(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)

Under Directive 2000/29/EC, all consignments of plants, plant products or other objects listed in Part B of Annex V thereof should in principle be subjected to identity and plant health checks before being permitted to enter the Community.

(2)

In order to allow plant health checks to be carried out at a reduced frequency, it is necessary to provide for detailed conditions for the evidence, as referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 13a(2) of Directive 2000/29/EC that the plants, plant products or other objects listed in Part B of Annex V thereto, which are introduced into the Community, meet the conditions sets out in that Directive.

(3)

Since plants intended for planting and plants, plant products or other objects which are subject to measures adopted in accordance with Article 16(3) of Directive 2000/29/EC present a high risk of introduction of organisms harmful to plants or plant products, the reduction should not apply to them.

(4)

Specific conditions are set out for plants, plant products or other objects which are subject to authorisation of import into the Community under derogation according to the provisions of Article 15(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC. Therefore, the said plants, plant products or other objects should not be subjected to plant health checks at a reduced frequency.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health,

(a)

plants intended for planting;

(b)

any plant, plant product or other object which is subject to authorisation allowing importation into the Community according to the provisions of Article 15(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC;

(c)

any plant, plant product or other object which is subject to temporary measures according to the provisions of Article 16(3) of Directive 2000/29/EC;

d)

any plant, plant product or other object which is mentioned on the list established pursuant to Article 13a(5)(b) of Directive 2000/29/EC.

(a)

the average number of consignments over three years of the product concerned introduced into the Community each year is at least 200, and

(b)

the minimum number of consignments of the product concerned for which inspections have been carried out during the previous three years is at least 600, and

(c)

the number of consignments of the product concerned each year which were found infected by the harmful organisms mentioned under point (e) of Annex I is less than 1 % of the total number of consignments of the said product concerned imported into the Community, and

(d)

the application for the products concerned as referred to in Article 2(1) is available at the Commission.

(1)

Given the present market situation for cereals an invitation to tender for the export refund on barley should be opened in accordance with Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules for application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 covering the granting of export refunds on cereals and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance in the cereals sector (2).

(2)

The tendering procedure rules to be followed when export refunds are set are contained in Regulation (EC) No 1501/95. Among these is a requirement to submit an export licence application and lodge a security. The rate of that security should be set.

(3)

A specific period of validity must be set for the licences issued under this invitation. The validity should be appropriate to world market requirements for the 2004/2005 marketing year.

(4)

So that all parties are treated equally, all licences issued should have the same period of validity.

(5)

Satisfactory operation of export tendering procedures requires that a minimum quantity be set and also a time limit and form of transmission for the lodging of tenders with the competent authority.

(6)

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

(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 common sole 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 common sole in the waters of ICES division VIIe 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 12 August 2004. This date should be adopted in this Regulation also,

(1)

Pursuant to Directive 2000/29/EC, plants, plant products or other objects listed in Part B of Annex V, thereto, coming from third countries, should in principle be subjected to identity and plant health checks at the point of entry into the Community, or at a place close by.

(2)

In case of transit of non-Community goods these identity and plant health checks may also be carried out on the premises of the official body of destination or at any other place close by; in certain other cases, these checks may be carried out at the place of destination, such as a place of production, as long as specific guarantees and documents as regards the transport of plants, plant products or other objects are provided.

(3)

It is necessary to specify the cases in which identity and plant health checks may be carried out at the place of destination.

(4)

To ensure that there is no risk of harmful organisms spreading during transport, provisions or specific guarantees and documents, as regards the transport, should be laid down.

(5)

Minimum conditions for the carrying out of the identity and plant health checks should be laid down as regards technical requirements applicable to the responsible official bodies in charge of the inspection at places of destination as well as regards facilities, tools and equipment enabling the said responsible official bodies to carry out identity and plant health checks.

(6)

It is necessary to lay down detailed rules concerning the cooperation between official responsible bodies and customs offices, including the model forms of documents to be used in that cooperation, the means of transmission of these documents and the procedures for exchange of information.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health,

(a)

the importer shall notify the introduction of the products concerned sufficiently in advance to the relevant official body of destination, which notification shall contain in particular:

(b)

the importer shall notify to the relevant official body of destination any changes as regards the information supplied pursuant to subparagraph (a).

(1)

Directive 91/414/EEC provides for the development of a Community list of active substances authorised for incorporation in plant protection products.

