(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)

In accordance with the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the United States of America under Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 (3), approved by Council Decision 2006/333/EC (4), the quantities provided for by the quotas in Regulation (EC) No 1431/94 have been amended.

(2)

It is therefore necessary to amend Commission Regulation (EC) No 930/2006 of 22 June 2006 determining the extent to which applications lodged in June 2006 for import licences for certain poultrymeat products under the regime provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 774/94 opening and providing for the administration of certain Community tariff quotas for poultrymeat and certain other agricultural products can be accepted (5), and to adapt the available quantities for the period from 1 October to 31 December 2006 in proportion to those fixed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1431/94,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1845/2005 (2) opened a standing invitation to tender for the resale on the Community market of 131 185 tonnes of maize held by the Czech intervention agency.

(2)

Given the current market situation, the quantities of maize put up for sale by the Czech intervention agency on the internal market should be increased, taking the permanent invitation to tender to 154 783 tonnes.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1845/2005 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)

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

1.

in Article 1, ‘131 185 tonnes’ is replaced by ‘154 783 tonnes’;

2.

in the title of the Annex, ‘131 185 tonnes’ is replaced by ‘154 783 tonnes’.

(1)

Oats are one of the products covered by the common organisation of the market in cereals. They are not, however, included among the basic cereals referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 for which provision is made for intervention buying-in.

(2)

Oats are a major traditional crop in Finland and Sweden and are well suited to the weather conditions obtaining in those countries. Production far exceeds requirements in those countries with the result that they are required to dispose of surpluses by exporting them to third countries. Membership of the Community has not altered the previous situation.

(3)

Any reduction in the quantity of oats grown in Finland and Sweden would promote the growing of other cereals qualifying for the intervention arrangements, especially barley. Production of barley is in surplus both in these two countries and across the whole of the Community. A switch from oats to barley would only worsen the situation and create further surpluses. It is necessary therefore to ensure that exports of oats to third countries can continue.

(4)

Refunds may be granted in respect of oats under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003. The geographical situation of Finland and Sweden places those countries in a less favourable position from the point of view of exporting than other Member States. The fixing of refunds on the basis of Article 13 favours primarily exports from other Member States. It is anticipated therefore that the production of oats in Finland and in Sweden will give way increasingly to that of barley. Consequently, in coming years, substantial quantities of barley must be expected to enter intervention storage in Finland and Sweden under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003, the only possibility of disposal being export to third countries. Exports from intervention storage are more costly to the Community budget than direct exports.

(5)

These additional costs can be avoided under a special intervention measure within the meaning of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003. Such an intervention measure may take the form of a measure intended to relieve the market in oats in Finland and Sweden. The grant of a refund by a tendering procedure, applicable only to oats produced and exported from those two countries, would be the most appropriate measure in the circumstances.

(6)

The nature and objectives of the said measure make it appropriate to apply to it, mutatis mutandis, Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 and the Regulations adopted for its implementation, in particular Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of 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).

(7)

Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 requires tenderers, among their other undertakings, to apply for an export licence and lodge a security. The rate of that security should be established.

(8)

The cereals in question should actually be exported from the Member States for which a special intervention measure was implemented. It is necessary therefore to limit the use of export licences to exports from the Member State in which application for the licence was made and to oats produced in Finland and Sweden.

(9)

In view of the Europe Agreements establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part and the Republic of Bulgaria (3) and Romania (4), these two countries must be excluded from the list of eligible destinations. Furthermore, given the way the refund is calculated using market prices on distant markets, the nearby destinations of Switzerland and Norway, for which these measures are not justified by reason of the relatively minor transport costs arising from their proximity and the communication channels available to these destinations, should also be excluded.

(10)

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

(11)

To ensure the satisfactory operation of export tendering procedures, a minimum quantity should be set and the time-limit for the submission of tenders to the competent authority and the form in tenders are to be forwarded should be specified.

(12)

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

(a)

they relate to not less than 1 000 tonnes;

(b)

they are accompanied by a written undertaking from the tenderer specifying that they relate solely to oats grown in Finland and Sweden which are to be exported from those countries.

—

in Finnish

:

‘Asetus (EY) N:o 2006/1278 – Todistus on voimassa ainoastaan Suomessa ja Ruotsissa’,

—

in Swedish

:

‘Förordning (EG) nr 2006/1278 – Licensen giltig endast i Finland och Sverige’

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 replaced, from the 2006/07 marketing year, Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector (3). Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 continues to apply to the 2005/06 marketing year.

(2)

Under Article 1(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1713/93, the minimum sugar beet prices referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 and the production levy and additional levy referred to, respectively, in Articles 15 and 16 of that Regulation are to be converted into national currency using a specific agricultural conversion rate equal to the average, calculated pro rata temporis, of the agricultural conversion rates applicable during the marketing year in question.

(3)

Since 1 January 1999, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2799/98 of 15 December 1998 establishing agrimonetary arrangements for the euro (4), the fixing of conversion rates should be restricted to the specific agricultural conversion rates between the euro and the national currencies of those Member States which have not adopted the single currency.

(4)

The specific agricultural conversion rate for the minimum sugar beet prices and the production levy and the additional levy for the 2005/06 marketing year should therefore be fixed in the various national currencies,