(1)

By Council Decision (EU) 2019/2145 (2), the Council approved, on behalf of the European Union, an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Ukraine amending the trade preferences for poultry meat and poultry meat preparations provided for by the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part (‘the Agreement’).

(2)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2078 (3) provides for the opening and administration of Union import tariff quotas for poultry meat originating in Ukraine.

(3)

In accordance with the Agreement, the Union is to increase by 50 000 tonnes the tariff quota for meat and edible offal of poultry, fresh, chilled or frozen and for other prepared or preserved meat of turkeys and of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus concerning CN codes corresponding to order number 09.4273 set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2078.

(4)

It is therefore appropriate to amend Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2015/2078 to take account of the tariff rate quota quantities to be made available pursuant to the Agreement.

(5)

The Agreement will enter into force as of 1 February 2020. For the quota year 2020, the additional quantities of poultry meat products for the tariff rate quota to be made available pursuant to the Agreement are to be calculated on a pro rata basis, taking into account the date of entry into force of the Agreement. As from the quota period commencing on 1 January 2021, the full annual quantities of poultry meat products under the Agreement should be available.

(6)

The additional quota quantity for poultry meat products allocated to Ukraine under the Agreement should be made available as from 1 February 2020, the date of entry into force of the Agreement. According to Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2078, the quota for poultry meat products allocated to Ukraine is administered on a quarterly basis.

(7)

According to Article 3(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2078, the application period for import rights is the first seven days of the month preceding each quarter. Therefore, for the subperiod covering 1 January to 31 March 2020, the application period will have already expired at the date of entry into force of the Agreement. Thus, an additional application period for import rights corresponding to the additional quota quantity under the Agreement for the period covering 1 February to 31 March 2020 should be set for the first seven days of February 2020.

(8)

Article 3(3) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2078 provides that applicants for import rights, when presenting their first application for a given quota year are to submit the proof that a quantity of poultry products falling under CN codes 0207, 0210 99 39, 1602 31, 1602 32 or 1602 39 21 has been imported by them under the relevant customs provisions (‘the reference quantity’) and that such proof is to relate to the 12 months’ period ending one month before their first application. At the date of entry into force of this Regulation, such proof of past imports will have been already submitted by applicants who submitted applications for import rights in December 2019 concerning a quarter of the original quantity of 19 200 tonnes made available in December 2019. However, the annual quantity for the 2020 quota year provided for by the Agreement is 65 033 tonnes. Therefore, there is a risk that the proof of past imports submitted by applicants for import rights in December 2019 do not take into account the increase in the quota quantities provided for by the Agreement. It is therefore appropriate to open, for those applicants who submitted proof of past imports in December 2019, an additional period for submission of additional proof of past imports.

(9)

Article 3(4) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2078 sets at 25 % of the applicant’s reference quantities the total quantity of products that an application for import rights may cover in each of the subperiods provided for in Article 2 of that Implementing Regulation. In order to apply a consistent framework to the additional application period opened by this Regulation, such a limit should also apply for the additional application period for import rights corresponding to the additional quota quantity under the Agreement for the period covering 1 February to 31 March 2020.

(10)

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2078 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(11)

This Regulation should apply from the date of entry into force of the Agreement. Therefore, this Regulation should enter into force as a matter of urgency.

(12)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets,