Commission Regulation (EC) No 1399/2007 of 28 November 2007 opening and providing for the administration of an autonomous and transitional import tariff quota for sausages and certain meat products originating in Switzerland

29.11.2007 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 311/7
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1399/2007
of 28 November 2007
opening and providing for the administration of an autonomous and transitional import tariff quota for sausages and certain meat products originating in Switzerland
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2759/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common organisation of the market in pigmeat (1), and in particular Article 11(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1355/2007 (2) provides for the opening of an autonomous and transitional Community quota for the import of 1 900 tonnes of sausages and certain meat products originating from Switzerland.
(2) In order to ensure that quota benefit is available until the entry into force of the adaptation of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (3) approved by Council and Commission Decision 2002/309/EC, Euratom (4) (hereafter referred to as the Agreement), it is appropriate to open the tariff quotas on an autonomous and transitional basis from 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2009.
(3) To be eligible for the benefit of those tariff quotas, products should originate in Switzerland in conformity with the rules referred to in Article 4 of the Agreement.
(4) The administration of the tariff quota should be based on import licences. To that end, detailed rules should be laid down for the submission of import licence applications and the information which must appear in these applications and import licences.
(5) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products (5) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006 of 31 August 2006 laying down common rules for the administration of import tariff quotas for agricultural products managed by a system of import licences (6) should apply, save as otherwise provided for in this Regulation.
(6) In order to ensure regular imports, the quantities of products covered by the import tariff quota should be spread out over four subperiods within the period from 1 January to 31 December. In any case, Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006 limits the period of validity of licences to the last day of the import tariff quota period.
(7) In the interest of the operators it should be provided that the Commission determines the quantities not applied for that will be added to the next subperiod.
(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Pigmeat,