(1)

The efficiency of the use made of budgetary means reserved for the Guarantee Fund established by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2728/94 (3) should be improved and the administrative work related to the budgetary management of the Guarantee Fund reduced.

(2)

The transparency and programming of budgetary transactions in relation to the provisioning of the Guarantee Fund should be enhanced.

(3)

The Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (4) adopted on 17 May 2006 sets the multiannual financial framework of the European Union for the period 2007 to 2013. Pursuant to the Interinstitutional Agreement, the funding of the Guarantee Fund is provided for as an obligatory expenditure from the general budget of the European Union for that period.

(4)

The main function of the Guarantee Fund, namely to shield the general budget of the European Union against shocks due to defaults on loans or guaranteed loans covered by the Fund, should be maintained.

(5)

The Guarantee Fund covers defaults under loans issued by the European Investment Bank (hereinafter the EIB) for which the Community provides a guarantee under the EIB's external mandate. In addition, in line with the EIB's external mandate as taking effect from 1 February 2007, the Fund should also cover defaults under loan guarantees issued by the EIB for which the Community provides a guarantee.

(6)

Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2728/94 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

The Treaties provide for no powers, other than those in Article 308 of the EC Treaty and Article 203 of the Euratom Treaty, for the adoption of this Regulation,

1.

in Article 1, the first subparagraph shall be replaced by the following:

‘A Guarantee Fund, hereinafter referred to as the “Fund”, shall be established, the resources of which shall be used to repay the Community's creditors in the event of default by the beneficiary of a loan granted or guaranteed by the Community or of a loan guarantee issued by the European Investment Bank for which the Community provides a guarantee.’;

2.

in Article 2, the first indent shall be replaced by the following:

3.

in Article 3, the third subparagraph shall be replaced by the following:

‘On the basis of the year-end “n–1” difference between the target amount and the value of the Fund's net assets, calculated at the beginning of the year “n”, any surplus shall be paid in one transaction to a special heading in the statement of revenue in the general budget of the European Union of the year “n+1”.’;

4.

Article 4 shall be replaced by the following:

5.

Article 5 shall be replaced by the following:

6.

the Annex shall be deleted.

(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)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1483/2006 (2) opened standing invitations to tender for the resale on the Community market of cereals held by the intervention agencies of the Member States.

(2)

In view of the situation on the Community markets for common wheat, barley and maize and of the changes in demand for cereals in various regions in recent weeks, new quantities of cereals held in intervention should be made available in some Member States. The intervention agencies in the Member States concerned should therefore be authorised to increase the quantities put out to tender by 28 724 tonnes of common wheat in France, 20 332 tonnes of barley in Finland and 9 363 tonnes in Lithuania, and 500 000 tonnes of maize in Hungary.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1483/2006 should be amended accordingly.

(4)

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

(1)

Article 29(4) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 lays down that, during the 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09 marketing years and in order to ensure adequate supply to Community refineries, import duties on a complementary quantity of imports of raw cane sugar originating in the States referred to in Annex VI to that Regulation are to be suspended.

(2)

That complementary quantity should be calculated in accordance with Article 19 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 950/2006 of 28 June 2006 laying down detailed rules of application for the 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09 marketing years for the import and refining of sugar products under certain tariff quotas and preferential agreements (2), on the basis of an exhaustive Community forecast supply balance for raw sugar. For the 2006/07 marketing year, the balance indicated the need to import a complementary quantity of raw sugar so that the Community refineries' supply needs can be met.

(3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1249/2006 of 18 August 2006 fixing the complementary quantity of raw cane sugar originating in the ACP States and India for supply to refineries in the period from 1 July 2006 to 30 September 2007 (3) fixed a first complementary quantity of 82 500 tonnes to meet the most urgent supply needs for the first months of the 2006/07 marketing year. As there will be no withdrawal of sugar from the market in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, the traditional supply need of sugar for refining, as referred to in Article 29(1) of that Regulation, will not be reduced. Moreover, the Portuguese sugar quota has been reduced by more than 50 % in the marketing year 2006/07. Therefore, in accordance with Article 29(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, the traditional supply need fixed for Portugal under Article 29(1) of that Regulation is to be increased by a supplementary 35 000 tonnes.

(4)

To ensure an adequate supply of the refineries in the Community, it is therefore appropriate to fix a supplementary quantity of complementary sugar of 120 000 tonnes for the marketing year 2006/07.

(5)

This adequate supply of the refineries can only be guaranteed if the traditional export agreements between the beneficiary countries are respected. Therefore a breakdown between the beneficiary countries or group of countries is needed. For India, the quantities fixed in Regulation (EC) No 1249/2006 correspond already to the traditional import quantity. Therefore a limited quantity of 3 500 tonnes is opened for India. The remaining quantities should be fixed for the ACP States, which have collectively undertaken to implement between themselves procedures for the allocation of the quantities in order to ensure the appropriate supply of the refineries.

(6)

Prior to the import of this complementary sugar, the refiners need to make supply and shipping arrangements with the beneficiary countries and trade. In order to allow them to prepare for the application for import licences in due time, it is appropriate to provide for the entry into force of this Regulation as from the date of its publication.

(7)

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

(a)

116 500 tonnes expressed as white-sugar originating in the States listed in Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 except India;

(b)

3 500 tonnes expressed as white-sugar originating in India.

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002 has established the Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS).

(2)

The role of the COSS is to centralise the tasks of the committees set up under the Community legislation on maritime safety, the prevention of pollution from ships and the protection of shipboard living and working conditions.

(3)

All new Community legislation adopted in the field of maritime safety should provide for recourse to the COSS.

(4)

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 789/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on the transfer of cargo and passenger ships between registers within the Community and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 613/91 (2), Article 13 of Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements (3) and Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 336/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 February 2006 on the implementation of the International Safety Management Code within the Community and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 3051/95 (4) provides that the Commission shall be assisted by the COSS for the implementation of those Regulations.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS),

‘(t)

Regulation (EC) No 789/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on the transfer of cargo and passenger ships between registers within the Community and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 613/91 (*1);

(u)

Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements (*2);

(v)

Regulation (EC) No 336/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006 on the implementation of the International Safety Management Code within the Community and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 3051/95 (*3).

(1)

The Council may authorise Member States to apply a reduced rate of VAT to certain labour-intensive services, which must meet the conditions provided for in Directive 2006/112/EC and be included in the list given in Annex IV thereto.

(2)

Directive No 2006/112/EC extended the period of application of the reduced rates of VAT until 31 December 2010. It enables Member States, both those wishing to avail themselves for the first time of the facility provided for, and those wishing to change the list of services to which they have applied the said provision in the past, to submit their request to the Commission.

(3)

This is intended to make it possible for all Member States to take part under the same conditions in the trial of reduced rates for labour-intensive services. It is therefore appropriate to grant the acceding States, from their accession to the European Union, the same possibility of applying a reduced rate of VAT to certain labour-intensive services.

(4)

By letter dated 31 March 2006, Romania submitted a request to apply a reduced rate of VAT to certain labour-intensive services covered by the said trial.

(5)

To ensure equality among the Member States, this Decision should apply from the date of entry into force of the Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

(6)

This Decision will have no impact on the Communities' own resources derived from VAT,

(a)

minor services of repairing clothing and household linen (including mending and alteration);

(b)

domestic care services.