(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)

The Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No 219/2006 (2) lists the authorities responsible for applying the import arrangements in each Member State. Following a notification from a Member State, the list of authorities should be amended.

(2)

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

(1)

The European Community has, since 1981, been a Party to the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the North-East Atlantic Fisheries (2).

(2)

In May 2006 the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) made a recommendation to amend the list of vessels that have been confirmed as having engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries. Implementation of the recommendation in the Community legal order should be ensured.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 51/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

(1)

The common rules concerning the export of agricultural products are laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 of 15 April 1999 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products (2) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products (3).

(2)

Exceptional circumstances prevailing in Lebanon have seriously damaged the economic interests of exporters and the situation thus created has adversely affected export opportunities under the conditions laid down in Regulations (EC) No 800/1999 and (EC) No 1291/2000.

(3)

It is therefore necessary to limit those harmful effects by adopting special measures so that export operations which have not been completed on account of the above mentioned circumstances can be regularised. In particular, derogations should be adopted from certain provisions applicable to export procedures such as those concerning time-limits in Regulations (EC) No 800/1999 and (EC) No 1291/2000, in Commission Regulation (EC) No 174/1999 of 26 January 1999 laying down special detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 804/68, as regards export licences and export refunds in the case of milk and milk products (4), in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1342/2003 of 28 July 2003 laying down special detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences for cereals and rice (5) and in Commission Regulation (EC) No 633/2004 of 30 March 2004 laying down detailed rules for implementing the system of export licence in the poultry meat sector (6).

(4)

For products in the sugar sector, derogations should be provided from Commission Regulation (EC) No 1464/95 of 27 June 1995 laying down special detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences in the sugar sector (7) for licences applied for before 1 July 2006, from Commission Regulation (EC) No 1138/2005 of 15 July 2005 on a standing invitation to tender to determine levies and/or refunds on exports of white sugar for the 2005/06 marketing year (8), from Commission Regulation (EC) No 951/2006 of 30 June 2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 as regards trade with third countries in the same sector (9) for licences applied for from 1 July 2006 and from Commission Regulation (EC) No 958/2006 of 28 June 2006 opening a standing invitation to tender to determine refunds on exports of white sugar for the 2006/07 marketing year (10).

(5)

Only those operators who can prove, on the basis of the export documents or the documents referred to in Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 of 21 December 1989 on scrutiny by Member States of transactions forming part of the system of financing by the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and repealing Directive 77/435/EEC (11), that the products were destined for export to Lebanon should be allowed to benefit from the derogations.

(6)

In order to remedy the harmful effects on all operators who may have been affected by the exceptional circumstances in Lebanon, this Regulation should apply as from 1 July 2006.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committees concerned,

(1)

Articles 4(2) and Article 16(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically food and feed (2) provide that no genetically modified food or feed is be placed on the Community market unless it is covered by an authorisation granted in accordance with that Regulation. Articles 4(3) and Article 16(3) of the same Regulation lay down that no genetically modified food and feed may be authorised unless it has been adequately and sufficiently demonstrated that it does not have adverse effects on human health, animal health or the environment, that it does not mislead the consumer or the user, and that it does not differ from the food or feed it is intended to replace to such an extent that its normal consumption would be nutritionally disadvantageous for humans or animals.

(2)

On 18 August 2006, the authorities of the United States of America (the US authorities) informed the Commission that rice products contaminated with the genetically modified rice called ‘LL RICE 601’ (‘the contaminated products’), which have not been authorised for placing on the market in the Community, had been found in rice samples taken on the US market from commercial long grain rice coming from the 2005 crop. The contamination of products was reported to the US authorities on 31 July 2006 by Bayer Crop Science, which is the company that developed the genetically modified rice LL RICE 601. The US authorities later informed the Commission that it is still not known to what extent the supply chain has been contaminated and that information on possible contamination of exports to the Community cannot be given for the moment. In addition, they informed the Commission that those products had not been authorised for placing on the market in the United States either.

(3)

Without prejudice to the control obligations of the Member States, the measures to be adopted further to the likely imports of contaminated products should form a comprehensive and common approach allowing rapid and effective action to be taken and avoiding disparities between the treatment of the situation by the various Member States.

(4)

Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 provides for the possibility to adopt appropriate Community emergency measures for food and feed imported from a third country in order to protect human health, animal health or the environment, where the risk can not be contained satisfactorily by means of measures taken by the Member States concerned.

(5)

Since genetically modified rice LL RICE 601 is not authorised under Community legislation and in view of the presumption of risk on products not authorised according to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, which takes into account the precautionary principle laid down in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, it is appropriate to take emergency measures to prevent the placing on the market in the Community of the contaminated products.

(6)

According to the general requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, food and feed business operators have primary legal responsibility for ensuring that foods or feeds within the businesses under their control satisfy the requirements of food law and for verifying that such requirements are met. It is, therefore, the operators responsible for first placing food and feed on the market who should be under the duty to prove that they do not contain the contaminated products. To this end, the measures provided for by this Decision should require that consignments of specific products originating from the United States may be placed on the market only if an analytical report demonstrating that the products are not contaminated with the genetically modified rice LL RICE 601 is provided. The analytical report should be issued by an accredited laboratory conforming to internationally recognised standards.

(7)

In order to facilitate controls, all genetically modified food and feed placed on the market should be subject to a validated method of detection. Bayer Crop Science has been requested to provide methods for detection of genetically modified rice LL RICE 601 as well as control samples. It has made available two methods which have been validated by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) of the US Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Community reference laboratory referred to in Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 (the CRL).

(8)

The measures provided for in this Decision must be proportionate and no more restrictive of trade than is required and should therefore cover only products considered likely to be contaminated with LL RICE 601, which according to the information received, are imported from the United States to the Community.

(9)

Despite requests made by the Commission, the US authorities have been unable to provide any guarantee that rice products imported from the United States will not contain LL RICE 601 because of the lack of segregation or traceability measures in the United States.

(10)

With regard to feed products or other food products not covered by the measures provided for in this Decision, Member States should monitor whether such products have been contaminated by LL RICE 601. On the basis of the information provided by Member States, the Commission will consider the need for any appropriate measure.

—

husked (brown) rice Parboiled Long A within CN code 1006 20 15,

—

husked (brown) rice Parboiled Long B within CN code 1006 20 17,

—

husked (brown) rice Long A within CN code 1006 20 96,

—

husked (brown) rice Long B within CN code 1006 20 98,

—

semi-milled Parboiled Long A within CN code 1006 30 25,

—

semi-milled Parboiled Long B within CN code 1006 30 27,

—

semi-milled Long A within CN code 1006 30 46,

—

semi-milled Long B within CN code 1006 30 48,

—

wholly milled Parboiled Long A within CN code 1006 30 65,

—

wholly milled Parboiled Long B within CN code 1006 30 67,

—

wholly milled Long A within CN code 1006 30 96,

—

wholly milled Long B within CN code 1006 30 98,

—

broken rice within CN code 1006 40 00 unless it is certified free of Long grain.