Council Regulation (EEC) No 4102/88 of 16 December 1988 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for certain plywoods of coniferous species (1989)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 4102/88 of 16 December 1988 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for certain plywoods of coniferous species (1989)
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 undertaken to open an annual Community tariff quota of a least 600 000 cubic metres for certain plywoods of coniferous species; whereas this quota has been raised to 650 000 cubic metres by virtue of an agreement concluded with  the United States and approved by Decision 87/224/EEC (1); whereas, under Protocol 11 to the 1972 Act of Accession, the Community is required to open each year autonomous nil duty Community tariff quotas for the same products, the volume thereof to be  decided annually when it is established that all possibilities of supply on the internal market of the Community have been exhausted during the period for which the quotas are open; whereas the condition laid down by the said Protocol does not seem to  be met at the moment; whereas, in these circumstances, it is appropriate as an initial measure not to exceed the contractual volume of 650 000 cubic metres; whereas the setting of the quota volume at this level does not exclude, moreover, recourse to  the provisions of the abovementioned Protocol 11 during the quota period; whereas, therefore, the tariff quota in question should be opened on 1 January 1989;
Whereas, for 1989, maintenance of the quotas for the Member States is necessary bearing in mind that it is impossible for the administration concerned in each Member State to introduce, in 1989, the administrative and technical basis for Community  administration of the quota;
Whereas, to allow for import trends for the products concerned, the quota should be divided into two parts, the first being allocated among the Member States, and the second held as a reserve to cover any subsequent requirements of Member States which  have used up their initial shares; whereas, in order to afford importers some degree of certainty, the first part of the quota should be set at a relatively high level, about 60 % of its full amount; whereas, on the basis of Member States' estimates of their needs, the initial shares could be as set out in Article 2;
Whereas Member States may use up their initial shares at different rates; whereas, to provide for this eventuality and to avoid any break in the continuity of supplies, any Member State which has used up its initial share should draw additional shares  in quantities corresponding to their real requirements, as many times as the reserve 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 the quota period, the Community reserve is almost totally used up, it is essential that Member States return to the said reserve the whole of the unused proportion of their initial quota and of any drawings made, in order to avoid one  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 measure concerning the administration of quota shares allocated to that  economic union may be carried out by any one of its members,