(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 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 provides that the difference between quotations or prices on the world market for the products listed in Article 1 of that Regulation and prices for those products in the Community may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

The refunds must be fixed taking into account the factors referred to in Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules under Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the granting of export refunds on cereals and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance on the market for cereals (2).

(3)

As far as wheat and rye flour, groats and meal are concerned, when the refund on these products is being calculated, account must be taken of the quantities of cereals required for their manufacture. These quantities were fixed in Regulation (EC) No 1501/95.

(4)

The world market situation or the specific requirements of certain markets may make it necessary to vary the refund for certain products according to destination.

(5)

The refund must be fixed once a month. It may be altered in the intervening period.

(6)

It follows from applying the detailed rules set out above to the present situation on the market in cereals, and in particular to quotations or prices for these products within the Community and on the world market, that the refunds should be as set out in the Annex hereto.

(7)

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

(1)

Article 14(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 provides that the export refund applicable to cereals on the day on which an application for an export licence is made must be applied on request to exports to be effected during the period of validity of the export licence. In this case, a corrective amount may be applied to the refund.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules under Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the granting of export refunds on cereals and the cereals and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance on the market for cereals (2), allows for the fixing of a corrective amount for the products listed in Article 1(1)(c) of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 (3). That corrective amount must be calculated taking account of the factors referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1501/95.

(3)

The world market situation or the specific requirements of certain markets may make it necessary to vary the corrective amount according to destination.

(4)

The corrective amount must be fixed at the same time as the refund and according to the same procedure; it may be altered in the period between fixings.

(5)

It follows from applying the provisions set out above that the corrective amount must be as set out in the Annex hereto.

(6)

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

(1)

Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 provides that the difference between quotations or 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)

The refunds must be fixed taking into account the factors referred to in Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules under Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the granting of export refunds on cereals and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance on the market for cereals (2).

(3)

The refund applicable in the case of malts must be calculated with amount taken of the quantity of cereals required to manufacture the products in question. The said quantities are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1501/95.

(4)

The world market situation or the specific requirements of certain markets may make it necessary to vary the refund for certain products according to destination.

(5)

The refund must be fixed once a month. It may be altered in the intervening period.

(6)

It follows from applying these rules to the present situation on markets in cereals, and in particular to quotations or prices for these products within the Community and on the world market, that the refunds should be as set out in the Annex hereto.

(7)

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

(1)

Article 14(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 provides that the export refund applicable to cereals on the day on which application for an export licence is made must be applied on request to exports to be effected during the period of validity of the export licence. In this case, a corrective amount may be applied to the refund.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules under Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the granting of export refunds on cereals and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance on the market for cereals (2) allows for the fixing of a corrective amount for the malt referred to in Article 1(1)(c) of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 (3). That corrective amount must be calculated taking account of the factors referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1501/95.

(3)

It follows from applying the provisions set out above that the corrective amount must be as set out in the Annex hereto.

(4)

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

(1)

Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2681/74 of 21 October 1974 on Community financing of expenditure incurred in respect of the supply of agricultural products as food aid (3) lays down that the portion of the expenditure corresponding to the export refunds on the products in question fixed under Community rules is to be charged to the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guarantee Section.

(2)

In order to make it easier to draw up and manage the budget for Community food aid actions and to enable the Member States to know the extent of Community participation in the financing of national food aid actions, the level of the refunds granted for these actions should be determined.

(3)

The general and implementing rules provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 and in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 3072/95 on export refunds are applicable mutatis mutandis to the abovementioned operations.

(4)

The specific criteria to be used for calculating the export refund on rice are set out in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 3072/95.

(5)

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

(1)

Pursuant to Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001, production refunds may be granted on the products listed in Article 1(1)(a) and (f) of that Regulation, on syrups listed in Article 1(1)(d) thereof and on chemically pure fructose covered by CN code 1702 50 00 as an intermediate product, that are in one of the situations referred to in Article 23(2) of the Treaty and are used in the manufacture of certain products of the chemical industry.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1265/2001 of 27 June 2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 as regards granting the production refund on certain sugar products used in the chemical industry (2) provides that these refunds shall be determined according to the refund fixed for white sugar.

(3)

Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1265/2001 provides that the production refund on white sugar is to be fixed at monthly intervals commencing on the first day of each month.

(4)

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

(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)

Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 provides that the rates of duty in the Common Customs Tariff are to be charged on import of the products referred to in Article 1 of that Regulation. However, in the case of the products referred to in paragraph 2 of that Article, the import duty is to be equal to the intervention price valid for such products on importation and increased by 55 %, minus the cif import price applicable to the consignment in question. However, that duty may not exceed the rate of duty in the Common Customs Tariff.

(2)

Pursuant to Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003, the cif import prices are calculated on the basis of the representative prices for the product in question on the world market.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 lays down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 as regards import duties in the cereals sector.

(4)

The import duties are applicable until new duties are fixed and enter into force.

(5)

In order to allow the import duty system to function normally, the representative market rates recorded during a reference period should be used for calculating the duties.

(6)

Application of Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 results in import duties being fixed as set out in Annex I to this Regulation,

(1)

Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 and Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 provide that the difference between quotations of prices on the world market for the products listed in Article 1 of each of those Regulations and the prices within the Community may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 of 13 July 2000 laying down common implementing rules for 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 (3), 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 III to Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 or in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 as appropriate.

(3)

In accordance with the first subparagraph of 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 each month.

(4)

The commitments entered into with regard to refunds which may be granted for the export of agricultural products contained in goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty may be jeopardised by the fixing in advance of high refund rates. It is therefore necessary to take precautionary measures in such situations without, however, preventing the conclusion of long-term contracts. The fixing of a specific refund rate for the advance fixing of refunds is a measure which enables these various objectives to be met.

(5)

Taking into account the settlement between the European Community and the United States of America on Community exports of pasta products to the United States, approved by Council Decision 87/482/EEC (4), it is necessary to differentiate the refund on goods falling within CN codes 1902 11 00 and 1902 19 according to their destination.

(6)

Pursuant to Article 4(3) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000, a reduced rate of export refund has to be fixed, taking account of the amount of the production refund applicable, pursuant to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1722/93 (5), for the basic product in question, used during the assumed period of manufacture of the goods.

(7)

Spirituous beverages are considered less sensitive to the price of the cereals used in their manufacture. However, Protocol 19 to the Act of Accession of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark provides that the necessary measures must be decided to facilitate the use of Community cereals in the manufacture of spirituous beverages obtained from cereals. Accordingly, it is necessary to adapt the refund rate applying to cereals exported in the form of spirituous beverages.

(8)

The Management Committee for Cereals has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman,

(1)

Article 27(1) and (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1260/2001 provides that the differences between the prices in international trade for the products listed in Article 1(1)(a), (c), (d), (f), (g) and (h) of that Regulation and prices within the Community may be covered by an export refund where these products are exported in the form of goods listed in Annex V to that Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 of 13 July 2000 laying down common implementing rules for 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 (EC) No 1260/2001.

(2)

In accordance with Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000, the rate of the refund per 100 kg for each of the basic products in question must be fixed for each month.

(3)

Article 27(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 lays down that the export refund for a product contained in a good may not exceed the refund applicable to that product when exported without further processing.

(4)

The refunds fixed under this Regulation may be fixed in advance as the market situation over the next few months cannot be established at the moment.

(5)

The commitments entered into with regard to refunds which may be granted for the export of agricultural products contained in goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty may be jeopardised by the fixing in advance of high refund rates. It is therefore necessary to take precautionary measures in such situations without, however, preventing the conclusion of long-term contracts. The fixing of a specific refund rate for the advance fixing of refunds is a measure which enables these various objectives to be met.

(6)

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

(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)

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

(1)

Article 31(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 provides that the difference between prices in international trade for the products listed in Article 1(a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g) of that Regulation and prices within the Community may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 of 13 July 2000 laying down common implementing rules for granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and 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 II to Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999.

(3)

In accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000, the rate of the refund per 100 kg for each of the basic products in question must be fixed for each month.

(4)

However in the case of certain milk products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, there is a danger that, if high refund rates are fixed in advance, the commitments entered into in relation to those refunds may be jeopardised. In order to avert that danger, it is therefore necessary to take appropriate precautionary measures, but without precluding the conclusion of long-term contracts. The fixing of specific refund rates for the advance fixing of refunds in respect of those products should enable those two objectives to be met.

(5)

Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 provides that, when the rate of the refund is being fixed, account should be taken, where necessary, of production refunds, aids or other measures having equivalent effect applicable in all Member States in accordance with the Regulation on the common organisation of the market in the product in question to the basic products listed in Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 or to assimilated products.

(6)

Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 provides for the payment of aid for Community-produced skimmed milk processed into casein if such milk and the casein manufactured from it fulfil certain conditions.

(7)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2571/97 of 15 December 1997 on the sale of butter at reduced prices and the granting of aid for cream, butter and concentrated butter for use in the manufacture of pastry products, ice-cream and other foodstuffs (3), lays down that butter and cream at reduced prices should be made available to industries which manufacture certain goods.

(8)

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

(1)

Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1535/2003 of 29 August 2003 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the aid scheme for products processed from fruit and vegetables (2) stipulates that the Commission is to publish the amount of the aid for tomatoes for processing before 31 January.

(2)

For the Member States of the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004, compliance with the national and Community thresholds for processing tomatoes referred to in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 is examined on the basis of the quantities aided in the three preceding marketing years for which definitive data are available for all the Member States in question.

(3)

In the case of the Member States which acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004, compliance with national and Community thresholds for tomatoes for processing is examined on the basis of the quantities for which aid applications for the 2004/05 marketing year were submitted under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 416/2004 of 5 March 2004 laying down transitional measures for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 and Regulation (EC) No 1535/2003 by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union (3).

(4)

The quantity of tomatoes processed under the aid scheme to be considered when examining compliance with the national and Community thresholds is 128 640 tonnes above the Community threshold. In the case of those Member States which have exceeded their processing threshold, the aid for tomatoes for processing for the 2005/06 marketing year must thus be adjusted in relation to the level set in Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96, in accordance with Article 5(2) and (4) of that Regulation and Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 416/2004.

(5)

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

(a)

in Greece, France, Portugal, Italy, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia, EUR 34,50 per tonne;

(b)

in Spain:

(1)

On 7 May 2003, the Community was authorised by the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to impose countermeasures up to a level of USD 4,043 million in the form of additional 100 % ad valorem duties on certain products originating in the United States of America. Consequently, on 8 December 2003 the Community adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 2193/2003 (1) establishing additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America.

(2)

It is considered that, following the adoption of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, the application of additional duties should be suspended and only take effect again on 1 January 2006 or 60 days after the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO confirms, whichever date is later, the incompatibility of certain aspects of the abovementioned Act with WTO law,