Commission Regulation (EC) No 2767/1999 of 23 December 1999 introducing a system of licences for imports of tomatoes from Morocco

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2767/1999
of 23 December 1999
introducing a system of licences for imports of tomatoes from Morocco
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Decision 95/35/EC of 19 December 1994 on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Kingdom of Morocco on the regime for imports into the European Community of tomatoes and courgettes originating in and imported from Morocco(1), and in particular Article 3 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) under the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Kingdom of Morocco on the regime for imports into the European Community of tomatoes and courgettes originating in and imported from Morocco the Kingdom of Morocco gives an undertaking that total exports of tomatoes to the Community during the periods referred to will not exceed the agreed quantities. To that end, Morocco is to notify the Commission each Tuesday of the quantities of tomatoes exported the previous week. The Agreement stipulates, lastly, that the Commission reserves the right to introduce a system of licences for imports in order to ensure that the Agreement is applied properly;
(2) the agreed quantities are those set out in Annex IV to Council Regulation (EC) No 1981/94 of 25 July 1994 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain products originating in Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Malta, Morocco, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Tunisia and Turkey, and providing detailed rules for extending and adapting these tariff quotas(2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2530/1999(3). The monthly breakdown of the quantities is set out in the Association Agreement between the Community and Morocco;
(3) according to information provided late by the Moroccan authorities, the quantity of tomatoes exported from Morocco to the Community amounted to 14478 tonnes in October 1999, representing a 190 % overrun of the quantity of 5000 tonnes agreed for that month. Information available to the Commission indicates that this figure reached 25529 tonnes for November 1999, amounting to a 37 % overrun of the quantity of 18601 tonnes agreed for that month. This overrun of the agreed quantities triggered a decline in the standard value of tomatoes imported from Morocco, which remained below the agreed entry price from 16 to 25 November 1999;
(4) to prevent this situation continuing and to ensure that the Agreement concluded with Morocco is applied in full, a system of import licences needs to be introduced for the products concerned. The detailed arrangements for the system must supplement or derogate from the arrangements contained in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 of 16 November 1988 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products(4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1127/1999(5). They must ensure in addition that the provisions of the above Agreement are complied with in full;
(5) the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fruit and Vegetables,