Commission Regulation (EC) No 1233/2006 of 16 August 2006 opening and providing for the administration of an import tariff quota of pigmeat allocated to the United States of America
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1233/2006of 16 August 2006opening and providing for the administration of an import tariff quota of pigmeat allocated to the United States of AmericaTHE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2759/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common organisation of the market in pigmeatOJ L 282, 1.11.1975, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1913/2005 (OJ L 307, 25.11.2005, p. 2)., and in particular Article 8(2), Article 11(1) and the second paragraph of Article 22 thereof,Whereas:(1)The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the United States of America pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994OJ L 124, 11.5.2006, p. 15., approved by Council Decision 2006/333/ECOJ L 124, 11.5.2006, p. 13., provides for the incorporation of a country allocated (US) import tariff rate quota of 4722 tonnes of pigmeat.(2)In order to ensure regular imports, the quantities of products covered by the import regime should be staggered over the period from 1 July to 30 June.(3)The administration of the tariff quota should be based on import licences. To that end, detailed rules for the submission of applications and the information which must appear in applications and licences should be laid down. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural productsOJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 410/2006 (OJ L 71, 10.3.2006, p. 7). should apply, save as otherwise provided in this Regulation.(4)In view of the possible accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union as from 1 January 2007, it is advisable to provide for a different period for lodging the licence applications for the first quarter of the year 2007.(5)In order to ensure proper administration of the tariff quota, the security for import licences under the system should be set at EUR 20 per 100 kilograms. In view of the likelihood of speculation inherent in the system in the pigmeat sector, clear conditions should be laid down as regards access by operators.(6)Provision should be made for the licences to be issued after a period for consideration and, where necessary, an allocation coefficient should be applied to determine the quantity awarded in respect of each application.(7)In the interests of the operators, provision should be made for the withdrawal of applications after the fixing of the coefficient to be applied.(8)The attention of operators should be drawn to the fact that licences may only be used for products which comply with all the veterinary requirements in force in the Community.(9)To ensure proper management of the import regimes, the Commission needs precise information from the Member States on the quantities actually imported. For the sake of clarity it is necessary to use a single model for communicating the quantities between Member States and the Commission.(10)By way of derogation from Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 and in order to assure that the imported quantity does not exceed the quantity under this regime, the tolerance provided for in Article 8(4) of that Regulation should not apply.(11)For the period from 1 July 2006 to 30 September 2006 the operators have to introduce the licence applications during the first 15 days following the date of entry into force of this Regulation. It is therefore advisable to provide for the entering into force of this Regulation on the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.(12)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Pigmeat,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: