(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 7 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 of 12 June 2001 on checks on conformity to the marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables (2) lays down the conditions for the approval of checking operations performed by certain third countries which so request prior to import into the Community.

(2)

On 30 April 2004, the New Zealand authorities sent the Commission a request for the approval of checking operations performed under the responsibility of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) for apples, pears and kiwi fruit. Inspections of apples, pears and kiwi fruit, aiming to determine conformity to the marketing standards are undertaken either by Industry Grade Inspection staff who are audited by NZFSA-recognised auditors, or directly by NZFSA-recognised auditors/inspectors. The request submitted by New Zealand states that the aforementioned inspection bodies have the necessary staff, equipment and facilities to carry out checks, that they use methods equivalent to those referred to in Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001 and that the fresh fruit belonging to the aforementioned species exported from New Zealand to the Community meet the Community marketing standards.

(3)

The information sent by the Member States to the Commission shows that, in the period 1997 to 2003, the incidence of non-conformity with marketing standards among imports from New Zealand of fresh fruit and vegetables in general and those species for which the request was submitted in particular was very low.

(4)

Representatives of the New Zealand authorities have participated in international efforts to agree marketing standards for fruit and vegetables within the Working Party on Standardisation of Perishable Produce and Quality Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Moreover, New Zealand participates in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables.

(5)

Checks on conformity carried out by New Zealand should therefore be approved with effect from the date of implementation of the administrative cooperation procedure provided for in Article 7(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1148/2001.

(6)

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

(1)

To continue the process of harmonisation with the international standards laid down by the International Olive Oil Council and the Codex Alimentarius, adjustments should be made to certain limit values in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 of 11 July 1991 on the characteristics of olive oil and olive-residue oil and on the relevant methods of analysis (2), and in additional note 2 to Chapter 15 of the Combined Nomenclature contained in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87.

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1513/2001 of 23 July 2001 amending Regulations No 136/66/EEC and (EC) No 1638/98 as regards the extension of the period of validity of the aid scheme and the quality strategy for olive oil (3), makes it necessary to revise additional note 2 to Chapter 15 of the Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87.

(3)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 should be amended accordingly.

(4)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific Community provisions, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column 1 of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column 2, by virtue of the reasons set out in column 3.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that, subject to the measures in force in the Community relating to double-checking systems and to prior and retrospective Community surveillance of textile products on importation into the Community, binding tariff information issued by the customs authorities of Member States in respect of the classification of goods in the Combined Nomenclature and which is not in accordance with this Regulation can continue to be invoked for a period of 60 days by the holder, pursuant to Article 12(6) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (2).

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

The representative prices and additional duties applicable to imports of white sugar, raw sugar and certain syrups for the 2004/2005 marketing year are fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1210/2004 (3). These prices and duties have last been amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1466/2004 (4).

(2)

The data currently available to the Commission indicate that the said amounts should be changed in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1423/95,

(1)

The import duties in the cereals sector are fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1555/2004 (3).

(2)

Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 provides that if during the period of application, the average import duty calculated differs by EUR 5 per tonne from the duty fixed, a corresponding adjustment is to be made. Such a difference has arisen. It is therefore necessary to adjust the import duties fixed in Regulation (EC) No 1555/2004,

(1)

Under Commission Decision 98/320/EC (5) provision was made for a temporary experiment at Community level to assess whether seed sampling and seed testing under official supervision may constitute improved alternatives to the procedures for official seed certification required under Directives 2002/54/EC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC and 2002/57/EC, without leading to a significant decline in the quality of the seed.

(2)

The temporary experiment should be extended in order to ensure continuity of existing trade patterns pending the adoption of the modifications of the existing directives mentioned above and in order to collect extra data.

(3)

Decision 98/320/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry,

(1)

In accordance with Article 6(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC, in April 1998 Spain received an application from Sumitomo Chemical Agro Europe SA for the inclusion of the active etoxazole in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. Commission Decision 1999/43/EC (2) confirmed that the dossier was complete and could be considered as satisfying, in principle, the data and information requirements of Annex II and Annex III to that Directive.

(2)

In March 1997 the Netherlands received an application from Luxan BV concerning carvone (former name: L 91105D). Commission Decision 1999/610/EC (3) confirmed that the dossier was complete and could be considered as satisfying, in principle, the data and information requirements of Annex II and Annex III to that Directive.

(3)

Confirmation of the completeness of the dossiers was necessary in order to allow them to be examined in detail and to allow Member States the possibility of granting provisional authorisations, for periods up to three years, for plant protection products containing the active substances concerned, while complying with the conditions laid down in Article 8(1) of Directive 91/414/EEC and, in particular, the condition relating to the detailed assessment of the active substance and the plant protection product in the light of the requirements laid down by that Directive.

(4)

For these active substances, the effects on human health and the environment have been assessed, in accordance with the provisions of Article 6(2) and (4) of Directive 91/414/EEC, for the uses proposed by the respective applicants. The rapporteur Member States submitted the draft assessment reports to the Commission on 12 October 2001 (etoxazole) and 16 October 2000 (carvone).

(5)

Following submission of the draft assessment reports by the rapporteur Member States, it has been necessary to request further information from the applicants and to have the rapporteur Member State examine that information and submit their assessments. Therefore, the examination of the dossiers is still ongoing and it will not be possible to complete the evaluation within the time-frame provided for in Directive 91/414/EEC.

(6)

As the evaluation so far has not identified any reason for immediate concern, Member States should be given the possibility of prolonging provisional authorisations granted for plant protection products containing the active substances concerned for a period of 24 months in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of Directive 91/414/EEC so as to enable the examination of the dossiers to continue. It is expected that the evaluation and decision-making process with respect to a decision on possible Annex I inclusion for each of the active substances concerned will have been completed within 24 months.

(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,