(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 51/2006 of 22 December 2005 fixing for 2006 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 catch limitations are required (3), lays down quotas for 2006.

(2)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of the stock referred to in the Annex to this Regulation by vessels flying the flag of or registered in the Member State referred to therein have exhausted the quota allocated for 2006.

(3)

It is therefore necessary to prohibit fishing for that stock and its retention on board, transhipment and landing,

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 51/2006 of 22 December 2005 fixing for 2006 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 catch limitations are required (3), lays down quotas for 2006.

(2)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of the stock referred to in the Annex to this Regulation by vessels flying the flag of or registered in the Member State referred to therein have exhausted the quota allocated for 2006.

(3)

It is therefore necessary to prohibit fishing for that stock and its retention on board, transhipment and landing,

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2270/2004 of 22 December 2004 fixing for 2005 and 2006 the fishing opportunities for Community fishing vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks (3) lays down quotas for 2005 and 2006.

(2)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of the stock referred to in the Annex to this Regulation by vessels flying the flag of or registered in the Member State referred to therein have exhausted the quota allocated for 2006.

(3)

It is therefore necessary to prohibit fishing for that stock and its retention on board, transhipment and landing,

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2270/2004 of 22 December 2004 fixing for 2005 and 2006 the fishing opportunities for Community fishing vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks (3) lays down quotas for 2005 and 2006.

(2)

According to the information received by the Commission, catches of the stock referred to in the Annex to this Regulation by vessels flying the flag of or registered in the Member State referred to therein have exhausted the quota allocated for 2006.

(3)

It is therefore necessary to prohibit fishing for that stock and its retention on board, transhipment and landing,

(1)

The representative prices and additional duties applicable to imports of white sugar, raw sugar and certain syrups for the 2006/2007 marketing year are fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1002/2006 (3). These prices and duties have been last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1331/2006 (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 951/2006,

(1)

Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 provides that the difference between prices on the world market for the products listed in Article 1(1)(b) of that Regulation and prices for those products on the Community market may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

Given the present situation on the sugar market, export refunds should therefore be fixed in accordance with the rules and certain criteria provided for in Articles 32 and 33 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006.

(3)

The first subparagraph of Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 provides that the world market situation or the specific requirements of certain markets may make it necessary to vary the refund according to destination.

(4)

Refunds should be granted only on products that are allowed to move freely in the Community and that comply with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006.

(5)

The negotiations within the framework of the Europe Agreements between the European Community and Romania and Bulgaria aim in particular to liberalise trade in products covered by the common organisation of the market concerned. For those two countries export refunds should therefore be abolished.

(6)

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

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 958/2006 of 28 June 2006 on a standing invitation to tender to determine refunds on exports of white sugar for the 2006/2007 marketing year (2) requires the issuing of partial invitations to tender.

(2)

Pursuant to Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 958/2006 and following an examination of the tenders submitted in response to the partial invitation to tender ending on 14 September 2006, it is appropriate to fix a maximum export refund for that partial invitation to tender.

(3)

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

(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 31(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 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 on the Community market may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

Given the present situation on the market in milk and milk products, export refunds should therefore be fixed in accordance with the rules and certain criteria provided for in Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999.

(3)

The second subparagraph of Article 31(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 provides that the world market situation or the specific requirements of certain markets may make it necessary to vary the refund according to destination.

(4)

In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Community and the Dominican Republic on import protection for milk powder in the Dominican Republic (2) approved by Council Decision 98/486/EC (3), a certain amount of Community milk products exported to the Dominican Republic can benefit from reduced customs duties. For this reason, export refunds granted to products exported under this scheme should be reduced by a certain percentage.

(5)

The uptake of export refunds for certain products proves to be insignificant. For such products, export refunds should no longer be fixed.

(6)

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

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 581/2004 of 26 March 2004 opening a standing invitation to tender for export refunds concerning certain types of butter (2) provides for a permanent tender.

(2)

Pursuant to Article 5 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 580/2004 of 26 March 2004 establishing a tender procedure concerning export refunds for certain milk products (3) and following an examination of the tenders submitted in response to the invitation to tender, it is appropriate to fix a maximum export refund for the tendering period ending on 12 September 2006.

(3)

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

(1)

An invitation to tender for the refund for the export of common wheat to certain third countries was opened pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No 936/2006 (2).

(2)

Article 7 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 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 (3), and in particular Article 13(3) thereof,

(3)

On the basis of the criteria laid down in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1501/95, a maximum refund should not be fixed.

(4)

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

(1)

Commission Decision 92/452/EEC of 30 July 1992 establishing lists of embryo collection teams and embryo production teams approved in third countries for export of bovine embryos to the Community (2) provides that Member States are only to import embryos from third countries where they have been collected, processed and stored by embryo collection teams listed in that Decision.

(2)

The United States of America have requested that amendments be made to the entries for that country on those lists as regards certain embryo collection and production teams.

(3)

The United States of America have provided guarantees regarding compliance with the appropriate rules set out in Directive 89/556/EEC and the embryo collection teams concerned have been officially approved for exports to the Community by the veterinary services of that country.

(4)

Decision 92/452/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(5)

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)

Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 lays down rules for the establishment of systems for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals. It provides that those animals on a holding are to be identified within the time limits laid down in that Regulation.

(2)

In addition, Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 provides that ovine and caprine animals are to be identified by a first and second means of identification set out in that Regulation. It lays down that the second means of identification may be replaced until 1 January 2008 by a system which complies with that Regulation and is approved by the Commission, except in the case of animals involved in intra-Community trade.

(3)

Therefore, ovine and caprine animals involved in intra-Community trade must fully comply with Regulation (EC) No 21/2004. Article 4(2)(b) of that Regulation provides that such animals must be identified by a second means of identification approved by the competent authority and conforming to the technical characteristics set out in the Section A.4 of the Annex to the Regulation.

(4)

Commission Decision 2005/617/EC of 17 August 2005 temporarily recognising the systems for identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, according to Article 4(2)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 (2) granted provisional approval for those systems until 30 April 2006. That Decision provided for that approval for the two systems to be reviewed in the light of inspections carried out by 31 January 2006.

(5)

In cooperation with the United Kingdom, the Commission carried out on-the-spot inspections to evaluate the operation of those systems and to verify the implementation of the commitments given by the United Kingdom concerning those systems. The final report and an acceptable action plan from the United Kingdom are now available and were discussed in the framework of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

(6)

The United Kingdom has undertaken to address the concerns raised in the on-the-spot inspections to evaluate the operation of those systems, and in particular to timely complete the proposed action plan by taking all the necessary measures reinforcing the systems to ensure compliance with Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 before 31 December 2006.

(7)

The systems for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals in Great Britain and Northern Ireland should therefore be approved for a new temporary period in order to permit the replacement of the second means of identification for ovine and caprine animals by that system, except in the case of animals involved in intra-Community trade.

(8)

In order to avoid any disrutption of trade, the temporary approval of systems for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals in Great Britain and Northern Ireland should be retroactive as from 30 April 2006 to cover the whole period of implementation of the systems.

(9)

The competent authority should carry out the appropriate on–the-spot checks in order to verify the proper implementation of the systems for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals.

(10)

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