(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)

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 megrim 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 megrim in the waters of ICES division VIIIc, sub-areas IX, X and CECAF 34.1.1 (EC waters) by vessels flying the flag of Portugal or registered in Portugal have exhausted the quota allocated for 2004. Portugal has prohibited fishing for this stock from 14 June 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 sand eel quotas 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 available to the Member States.

(3)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of sand eel in the waters of ICES division IIa, Skagerrak, Kattegat, North Sea (EC waters) by vessels flying the flag of a Member State or registered in a Member State other than Denmark or the United Kingdom, have exhausted the quota for 2004,

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2287/2003 of 19 December 2003 fixing for 2004 the fishing opportunities and associated 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 anglerfish quotas 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 anglerfish in the waters of ICES division VIIIc, sub-areas IX, X and CECAF 34.1.1 (EC 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 17 July 2004. This date should be adopted in this Regulation also,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1484/95 (4), fixes detailed rules for implementing the system of additional import duties and fixes representative prices in the poultrymeat and egg sectors and for egg albumin.

(2)

It results from regular monitoring of the information providing the basis for the verification of the import prices in the poultrymeat and egg sectors and for egg albumin that the representative prices for imports of certain products should be amended taking into account variations of prices according to origin. Therefore, representative prices should be published.

(3)

It is necessary to apply this amendment as soon as possible, given the situation on the market.

(4)

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

(1)

Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 provides that the difference between prices on the world market for the products listed in Article 1(1) of that regulation and prices for those products on the Community market may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

It follows from applying these rules and criteria to the present situation on the market in eggs that the refund should be fixed at an amount which would permit Community participation in world trade and would also take account of the nature of these exports and their importance at the present time.

(3)

The present market situation in certain third countries and that regarding competition makes it necessary to fix a refund differentiated by destination for certain products in the egg sector.

(4)

Article 21 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 of 15 April 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products (2), stipulates that no refund is granted if the products are not of sound and fair marketable quality on the date on which the export declaration is accepted. In order to ensure uniform application of the rules in force, it should be stated that, in order to qualify for the refund, the egg products listed in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 must bear the health mark laid down in Council Directive 89/437/EEC of 20 June 1989 on hygiene and health problems affecting the production and the placing on the market of egg products (3).

(5)

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

(1)

Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2777/75 provides that the difference between prices on the world market for the products listed in Article 1(1) of that Regulation and prices for those products on the Community market may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

It follows from applying these rules and criteria to the present situation on the market in poultrymeat that the refund should be fixed at an amount which would permit Community participation in world trade and would also take account of the nature of these exports and their importance at the present time.

(3)

Article 21 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 of 15 April 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products (2) stipulates that no refund is granted if the products are not of sound and fair marketable quality on the date on which the export declaration is accepted. In order to ensure uniform application of the rules in force, it should be stated that, in order to qualify for the refund, the poultrymeat listed in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 2777/75 must bear the health mark as laid down in Council Directive 71/118/EEC of 15 February 1971 on health problems affecting trade in fresh poultrymeat (3).

(4)

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

(1)

Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 provides that the difference between prices on the world market for the products listed in Article 1 of that Regulation and prices for those products within the Community may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

Commission Regulations (EEC) No 32/82 (2), (EEC) No 1964/82 (3), (EEC) No 2388/84 (4), (EEC) No 2973/79 (5) and (EC) No 2051/96 (6) lay down the conditions for granting special export refunds on certain cuts of beef and veal and certain preserved beef and veal products, and for certain destinations.

(3)

It follows from applying those rules and criteria to the foreseeable situation on the market in beef and veal that the refund should be as set out below.

(4)

With regard to live animals, for reasons of simplification export refunds should no longer be granted for categories with insignificant trade with third countries. Moreover, in the light of the general concern of animal welfare, export refunds for live animals for slaughter should be limited as much as possible. Consequently, export refunds for such animals should only be granted for third countries which for cultural and/or religious reasons traditionally import substantial numbers of animals for domestic slaughter. As to live animals for reproduction, in order to prevent any abuse, export refunds for pure-bred breeding animals should be limited to heifers and cows of no more than 30 months of age.

(5)

Export refunds should be granted for certain destinations on some fresh or chilled meat listed in the Annex under CN code 0201, on some frozen meat listed in the Annex under CN code 0202, on some meat or offal listed in the Annex under CN code 0206 and on some other prepared or preserved meat or offal listed in the Annex under CN code 1602 50 10.

(6)

In the case of meat of bovine animals, boned or boneless, salted and dried, there are traditional trade flows to Switzerland. To allow this trade to continue, the refund should be set to cover the difference between prices on the Swiss market and export prices in the Member States.

(7)

In the case of certain other cuts and preserves of meat or offal shown in the Annex under CN codes 1602 50 31 to 1602 50 80, the Community presence of international trade may be maintained by granting a refund corresponding to that at present available.

(8)

In the case of other beef and veal products, a refund need not be fixed since the Community's share of world trade is not significant.

(9)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3846/87 (7) establishes the agricultural product nomenclature for the purposes of export refunds. The refunds are set on the basis of the product codes as defined in that nomenclature.

(10)

In order to simplify customs export formalities for operators, the refunds on all frozen cuts should be brought into line with those on fresh or chilled cuts other than those from adult male bovine animals.

(11)

Checks on products covered by CN code 1602 50 should be stepped up by making the granting of refunds on these products conditional on manufacture under the arrangements provided for in Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 565/80 of 4 March 1980 on the advance payment of export refunds in respect of agricultural products (8).

(12)

Refunds should be granted only on products that are allowed to move freely in the Community. Therefore, to be eligible for a refund, products should be required to bear the health mark laid down in Council Directives 64/433/EEC (9), 94/65/EC (10) and 77/99/EEC (11), respectively.

(13)

Pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1964/82, the special refund is to be reduced if the quantity of boned meat to be exported amounts to less than 95 %, but not less than 85 %, of the total weight of cuts produced by boning.

(14)

The negotiations on the adoption of additional concessions, held within the framework of the Europe Agreements between the European Community and the associated central and eastern European Countries, aim in particular to liberalise trade in products covered by the common organisation of the market in beef and veal. To this end, it was decided, inter alia, to abolish export refunds on products intended for export to Romania. This country should therefore be excluded from the list of destinations giving rise to the grant of a refund, while ensuring that the abolition of refunds for this country may not lead to the creation of a differentiated refund for exports to other countries.

(15)

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

(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 1577/2004 (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)

Article 8(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 provides that the difference between prices in international trade for the products listed in Article 1(1) of that Regulation and prices within the Community may be covered by an export refund where these goods are exported in the form of goods listed in the Annex to that Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 of 13 July 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amount of such refunds (2), specifies the products for which a rate of refund should be fixed, to be applied where these products are exported in the form of goods listed in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75.

(2)

In accordance with Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000, the rate of the refund per 100 kilograms for each of the basic products in question must be fixed for a period of the same duration as that for which refunds are fixed for the same products exported unprocessed.

(3)

Article 11 of the Agreement on Agriculture concluded under the Uruguay Round lays down that the export refund for a product contained in goods may not exceed the refund applicable to that product when exported without further processing.

(4)

It is necessary to ensure continuity of strict management taking account of expenditure forecasts and funds available in the budget.

(5)

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

(1)

Commission Decision 90/14/EEC (2), lays down the list of third countries from which bovine semen may be imported.

(2)

Commission Decision 91/277/EEC (3), lays down health protection measures in respect of imports of deep-frozen bovine semen from Israel.

(3)

Commission Decision 94/577/EC (4), lays down animal health conditions and veterinary certification for the importation of bovine semen from third countries.

(4)

Following the modification of Directive 88/407/EEC by Council Directive 2003/43/EC (5), the recast of Commission decisions related to importation of semen of domestic animals of the bovine species into the Community is required.

(5)

The lists of semen collection and storage centres from which Member States shall authorise the importation of semen originating in third countries is established and updated in accordance with Article 9(1) of Directive 88/407/EEC which foresees that the up-to-date version of all lists be made available to the public. These lists are on the Internet at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/index_en.htm.

(6)

Directive 2003/43/EC amending Directive 88/407/EEC provides that as of 1 January 2005, semen of domestic animals of bovine species must be collected, processed and stored according to the new provisions introduced by Directive 2003/43/EC in order to be eligible to imports.

(7)

However, it is appropriate to authorise the continuing imports of stocks of semen of domestic animals of bovine species in accordance with the provisions of Directive 88/407/EEC, prior to the modification introduced by Directive 2003/43/EC.

(8)

Therefore, Article 2(2) of Directive 2003/43/EC provides that:

(9)

Consequently, it is necessary to provide a model certificate for imports of semen of domestic animals of the bovine species collected, processed and stored before 31 December 2004 and to be used as of 1 January 2005.

(10)

It is more convenient to gather, in the same act, all the information relating to the importation of semen of domestic animals of the bovine species (list of third countries authorised, veterinary requirements applying to importations and list of centres approved in those third countries), and to repeal Decisions 90/14/EEC, 91/277/EEC and 94/577/EC accordingly.

(11)

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