(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 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 1815/2006 (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)

Pursuant to Article 7(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 60/2004 of 14 January 2004 laying down transitional measures in the sugar sector by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (1), the amount to be charged to those Member States for the surplus quantities not eliminated from the market in accordance with Article 6(2) of that Regulation are to be assigned to the Community budget in four equal instalments by 31 December at the latest of each of the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

(2)

Commission Decision 2006/776/EC of 13 November 2006 on the amounts to be charged for the quantities of surplus sugar not eliminated (2) fixed the amounts to be charged per Member State for the quantities of surplus sugar determined by Commission Regulation (EC) No 832/2005 of 31 May 2005 on the determination of surplus quantities of sugar, isoglucose and fructose for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (3) for which no adequate proof of elimination has been provided by 31 March 2006.

(3)

Pursuant to Article 6(3)(a) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 of 22 May 2000 implementing Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom on the system of the Communities' own resources (4) entitlements established in accordance with Article 2 of that Regulation are to be entered in the accounts for own resources at the latest on the first working day after the 19th day of the second month following the month during which the entitlement was established.

(4)

According to Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 60/2004 the Member States concerned had to submit proof of elimination to the Commission by 31 March 2006. In certain cases however, it was necessary to request supplementary information with regard to the proofs submitted. Due to the delays in the arrival of such additional information and the time required for their thorough analysis it was not possible to notify the Member States concerned of the charges to be paid by 31 October 2006. Consequently, in order to comply with the rules laid down in Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000, the deadline set by Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 60/2004 for the payment of the first instalment needs to be adjusted.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 60/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)

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

(1)

The experience gained from the implementation of Commission Regulation (EC) No 382/2005 (3) has shown that the wording of Article 34a of that Regulation should be made more precise as regards the conditions of eligibility for the aid provided in the said Article and that time limits should be set for the payment of such aid.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 382/2005 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(3)

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

1.

Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

2.

The following paragraph 3 is added:

(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)

Commission Regulations (EC) No 451/2000 (2) and (EC) No 703/2001 (3) lay down the detailed rules for the implementation of the second stage of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC and establish a list of active substances to be assessed, with a view to their possible inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. That list includes captan, folpet, formetanate and methiocarb.

(2)

For those active substances the effects on human health and the environment have been assessed in accordance with the provisions laid down in Regulations (EC) No 451/2000 and (EC) No 703/2001 for a range of uses proposed by the notifier. Moreover, those Regulations designate the rapporteur Member States which have to submit the relevant assessment reports and recommendations to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 451/2000. For captan, folpet and formetanate, the rapporteur Member State was Italy and all relevant information was submitted on 20 October 2003 for captan and folpet and on 13 July 2004 for formetanate. For methiocarb the rapporteur Member State was United Kingdom and all relevant information was submitted on 4 March 2004.

(3)

The assessment reports have been peer reviewed by the Member States and the EFSA and presented to the Commission on 24 April 2006 for captan, folpet and formetanate and on 12 May 2006 for methiocarb in the format of the EFSA Scientific Reports (4). These reports have been reviewed by the Member States and the Commission within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and finalised on 29 September 2006 in the format of the Commission review reports for captan, folpet, formetanate and methiocarb.

(4)

It has appeared from the various examinations made that plant protection products containing captan, folpet, formetanate and methiocarb may be expected to satisfy, in general, the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 91/414/EEC, in particular with regard to the uses which were examined and detailed in the Commission review reports. It is therefore appropriate to include these active substances in Annex I, in order to ensure that in all Member States the authorisations of plant protection products containing these active substances can be granted in accordance with the provisions of that Directive.

(5)

Without prejudice to that conclusion, it is appropriate to obtain further information on certain specific points concerning captan, folpet, formetanate and methiocarb. Article 6(1) of Directive 91/414/EC provides that inclusion of a substance in Annex I may be subject to conditions. Therefore it is appropriate to require that captan, folpet, formetanate and methiocarb should be subjected to further testing for confirmation of the risk assessment for some issues and that such studies should be presented by the notifiers.

(6)

A reasonable period should be allowed to elapse before an active substance is included in Annex I in order to permit Member States and the interested parties to prepare themselves to meet the new requirements which will result from the inclusion.

(7)

Without prejudice to the obligations defined by Directive 91/414/EEC as a consequence of including an active substance in Annex I, Member States should be allowed a period of six months after inclusion to review existing authorisations of plant protection products containing captan, folpet, formetanate and methiocarb to ensure that the requirements laid down by Directive 91/414/EEC, in particular in its Article 13 and the relevant conditions set out in Annex I, are satisfied. Member States should vary, replace or withdraw, as appropriate, existing authorisations, in accordance with the provisions of Directive 91/414/EEC. By way of derogation from the above deadline, a longer period should be provided for the submission and assessment of the complete Annex III dossier of each plant protection product for each intended use in accordance with the uniform principles laid down in Directive 91/414/EEC.

(8)

The experience gained from previous inclusions in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC of active substances assessed in the framework of Regulation (EEC) No 3600/92 has shown that difficulties can arise in interpreting the duties of holders of existing authorisations in relation to access to data. In order to avoid further difficulties it therefore appears necessary to clarify the duties of the Member States, especially the duty to verify that the holder of an authorisation demonstrates access to a dossier satisfying the requirements of Annex II to that Directive. However, this clarification does not impose any new obligations on Member States or holders of authorisations compared to the directives which have been adopted until now amending Annex I.

(9)

It is therefore appropriate to amend Directive 91/414/EEC accordingly.

(10)

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

(1)

In accordance with Decision 96/411/EC, the Commission establishes a technical action plan for agricultural statistics each year.

(2)

In accordance with Decision 96/411/EC, the Community contributes to the costs incurred by the Member States in making adaptations to national agricultural statistical systems or the costs of preparatory work for new or increasing needs which are part of a technical action plan.

(3)

It is essential to improve and develop statistical information on rural development for the implementation of the related Community policies. This is a main area of the annual action plan.

(4)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in line with the opinion of the Standing Committee of Agricultural Statistics,

(1)

For the implementation of Protocol 2 to the Agreement, internal reference prices are fixed for the Contracting Parties by the Joint Committee.

(2)

Actual prices have changed on the domestic markets of the Contracting Parties as regards raw materials for which price compensation measures are applied.

(3)

It is therefore necessary to update the reference prices and amounts listed in Tables III and IV(b) to Protocol 2 accordingly.

(4)

The actual market has changed significantly compared to the last two years, a review on the representativity of the prices is foreseen in May 2007,

(1)

On 10 February 2004, the Council adopted Common Position 2004/133/CFSP (1) on restrictive measures against extremists in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

(2)

Common Position 2004/133/CFSP was last amended, and extended until 9 February 2007, by Common Position 2006/50/CFSP (2) of 30 January 2006.

(3)

Following a review of Common Position 2004/133/CFSP, it is considered appropriate to extend its application for a further period of 12 months, as well as to update the list of persons contained in the Annex thereto,

(1)

On 30 January 2006, the Council adopted Joint Action 2006/49/CFSP (1) appointing Mr Christian Schwarz-Schilling as the European Union Special Representative (EUSR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(2)

On 25 July 2006, the Council adopted Joint Action 2006/523/CFSP (2) amending the mandate of the EUSR in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(3)

On 7 June 2006, the Council approved the policy of the European Union on the security of personnel deployed outside the European Union in an operational capacity under Title V of the Treaty.

(4)

On the basis of a review of Joint Action 2006/49/CFSP, the mandate of the EUSR should be amended and extended for an additional four months until 30 June 2007.

(5)

The EUSR's mandate should be implemented in coordination with the Commission in order to ensure consistency with other relevant activities falling within Community competence.

(6)

The EUSR will implement his mandate in the context of a situation which may deteriorate and could harm the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy as set out in Article 11 of the Treaty,

(a)

offer the EU's advice and facilitation in the political process;

(b)

promote overall EU political coordination in BiH;

(c)

promote overall EU coordination of, and give local political direction to, EU efforts in tackling organised crime, without prejudice to the European Union Police Mission (EUPM)'s leading role in the coordination of policing aspects of these efforts and to the ALTHEA (EUFOR) military chain of command;

(d)

provide the EU Force Commander with local political advice, including with respect to the Integrated Police Unit style capability, on which the EUSR may draw, in agreement with the said Commander, without prejudice to the chain of command;

(e)

contribute to reinforcement of internal EU coordination and coherence in BiH, including through briefings to EU Heads of Mission and through participation in, or representation at, their regular meetings, through chairing a coordination group composed of all EU actors present in the field with a view to coordinating the implementation aspects of the EU's action, and through providing them with guidance on relations with the BiH authorities;

(f)

ensure consistency and coherence of EU action towards the public. The EUSR spokesperson shall be the main EU point of contact for BiH media on Common Foreign and Security Policy/European Security and Defence Policy (CFSP/ESDP) issues;

(g)

maintain an overview of the whole range of activities in the field of the rule of law and in this context provide the Secretary-General/High Representative (SG/HR) and the Commission with advice as necessary;

(h)

provide the Head of Mission of the EUPM with local political guidance as part of his wider responsibilities and his role in the chain of command for EUPM;

(i)

as part of the international community's and the BiH authorities' broader approach to the rule of law, and drawing upon the EUPM's provision of technical policing expertise and assistance in this respect, support the preparation and implementation of police restructuring;

(j)

provide support for a reinforced and more effective BiH criminal justice/police interface, in close liaison with EUPM;

(k)

as far as activities under Title VI of the Treaty, including Europol, and related Community activities are concerned, provide the SG/HR and the Commission with advice as necessary, and take part in the required local coordination;

(l)

with a view to coherence and possible synergies, continue to be consulted on priorities for Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance;

(m)

support planning for a reinforced EUSR office in the context of the closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR), including advice on public information aspects of the transition, in close coordination with the Commission;

(n)

contribute to the development and consolidation of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in BiH, in accordance with EU human rights policy and EU Guidelines on Human Rights;

(o)

engage with relevant BiH authorities on their full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY);

(p)

provide political advice and facilitation in the process of constitutional reform.