Council Regulation (EEC) No 1393/86 of 6 May 1986 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain cod and fillets of cod falling within subheadings ex 03.02 A I b) and 03.02 A II a) of the Common Customs Tariff and originating in Norway

COUNCIL  REGULATION (EEC) No 1393/86
of 6 May 1986
opening, allocating and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain cod and fillets of cod falling within subheadings ex 03.02 A I b) and 03.02 A II a) of the Common Customs Tariff and originating in Norway
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas an Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Norway was concluded on 14 May 1973; whereas, following the accession of Spain and Portugal to the Community, a supplementary protocol is to be signed in the near future; whereas, pending the entry into force of this protocol, the Council, by Regulation (EEC) No 573/86 (1), laid down the trade arrangements for certain fishery products with Norway consequent upon these accessions;
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 573/86 provides for the opening, to run from 1 March 1986, of Community tariff quotas at a reduced rate of duty or duty-free for certain cod and fillets of cod originating in Norway; whereas therefore the tariff quotas in question should be opened for the period 1 March to 31 December 1986; whereas, in the absence of a pro rata temporis clause, the proposed annual quota volumes should be opened for the period under consideration;
Whereas equal and continuous access to the quotas should be ensured for all importers and the rates for the said quotas should be applied without interruption to all imports until the quotas are used up; whereas, in the light of the priciples outlined above, a Community tariff quota system based on an allocation between the Member States would seem to preserve the Community nature of the quotas; whereas, to reflect as closely as possible the actual development of the market in the products in question, the allocation should be in proportion to the requirements of the Member States, calculated both from statistics of imports from Norway during a representative reference period and according to the economic outlook for the quota year in question;
Whereas, during the last two years for which statistics are available, average imports into each of the Member States were as follows:
(in tonnes)
1.2.3.4 //  //  //  //  //  // ex 03.02 A I b) (NIMEXE code 03.02-12)   // ex 03.02 A I b) NIMEXE code 03.02-13)   // 03.02 A II a) (NIMEXE code 03.02-22)   //    //   //   //  // Benelux   // 455   // 1   // 0   // Denmark   // 3   // 540   // 42   // Germany   // 586   // 1   // 8   // Spain   // 0  // 839   // 20   // Greece   // 365   // 190   // 0  // France   // 3 684   // 1 271   // 44   // Ireland   // 0  // 0   // 0   // Italy   // 4 956   // 2 112   // 4 670  // Portugal   // 9 727   // 5 034   // 0   // United Kingdom  // 3   // 8   // 0   //    //   //   //   //   // 19 779  // 9 996   // 4 785   //    //   //   //
Whereas, during the last two years under consideration, the products in question were imported only by certain Member States and not at all by the other Member States; whereas, under these circumstances, initial shares should be allocated to the importing Member States and the other Member States should be guaranteed access to the benefit of the tariff quotas upon imports into those States of the products concerned being notified; whereas these arrangements for allocation will equally ensure the uniform application of the Common Customs Tariff;
Whereas in taking into account these factors and the allocation which was applied in the 25 000 tonnes tariff quota which was opened for some of these products by Regulation (EEC) No 3544/85 (1), initial percentage shares in the quota volumes can be set approximately as follows:
1.2.3.4 //  //  //  //  //  // ex 03.02 A I b) (NIMEXE code 03.02-12)   // ex 03.02 A I b) (NIMEXE code 03.02-13)  // 03.02 A II a) (NIMEXE code 03.02-22)   //    //   //   //  // Benelux   // 0,94   // -   // -   // Denmark   // -  // 4,32   // 0,88   // Germany   // 1,21   // -   // 0,17  // Spain   // -   // 9,55   // 0,42   // Greece   // 0,76  // 1,53   // -   // France   // 7,62   // 10,18   // 0,92  // Ireland   // -   // -   // -   // Italy   // 10,25  // 16,91   // 97,61   // Portugal   // 79,22   // 57,44   // -   // United Kingdom   // -   // 0,07   // -   //    //   //  //
Whereas, in order to take into account import trends for the products concerned in the various Member States, each quota should be divided into two instalments, the first being shared among certain Member States and the second constituting a reserve to cover the subsequent requirements of these Member States where they have used up their initial shares and any additional requirements which might arise in the other Member States; whereas, in order to give importers in each Member State a certain degree of security, it is appropriate to fix the first instalment of the Community quotas at a level which, in the circumstances, could be 85 % and 80 % respectively of each of the quota volume;
Whereas, the Member States' initial shares may be used up at different times; whereas, in order to take this fact into account and avoid any break in continuity, any Member State which has almost used up its initial quota shares should draw an additional share from the corresponding reserve; whereas this must be done by each Member State as and when each of its additional shares is almost used up, and repeated as many times as the reserve allows; whereas the initial and additional shares must be valid until the end of the quota period; whereas this method of administration requires close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission and the latter must be in a position to monitor the extent to which the quota amounts have been used up and to inform Member States thereof;
Whereas, if at a given date in the quota period, a substantial quantity remains unused in any Member State, it is essential that that Member State should return a significant proportion to the corresponding reserve to prevent a part of any Community tariff quota from remaining unused in one Member State when it could be used in others;
Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are united within and jointly represented by the Benelux Economic Union, any operation relating to the administration of the quota shares allocated to that economic union may be carried out by any of its members,