appropriate to limit the coverage of the GSP for Albania to agricultural products once these autonomous trade preferences apply, in line with the regime applicable to these countries;
(6) Such trade preferences comprise exemption from duties and the abolition of quantitative restrictions for industrial products, except for certain products subject to tariff ceilings, and special concessions (exemption from duties, reduction of the agricultural components, tariff quotas) for various agricultural products;
(7) It is appropriate, in the light of experience achieved in the framework of an agreement on textile products between the Community and Albania in force between 1992 and 1997, to provide for specific tariff ceilings for these products;
(8) It is appropriate to provide in the case of Albania for specific concessions for fishery products;
(9) For the purposes of certification and administrative cooperation procedures, the relevant provisions of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993(2) laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code(3) should be applied;
(10) Community monitoring may be achieved by means of an administrative procedure based on charging imports of the products in question against the tariff ceilings at Community level as and when those products are entered with the customs authorities for free circulation; this administrative procedure must make provision for the possibility of reintroducing customs duties as soon as the ceilings are reached at Community level;
(11) This administrative procedure requires close and particularly rapid cooperation between the Member States and the Commission, which must in particular be able to follow the progress of quantities charged against the ceilings;
(12) The decision for the opening of tariff quotas should be taken by the Community in the execution of its international obligations; to ensure the efficiency of a common administration of these quotas, there is no obstacle to authorising the Member States to draw from the quota-volumes the necessary quantities corresponding to actual imports; however, this method of administration requires close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission and the latter must in particular be able to monitor the rate at which the quotas are used up and inform the Member States;
(13) It is necessary, in particular, to ensure for all Community importers equal and uninterrupted access to the said tariff quotas and to ensure uninterrupted application of the rates laid down for the quotas to all imports of the products concerned into all Member States until the quotas have been used up;
(14) For the sake of rationalisation and simplification, it is appropriate to provide that the Commission may, having consulted the Customs Code Committee, make any necessary changes and technical amendments necessary to this Regulation;
(15) The Community must be able to act swiftly against Albania when its financial interests are damaged as a result of fraud, serious and repeated irregularities or a manifest lack of administrative cooperation in Albania; having notified the Member States and the operators concerned of its reasonable doubts, the Commission should be able to suspend certain preferences provisionally on the basis of sufficient evidence;
(16) The import arrangements are renewed on the basis of the conditions established by the Council in relation to the development of the relations between the Community and Albania, including the regional approach; it is therefore appropriate to limit the duration of these arrangements to 31 December 2001,