(2)

A dossier for the active substance proquinazid was submitted by DuPont (UK) Ltd. to the authorities of the United Kingdom on 9 January 2004 with an application to obtain its inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. For IKI-220 (flonicamid) a dossier was submitted by ISK Biosciences Europe SA to the French authorities on 23 December 2003 with an application to obtain its inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. For gamma-cyhalothrin a dossier was submitted by Pytech Chemicals GmbH to the authorities of the United Kingdom on 4 November 2003 with an application to obtain its inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC.

(3)

The authorities of the United Kingdom and France have indicated to the Commission that, on preliminary examination, the dossiers for the active substances concerned appear to satisfy the data and information requirements set out in Annex II to Directive 91/414/EEC. The dossiers submitted appear also to satisfy the data and information requirements set out in Annex III to Directive 91/414/EEC in respect of one plant protection product containing the active substance concerned. In accordance with Article 6(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC, the dossiers were subsequently forwarded by the respective applicants to the Commission and other Member States, and were referred to the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

(4)

By this Decision it should be formally confirmed at Community level that the dossiers are considered as satisfying in principle the data and information requirements provided for in Annex II and, for at least one plant protection product containing the active substance concerned, the requirements set out in Annex III to Directive 91/414/EEC.

(5)

This Decision should not prejudice the right of the Commission to request the applicant to submit further data or information in order to clarify certain points in the dossier.

(6)

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

(1)

The rules for the restructuring and conversion of vineyards are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000 of 31 May 2000 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, as regards production potential (2).

(2)

The detailed rules on financial planning and participation in financing the restructuring and conversion scheme laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000 stipulate that the references to a given financial year refer to the payments actually made by the Member States between 16 October and the following 15 October.

(3)

In accordance with Article 14(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the financial allocation between Member States must take due account of the proportion of the Community vineyard area in the Member State concerned.

(4)

For the purposes of implementing Article 14(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the financial allocations should be made in respect of a certain number of hectares.

(5)

Under Article 13(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the Community contribution to the costs of restructuring and conversion is higher in regions classified as Objective 1 in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (3).

(6)

Account must be taken of the compensation for the loss of income incurred by the wine growers during the period when the vineyard is not yet in production.

(7)

In accordance with Article 17(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000, where expenditure actually incurred by a Member State in a given financial year is less than 75 % of the initial allocation, the expenditure to be recognised for the following financial year, and the corresponding total area, are to be reduced by a third of the difference between this threshold and the actual expenditure incurred during the financial year in question. This provision applies in the 2004/2005 wine year to Greece, whose expenditure in respect of 2004 amounts to 71.47 % of its initial allocation.

(8)

In accordance with Article 14(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the initial allocation is adapted in view of real expenditure and on the basis of revised expenditure forecasts submitted by the Member States, taking account of the objective of the scheme and subject to the funds available,

(1)

The rules for the restructuring and conversion of vineyards are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000 of 31 May 2000 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, as regards production potential (2).

(2)

The detailed rules on financial planning and participation in financing the restructuring and conversion scheme laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000 stipulate that the references to a given financial year refer to the payments actually made by the Member States between 16 October and the following 15 October.

(3)

In accordance with Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the Commission makes initial allocations to Member States each year on the basis of objective criteria, taking into account particular situations and needs and the efforts to be undertaken in the light of the objective of the scheme.

(4)

The Commission has fixed the indicative financial allocations for 2003/2004 in Decision 2003/628/EC (3).

(5)

Under Article 17(1) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000, expenditure incurred and validated by the Member States is limited to the amount allocated to them as laid down in Decision 2003/628/EC. This limit applies in 2004 to Germany and Italy as regards validated expenditure which is respectively reduced by EUR 125 227 and EUR 182 679 in order to limit their total expenditure to their initial allocations, and to Portugal, as regards expenditure incurred, which is reduced by EUR 140.

(6)

Under Article 16(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000, Member States may submit a further request in the current financial year. Under Article 17(3) of that Regulation, this request is accepted on a pro-rata basis for those Member States that have spent their initial allocation, using the appropriations available after deducting the amounts notified in accordance with Article 16(1)(a) and (b) and corrected, where appropriate, under Article 17(1) and (3) from the total amount allocated to the Member States. This provision applies in 2004 to Spain, France, Italy, Austria and Portugal,