(1)

Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 lays down, pursuant to the outcome of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations, the criteria whereby the Commission fixes the standard values for imports from third countries, in respect of the products and periods stipulated in the Annex thereto.

(2)

In compliance with the above criteria, the standard import values must be fixed at the levels set out in the Annex to this Regulation,

(1)

Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1203/2004 fixes at 53 000 tonnes the quantity of the quota for the products covered by CN code 0202 and products covered by the CN code 0206 29 91 in respect of which Community importers can lodge an application for import rights.

(2)

As the import rights applied for exceeded the available quantity referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1203/2004, the reduction coefficient of the import rights applied for was fixed under Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1420/2004 (3), in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1203/2004.

(3)

Following the publication of the abovementioned reduction coefficient, the Commission was informed by the United Kingdom and Malta that their communications to the Commission of applications for import rights in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation 1203/2004 included certain administrative errors with regard to the reference quantities referred to in Article 3 of that Regulation on the basis of which the level of the rights of access of operators to the quota has to be determined.

(4)

Setting off quantities overdeclared on the one hand against quantities underdeclared on the other leads to a higher coefficient by which applications for import rights can be accepted.

(5)

Consequently, the reduction coefficient referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1203/2004 shall be recalculated on the basis of the corrected overall reference quantity.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 1420/2004 should be amended accordingly.

(7)

The level of import rights for each operator who applied under Regulation (EC) No 1203/2004 should, however, only be recalculated on the basis of this new coefficient in case the operator is still interested in receiving a higher amount of rights. The appropriate rules, therefore, need to be established.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Beef and Veal,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 936/97 provides in Articles 4 and 5 the conditions for applications and for the issue of import licences for meat referred to in Article 2(f).

(2)

Article 2(f) of Regulation (EC) No 936/97 fixes the amount of high-quality fresh, chilled or frozen beef and veal meeting the definition laid down therein which may be imported on special terms for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 at 11 500 t.

(3)

It should be recalled that licences issued pursuant to this Regulation will, throughout the period of validity, be open for use only in so far as provisions on health protection in force permit,

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2287/2003 of 19 December 2003 fixing for 2004 the fishing opportunities and associated fishing conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and for Community vessels, in waters where limitations in catch are required, lays down quotas for Norway lobster for 2004 (2).

(2)

In order to ensure compliance with the provisions relating to the quantity limits on catches of stocks subject to quotas, the Commission must fix the date by which catches made by vessels flying the flag of a Member State are deemed to have exhausted the quota allocated.

(3)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of Norway lobster in the waters of ICES division VIIIc by vessels flying the flag of France or registered in France have exhausted the quota allocated for 2004. France has prohibited fishing for this stock from 23 October 2004. This date should be adopted in this Regulation also,

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2287/2003 of 19 December 2003 fixing for 2004 the fishing opportunities and associated fishing conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and for Community vessels, in waters where limitations in catch are required, lays down quotas for herring for 2004 (2).

(2)

In order to ensure compliance with the provisions relating to the quantity limits on catches of stocks subject to quotas, the Commission must fix the date by which catches made by vessels flying the flag of a Member State are deemed to have exhausted the quota allocated.

(3)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of herring in the waters of ICES divisions I and II (Community waters and international waters) by vessels flying the flag of France or registered in France have exhausted the quota allocated for 2004. France has prohibited fishing for this stock from 23 October 2004. This date should be adopted in this Regulation also,

(1)

Producer organisations in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (hereafter ‘the new Member States’) should benefit from the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 of 28 October 1996 introducing a Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus fruits (1).

(2)

The Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus fruits is based on contracts between, on the one hand, producer organisations recognised or provisionally admitted under Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables (2) and on the other hand, processors.

(3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 634/2004 (3) laid down transitional measures for the application of Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 and of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2111/2003 of 1 December 2003 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 introducing a Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus fruits (4).

(4)

Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 2111/2003 provides that producer organisations and processors wishing to participate in the aid scheme shall inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which their head office is situated, no later than 20 days before the start of the marketing year.

(5)

Due to different administrative constraints observed in the new Member States, certain producer organisations could not be recognised or provisionally admitted under Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 by the competent authorities in time to be in a position to inform those authorities of their wish to participate in the aid scheme within a time limit set by Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 2111/2003.

(6)

In order to give, as far as possible, such producer organisations the opportunity to benefit from the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 2202/96, while ensuring that the aid scheme is properly applied, provisions should be made for the 2004/2005 marketing year as regards the deadline by which producer organisations in the new Member States should inform the competent authorities of their wish to participate in the aid scheme.

(7)

Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2111/2003 provides that the Member States have the possibility to decide, within a certain deadline fixed by that Article, the date(s) by which short-term contracts should be concluded by producer organisations that have their head office located in their territory. However, if producer organisations in the new Member States are to inform the competent authorities of their wish to participate in the aid scheme at a later stage, the deadline for the conclusion of short-term contracts that cover at least eight complete and consecutive months should be revised accordingly. Nevertheless, any revision of that deadline should not jeopardise the necessary checks to be carried out by the competent authorities of the Member States concerned.

