Considerations on COM(2003)832 - Opening and management of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products for the period 2004-2006

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dossier COM(2003)832 - Opening and management of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products for the period 2004-2006.
document COM(2003)832 EN
date February 24, 2004
 
(1) Community supplies of certain fishery products currently depend on imports from third countries. It is in the Community's interest to suspend in part or in whole the customs duties for those products, within Community tariff quotas of an appropriate volume. In order not to jeopardise the development prospects of those products in the Community and to ensure an adequate supply to satisfy user industries, such quotas should be opened, applying variable customs duties in accordance with the sensitivity of the product in question on the Community market.

(2) Equal and uninterrupted access to those quotas should be ensured for all Community importers and the rates laid down for the quotas should be applied without interruption to all imports of the products concerned into all Member States until the quotas have been used up.

(3) To ensure the efficiency of a common management of the quotas, Member States should be permitted to draw from the quota amount the necessary quantities corresponding to their actual imports. Since that method of management requires close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission, the latter should in particular be able to monitor the rate at which the quotas are used up and should inform the Member States accordingly.

(4) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code(1) provides for a system of tariff quota management which follows the chronological order of the dates of acceptance of the declarations of release for free circulation. The tariff quotas opened by this Regulation should be managed by the Community authorities and the Member States in accordance with that system.