31973R3463

No L 356 / 18 Official Journal of the European Communities 27 . 12 . 73

REGULATION (EEC) No 3463 /73 OF THE COUNCIL of 17 December 1973

on the opening, allocation and administration of a Community tariff quota for certain eels falling within subheading No ex 03.01 A II of the Common Customs Tariff for 1974

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , application of the rates laid down for that quota to all imports of the products concerned into all Member States until the quota has been used up ; Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­ whereas, having regard to these principles, the pean Economic Community, and in particular Community nature of the quota can be respected by Article 28 thereof ; allocating the tariff quota among the Member States listed below ; whereas statistics available for these products do not give a clear picture of the market Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ; situation for them ; whereas, therefore, it is not possible to allocate the quota among the Member States on the basis of imports of the relevant Having regard to the Opinion of the European products over the last few years ; whereas, however, Parliament ; according to the estimates put forward by the Member States, initial shares may be fixed at the following quantities : Whereas eel fishing has been prohibited or has become impossible in certain Community production centres ; whereas this has led to a drop in Community Benelux 1 100 metric tons production of eels in general and particularly of fresh Denmark 600 metric tons eels (live or dead), chilled or frozen, falling within subheading No ex 03.01 A II of the Common Germany 3 000 metric tons Customs Tariff, intended for curing or skinning or for use in the industrial manufacture of products France 100 metric tons falling within heading No 16.04 ; whereas the processing industries in the Community consequently Ireland 50 metric tons depend to a large extent on imports for their supplies of eels ; whereas for 1974, the application of the Italy 100 metric tons autonomous Common Customs Tariff duty should therefore be suspended totally on imports of the United Kingdom 150 metric tons relevant products up to an appropriate quantitative limit ; whereas, within this limit, the new Member States should apply customs duties as provided in the Whereas in order to take into account import trends Act of Accession (*); whereas, however, the United for the products concerned in the different Member Kingdom has declared that from 1 January 1974 it States, the quota amount should be divided into two will align its duties directly on those of the Common tranches, the first tranche being allocated among the Customs Tariff; whereas, the introduction of a Member States, and the second forming a reserve Community measure of this nature is unlikely to intended ultimately to cover the requirements of the harm Community production ; Member States which have used up their initial shares ; whereas, in order to ensure a certain degree "Whereas current demand not met by Community of security to importers in each Member State, the production, which must therefore be met by imports, first tranche of the Community quota should be can be estimated at 6 100 metric tons for 1974 ; determined at a level which, under present whereas a tariff quota for the relevant types of eel circumstances, may be 85 % of the quota amount; should therefore be opened for 1974 on the conditions set out above ; Whereas the initial shares of the Member States may be used up at different times ; whereas, in order to Whereas it is in particular necessary to ensure to all take this fact into account and avoid any break in Community importers equal and uninterrupted access continuity, it is important that any Member State to the abovementioned quota and uninterrupted having used up almost the whole of its initial shares should draw an additional quota share from the reserve ; whereas this must be done by each Member State as and when each of its additional shares is ( x ) OJ No L 73 , 27. 3 . 1972, p . 14.

27 . 12 . 73 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 356 / 19

almost entirely used up, and repeated as many times December 1974, shall consist of the following as the reserve allows ; whereas the initial and amounts : additional shares must be available for use until the end of the quota period ; whereas this method of Benelux 1 100 metric tons administration calls for close cooperation between Member States and the Commission which must, in Denmark 600 metric tons particular, be able to observe the extent to which the Germany 3 000 metric tons quota amount is used and inform Member States thereof; France 100 metric tons Whereas if, at a specified date in the quota period, a Ireland 50 metric tons considerable balance remains in one or other Member State it is essential that that Member State Italy 100 metric tons pays a large amount of it back into the reserve, in United Kingdom 150 metric tons order to avoid a part of the Community quota remaining unused in one Member State when it could be used in others ; 2. The second tranche, amounting to 1 000 metric tons , shall make up the reserve . Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are united in and represented by the Article 3 Benelux Economic Union, all transactions concerning the administration of shares granted to the 1 . If 90 % or more of the initial share of a abovementioned Economic Union may be carried out Member State, as laid down in Article 2 ( 1 ), or 90 % by any of its members, of that share less the amount returned into the reserve, where Article 5 has been applied, has been exhausted, that Member State shall proceed without delay, by notifying the Commission, to draw a HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : second share equal to 15 % of its initial share, rounded up to the next unit where appropriate, to the extent that the amount in the reserve allows .

Article1¶

2 . If, after its initial share has been exhausted, 1 . For the period from 1 January 1974 to 31 90 % or more of the second share drawn by a December 1974, a Community tariff quota of 6 100 Member State has been used, that Member State shall metric tons shall be opened for fresh eels (live or proceed without delay, by notifying the Commission, dead) chilled or frozen, intended for curing or to draw a third share equal to 7-5 % oi: its initial skinning or for use in the industrial manufacture of share, rounded up to the next unit where products falling within heading No 16.04, under appropriate, to the extent that the amount in the conditions to be determined by the competent reserve allows . authorities falling within subheading No ex 03.01 A II of the Common Customs Tariff.

2 . The Common Customs Tariff duties shall be 3 . If, after its second share has been exhausted totally suspended on products imported under this 90 % or more of the third share drawn by a Member tariff quota. State has been used, that Member State shall proceed, in the manner specified in paragraph 2 to draw a fourth share equal to the third. 3 . Within the limits of this tariff quota, the new Member States shall apply duties calculated in This process shall be applied until the reserve is accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act of Accession. exhausted .

4 . Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 , 2 and 3 , the Article 2 Member States may proceed to draw shares smaller than those fixed in those paragraphs, if there is 1 . A first tranche, amounting to 5 100 tons, shall be reason to believe that those shares might not be used allocated among the Member States ; the shares, up . They shall inform the Commission of the reasons which, subject to Article 5, shall be valid until 31 which led them to apply this paragraph.

No L 356/20 27 . 12 . 73 Official Journal of the European Communities

Article4¶

The additional shares drawn pursuant to Article 3 1 . The Member States shall take all appropriate shall be valid until 31 December 1974. measures to ensure that, supplementary shares drawn pursuant to Article 3 , are opened in such a way that charges may be made, without interruption, against Article 5 their cumulative shares of the Community quota.

If, by 15 August 1974, a Member State has not used 2. Each Member State shall ensure that importers up its initial share, it shall, not later than 10 of the product in question established in its territory September 1974, return to the reserve the unused have free access to the shares allocated to it. portion of this share in excess of 20 % of the initial amount. It may return a larger quantity if there are 3 . The Member States shall charge imports of the reasons to consider that such quantity might not be said product against their share as and when the used. product is entered for home use. Each Member State shall, not later than 10 4 . The extent to which a Member State has used September 1974, notify the Commission of the total up its share shall be determined on the basis of the imports of the products concerned effected up to 15 imports charged in accordance with paragraph 3 . August 1974 inclusive, and charged against the Community quota and, where appropriate, the proportion of its initial share that is being returned to the reserve. Article 8

Article 6 Member States shall inform the Commission at regular intervals of imports charged against their shares . The Commission shall keep account of the shares opened by Member States in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 and shall inform each of them of the extent to which the reserve has been used as soon as it Article 9 receives the notifications . The Member States and the Commission shall The Commission shall, not later than 15 September cooperate closely in order to ensure that this 1974, notify Member States of the amount in the Regulation is observed. reserve after the return of shares pursuant to Article 5 .

The Commission shall ensure that any drawing Article 10 which uses up the reserve is limited to the balance available and, for this purpose, shall specify the amount thereof to the Member State which makes This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January the final drawing. 1974 .

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 17 December 1973 .

For the Council

The President

I. N0RGAARD