Commission Regulation (EC) No 2538/2001 of 21 December 2001 on the management of textile quotas established under Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 for the year 2002

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2538/2001
of 21 December 2001
on the management of textile quotas established under Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 for the year 2002
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports of textile products from certain third countries not covered by bilateral agreements, protocols or other arrangements, or by other specific Community import rules(1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2245/2001(2), and in particular Article 17(3) and (6) and Article 21(2) and (3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 517/94 established quantitative restrictions on imports of certain textile products originating in certain third countries to be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
(2) Under that Regulation, it is possible, in certain circumstances, to use other allocation methods, to divide quotas into tranches or to set aside part of a specific quantitative limit exclusively for applications which are backed up by proof of the results of previous imports.
(3) Rules for management of the quotas established for 2002 should be adopted before the quota year begins so that the continuity of trade flows is not affected unduly.
(4) The measures adopted in previous years, such as those in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2833/2000 of 22 December 2000 establishing rules for the management and distribution of textile quotas established for the year 2001 under Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94(3), proved to be satisfactory and it is therefore appropriate to adopt similar rules for 2002.
(5) In order to satisfy the greatest possible number of operators it is therefore appropriate to make the "first come, first served" allocation method more flexible by placing a ceiling on the quantities which can be allocated to each operator by that method.
(6) To guarantee a degree of continuity in trade and efficient quota administration, operators should be allowed to make their initial import authorisation application for 2002 equivalent to the quantity which they imported in 2001.
(7) To achieve optimum use of the quantities, an operator who has used at least 50 % of the amount already authorised should be permitted to apply for a further amount provided quantities ae available in the quotas.
(8) For the sake of sound administration, import authorisations should be valid for nine months from the date of issue but until the end of the year at the latest. Member States should issue licences only after being notified by the Commission that quantities are available and only if an operator can prove the existence of a contract and certify (except where specifically provided otherwise) that he has not already been allocated a Community import authorisation under this Regulation for the categories and countries concerned. The competent national authorities should, however, be authorised, in response to importers' applications, to extend by three months and up to 31 March 2003 licences of which at least 50 % has been used by the application date.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Textiles Committee,