Council Regulation (EEC) No 3731/90 of 13 December 1990 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for prepared or preserved sardines, originating in Morocco (1991)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) NÂ° 3731/90
of 13 December 1990
opening,  allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for prepared or  preserved sardines, originating in Morocco (1991)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article  113 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas Article 4 of Protocol 1 to the Agreement on relations in the sea fisheries sector between  the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Morocco (1) states that prepared or preserved  sardines falling within CN code ex 1604 13 10 or ex 1604 20 50 and originating in Morocco shall be  imported duty-free into the Community within the limits of a Community tariff quota of 17 500  tonnes (net weight); whereas, in order to ensure a regular flow to the Community market under this  quota, the quantities destined for that market may not exceed 60 % of the total volume of the quota  in the first half of the year and may not exceed 35 % in the first quarter of the year; whereas at  the end of each of these periods the quantities of the products in question which have been  allocated to the Member States and remain unused by the latter should be returned immediately to  the Community reserve;
Whereas, within the limits of the tariff quota, Spain and Portugal shall apply the customs duties  calculated according to the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3189/88 of 14 October 1988  laying down the arrangements to be applied by Spain and Portugal to trade with Morocco (2); whereas  the Community tariff quota in question should therefore be opened for 1991;
Whereas equal and continous access to the quota should be ensured for all Community importers and  the rate laid down for the quota should be applied consistently to all imports of the products in  question into all the Member States until the quota is exhausted;
Whereas the prepared and preserved sardines sector is encountering, in certain regions of the  Community, economic constraints of a particular nature, bearing in mind notably the importance  which sardine production may have in the fisheries production structure as a whole, thus justifying  the fact that the traditional commercial outlets for producers on external markets and, as a matter  of priority, on the Community market, should not be adversely affected;
whereas these specific economic circumstances make it necessary to maintain the allocation between  the Member States of the quota concerned for the period af application of this Regulation;
Whereas, bearing in mind the way in which trade has developed traditionally, the allocation  maintained among Member States should, in order to correspond as closely as possible to the real  trend of the market for the products in question, be carried out on a pro rata basis according to  the needs of the Member States, calculated on the basis of statistics of imports of the said  products from Morocco during a representative reference period and on the economic outlook for the  quota periods in question;
Whereas in the last three years the products in question were imported regularly only by certain  Member States and not at all or only occasionally by the other Member States; whereas, in these  circumstances, in the first phase, initial shares should be allocated to the genuine importing  Member States and the other Member States should be guaranteed access to the tariff quota when  imports actually take place; whereas these arrangements for allocation will equally ensure the  uniform collection of the duties applicable;
Whereas, to allow for the trend of imports of the products concerned in the various Member States,  the quota volume should be divided into two parts, the first being allocated among certain Member  States and the second held as a reserve to cover any subsequent requirements of Member States which  have used up their initial shares and any requirements which might arise in the other Member  States; whereas, to afford importers in each Member State some degree of certainty, an appropriate  level for the first part of the Community quota would, in the present circumstances, be 40 % of the  quota volume, the second part, 60 % constituting the reserve to which shall also be returned any  amounts remaining from the shares allocated when the quota volume was divided up for the first and  second quarters of the current year;
Whereas the initial shares may be used up at different rates in each of the periods concerned;  whereas, to provide for this eventuality and to avoid any break in the continuity of supplies, any  Member State which has entirely used up its initial share should draw additional shares in  quantities corresponding to the period in question; whereas each Member State should effect its  drawing whenever each of its additional shares is almost used up, and as many times as the reserve  for that period allows; whereas this form of administration requires close cooperation between  Member States and the Commission and the latter must be able to
monitor the extent to which the  quota volume has been used up and to inform the Member States accordingly;
Whereas if, during one of the periods concerned, the Community reserve is almost completely used  up, it is essential that Member States return to the reserve the whole of the unused part of their  initial shares and any drawings for that period, in order to prevent part of the Community tariff  quota 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  concerning the administration of the
quota shares allocated to that economic union may be carried  out by any one of its members,