Council Regulation (EEC) No 958/93 of 5 April 1993 establishing a Community procedure for administering quantitative import restrictions and monitoring of textile and clothing products originating in certain third countries

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 958/93 of 5 April 1993 establishing a Community procedure for administering quantitative import restrictions and monitoring of textile and clothing products originating in certain third countries
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 the Community has negotiated agreements with a number of supplier countries on trade in textile products on the basis of the Protocol for the extension of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement; whereas a number of other protocols, arrangements or specific  import regimes are also applied with some third countries in the context of association agreements and other types of preferential arrangements;
Whereas these agreements, protocols and arrangements provide, inter alia, that the supplier countries' exports into the Community of certain textile products falling within Section XI of the combined nomenclature shall be subject to quantitative limits  fixed at Community level or to a monitoring procedure;
Whereas a basic characteristic of these agreements, protocols and arrangements is the establishment of a double-checking system in order to ensure compliance with the quantitative limits established thereunder;
Whereas Article 8a of the Treaty provides for the creation of an internal market, comprising an area without internal frontiers in which the free circulation of goods is ensured; whereas for this reason and also to take account of the principles laid  down by the Court of Justice of the European Communities the above agreements, protocols and arrangements do not provide any more for the breakdown of the Community quantitative limits into national sub-quotas;
Whereas in order to apply Community quantitative limits and monitoring procedures in conformity with the agreements, protocols and arrangements negotiated with the supplier countries it is necessary to establish a special management procedure;
Whereas it is desirable that such a common management system be decentralized as far as possible by allowing import authorizations to be issued, as in the past, by the Member States' authorities in accordance with the double-checking system established  in those agreements, protocols and arrangements;
Whereas, however, it is necessary, in the absence of the breakdown of the Community quantitative limits into national sub-quotas, to make sure that the competent authorities of the Member States, when issuing the import licences, do not exceed the  quantitative limits establishing in the agreements, protocols or arrangements;
Whereas for this purpose the competent authorities of the Member States should not issue import licences before obtaining the prior confirmation of the Commission that there are still amounts available of the total Community quantitative limit for which  an application is submitted by an importer to the said competent authorities;
Whereas the Commission should provide its confirmation to the requests notified by Member States, and shall allocate to the extent possible, the full amount notified;
Whereas requests notified by the competent authorities to the Commission shall be considered to be valid if they establish the supplier third country, the category of textile products concerned, the amount to be imported, the number of the export  licence and the Member State of intended customs clearance;
Whereas pending the establishing and smooth operation of the central computerized system it is necessary to provide, for a limited period of time, that Member States shall not issue import licences over a certain initial maximum amount of the total  Community import limit; whereas this maximum amount should be fixed in terms of certain percentages of the Community quota uniform for each product category and for each third country concerned;
Whereas for the effective management of the Community quantitative limits and to establish the total amount of imports subject to a monitoring procedure during this transitional period, the competent authorities of the Member States should submit at  regular intervals statistical information of the licences issued;
Whereas it should be possible during this transitional period to allow for certain adjustments to be made to the maximum amounts provided for each Member State, so as to take account of the number of import applications submitted in the Member States as  well as the level of utilization of each quantitative limit concerned;
Whereas it is necessary to provide that a committee will assist the Commission for the purposes of implementation of this Regulation,