(8)

Regulation (EC) No 634/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9)

Since the 2004/2005 marketing year started on 1 October 2004, and contracts between producer organisations and processors have already been arranged, amendments should apply from 10 September 2004.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

(1)

Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1943/2003 (2) provides that aid for investments linked to implementation of the measures in recognition plans as referred to in Article 14(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 is to be granted solely in the form of special loans. In view of the experience gained over the last few years, and in particular the difficulties encountered by the Member States in implementing this type of aid while ensuring that beneficiaries receive the level of Community funding for the eligible costs of the investments provided for in Article 8 of that Regulation, it should be made possible for direct capital aid to be paid.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 1943/2003 should be amended accordingly.

(3)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

1.

Article 4 is amended as follows:

2.

The first subparagraph of Article 8(2) is replaced by the following:

‘The Community contribution towards aid as referred to in Article 4, expressed in terms of a capital grant or capital-grant equivalent, shall not exceed, as a percentage of eligible investment costs as referred to in Article 4:

(1)

Article 3 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC provides that, where prices within the Community are higher than world market prices, the difference between these prices may be covered by a refund when olive oil is exported to third countries.

(2)

The detailed rules for fixing and granting export refunds on olive oil are contained in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 616/72 (2).

(3)

Article 3(3) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC provides that the refund must be the same for the whole Community.

(4)

In accordance with Article 3(4) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC, the refund for olive oil must be fixed in the light of the existing situation and outlook in relation to olive oil prices and availability on the Community market and olive oil prices on the world market. However, where the world market situation is such that the most favourable olive oil prices cannot be determined, account may be taken of the price of the main competing vegetable oils on the world market and the difference recorded between that price and the price of olive oil during a representative period. The amount of the refund may not exceed the difference between the price of olive oil in the Community and that on the world market, adjusted, where appropriate, to take account of export costs for the products on the world market.

(5)

In accordance with Article 3(3) third indent, point (b) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC, it may be decided that the refund shall be fixed by tender. The tendering procedure should cover the amount of the refund and may be limited to certain countries of destination, quantities, qualities and presentations.

(6)

The second indent of Article 3(3) of Regulation No 136/66/EEC provides that the refund on olive oil may be varied according to destination where the world market situation or the specific requirements of certain markets make this necessary.

(7)

The refund must be fixed at least once every month. It may, if necessary, be altered in the intervening period.

(8)

It follows from applying these detailed rules to the present situation on the market in olive oil and in particular to olive oil prices within the Community and on the markets of third countries that the refund should be as set out in the Annex hereto.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Oils and Fats,

(1)

In accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001, a world market price for unginned cotton is to be determined periodically from the price for ginned cotton recorded on the world market and by reference to the historical relationship between the price recorded for ginned cotton and that calculated for unginned cotton. That historical relationship has been established in Article 2(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001 of 2 August 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying the cotton aid scheme (3). Where the world market price cannot be determined in this way, it is to be based on the most recent price determined.

(2)

In accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001, the world market price for unginned cotton is to be determined in respect of a product of specific characteristics and by reference to the most favourable offers and quotations on the world market among those considered representative of the real market trend. To that end, an average is to be calculated of offers and quotations recorded on one or more European exchanges for a product delivered cif to a port in the Community and coming from the various supplier countries considered the most representative in terms of international trade. However, there is provision for adjusting the criteria for determining the world market price for ginned cotton to reflect differences justified by the quality of the product delivered and the offers and quotations concerned. Those adjustments are specified in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1591/2001.

(3)

The application of the above criteria gives the world market price for unginned cotton determined hereinafter,

(1)

On 7 September 2000 Novartis (now Forbes Medi-Tech Inc.) made a request to the competent authorities of Belgium to place milk based beverages with added phytosterols on the market as a novel food or a novel food ingredient.

(2)

On 30 March 2001 the competent authorities of Belgium issued their initial assessment report.

(3)

In their initial assessment report, Belgium’s competent food assessment body came to the conclusion that an additional assessment was required.

(4)

The Commission forwarded the initial assessment report to all Member States on 27 April 2001.

(5)

The Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) in its opinion ‘General view on the long-term effects of the intake of elevated levels of phytosterols from multiple dietary sources, with particular attention to the effects on β-carotene’ of 26 September 2002 indicated that there was no evidence of additional benefits at intakes higher than 3 g/day and that high intakes may induce undesirable effects and that it was therefore prudent to avoid plant sterol intakes exceeding 3 g/day. Furthermore, the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies in its opinion ‘on a request from the Commission related to a Novel Food application from Forbes Medi-Tech for approval of plant sterol-containing milk-based beverages’ of 25 November 2003 concurred for that application with the conclusions of the SCF, in its opinion on applications for approval of a variety of plant sterol enriched foods of 5 March 2003, came to the conclusion that the addition of phytosterols is safe, provided that the daily consumption does not exceed 3 g.

(6)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 (2) concerning the labelling of foods and food ingredients with added phytostanol esters ensures that consumers receive the information necessary in order to avoid excessive intake of added phytosterols/phytostanols.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,