(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 experience gained in applying Commission Regulation (EC) No 557/2007 (2) shows that adjustments should be made to certain provisions of that Regulation.

(2)

It should be clarified that the requirements on the information to be displayed on transport packaging apply also to packaging transporting eggs for further processing.

(3)

Under Article 2(2)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 of 26 June 1990 on certain marketing standards for eggs (3), provisions on marking did not apply to eggs delivered directly to the food and non-food industry for processing. Such provision has not been included in Regulation (EC) No 1028/2006, to leave the Member States the possibility to take these measures at national level. However, to allow the Member States' administrations to implement the new rules, a transitional period of one year, from 1 July 2007 until 30 June 2008, has been established by Regulation (EC) No 557/2007 for the marking of eggs for processing produced in the Community. Similar transitional measures have not been foreseen for the product imported from third countries. In order to avoid an unequal treatment, a transitional period until 30 June 2008 should therefore be established for the marking provisions for those eggs produced in third countries and imported into the Community for processing.

(4)

Eggs imported from third countries should be marked in the country of origin with its country code, in accordance with the international standards ‘ISO 3166 Country Codes’.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 557/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)

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

1.

Article 7(3) is replaced by the following:

2.

Article 11(1) is replaced by the following:

(*1)   OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.’;"

3.

Article 30(2) is replaced by the following:

4.

the text in the Annex to this Regulation is added as Annex V.

(1)

Participation of Bulgaria and Romania in the European Economic Area was agreed by the EEA Enlargement Agreement, signed between the European Community and its Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and the EEA Applicant Countries on 25 July 2007.

(2)

Pending the completion of the procedures required for the adoption of the EEA Enlargement Agreement of 2007, an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters was agreed, which provides for a provisional application of the EEA Enlargement Agreement. That Agreement has been approved by Council Decision 2007/566/EC of 23 July 2007 on the signing and the provisional application of an Agreement on the participation of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania in the European Economic Area and four related agreements (2).

(3)

The EEA Enlargement Agreement provides for an additional Protocol to the EC-Norway Free Trade Agreement of 1973. This additional Protocol provides for new annual duty free tariff quotas and for changes to existing annual duty free tariff quotas at import into the Community of certain fish and fishery products originating in Norway.

(4)

To implement the new and changed tariff quotas provided for in the additional Protocol, it is necessary to amend Regulation (EC) No 992/95.

(5)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (3) provides for a system of management of tariff quotas designed to be used following the chronological order of dates of acceptance of the customs declarations. For reasons of simplification the same system should apply for the tariff quotas provided for in Regulation (EC) No 992/95.

(6)

Certain tariff quotas provided for in the additional Protocol should be regarded initially as non-critical within the meaning of Article 308c of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93. Therefore, Articles 308(c)(2) and (3) of that Regulation should not apply for these tariff quotas.

(7)

In accordance with the additional Protocol the tariff quotas volumes for the year 2007 should not be reduced in proportion to the part of that year which elapsed before the tariff quotas apply, while on the other hand the tariff quotas volumes for the year 2009 should be reduced in proportion to the part of 2009 during which no tariff quotas apply.

(8)

In accordance with Decision 2007/566/EC the new tariff quotas and the changes to existing tariff quotas have to apply from 1 September 2007. This Regulation should therefore apply from the same date and enter into force immediately.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

1.

Article 2 is replaced by the following:

2.

Article 3 is replaced by the following:

3.

Annexes I and II are amended as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

(1)

By its Decision of 30 October 2007 (2), the Council authorised the signing and provided for the provisional application from 1 January 2007 of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union.

(2)

This Protocol provides for an increase in the volume of the tariff quotas applicable at import into the Community for oranges originating in Egypt. The increase in the volume shall apply from 1 July 2007.

(3)

By its Decision of 22 October 2007 (3), the Council authorised the signing and provided for the provisional application from 1 January 2007 of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union.

(4)

This Protocol provides for a new annual tariff quota applicable at import into the Community for a specific processed agricultural product originating in Israel. The new tariff quota shall apply from the first day of the month following the date of signature of the Protocol.

(5)

To implement the tariff concessions provided for in these Protocols, the list of tariff quotas for Egypt and for Israel laid down in Regulation (EC) No 747/2001 should be adjusted.

(6)

As the tariff quota for Israel for the year 2007 does not apply from 1 January 2007, the volume of the new tariff quota for this year shall be fixed at a lower quantity than the annual tariff quota volume.

(7)

Regulation (EC) No 747/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 states that the import duty on products falling within CN codes 1001 10 00, 1001 90 91, ex 1001 90 99 (high quality common wheat), 1002, ex 1005 other than hybrid seed, and ex 1007 other than hybrids for sowing, is to be equal to the intervention price valid for such products on importation and increased by 55 %, minus the cif import price applicable to the consignment in question. However, that duty may not exceed the rate of duty in the Common Customs Tariff.

(2)

Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 lays down that, for the purposes of calculating the import duty referred to in paragraph 2 of that Article, representative cif import prices are to be established on a regular basis for the products in question.

(3)

Under Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1249/96, the price to be used for the calculation of the import duty on products of CN codes 1001 10 00, 1001 90 91, ex 1001 90 99 (high quality common wheat), 1002 00, 1005 10 90, 1005 90 00 and 1007 00 90 is the daily cif representative import price determined as specified in Article 4 of that Regulation.

(4)

Import duties should be fixed for the period from 16 November 2007, and should apply until new import duties are fixed and enter into force,

(1)

Article 31(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 provides that the difference between prices in international trade for the products listed in Article 1(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g) of that Regulation and prices within the Community may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1043/2005 of 30 June 2005 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 3448/93 as regards the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amount of such refunds (2), specifies the products for which a rate of refund is to be fixed, to be applied where these products are exported in the form of goods listed in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999.

(3)

In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1043/2005, the rate of the refund per 100 kilograms for each of the basic products in question is to be fixed each month.

(4)

However, in the case of certain milk products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, there is a danger that, if high refund rates are fixed in advance, the commitments entered into in relation to those refunds may be jeopardised. In order to avert that danger, it is therefore necessary to take appropriate precautionary measures, but without precluding the conclusion of long-term contracts. The fixing of specific refund rates for the advance fixing of refunds in respect of those products should enable those two objectives to be met.

(5)

Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1043/2005 provides that, when the rate of the refund is being fixed, account is to be taken, where appropriate, of production refunds, aids or other measures having equivalent effect applicable in all Member States in accordance with the Regulation on the common organisation of the market in the product in question to the basic products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1043/2005 or to assimilated products.

(6)

Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 provides for the payment of aid for Community-produced skimmed milk processed into casein if such milk and the casein manufactured from it fulfil certain conditions.

(7)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1898/2005 of 9 November 2005 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 as regards measures for the disposal of cream, butter and concentrated butter (3), lays down that butter and cream at reduced prices should be made available to industries which manufacture certain goods.

(8)

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 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 11(2) of Joint Action 2005/797/CFSP provides that the Council authorises the Political and Security Committee (PSC) to take the relevant decisions in accordance with Article 25 of the Treaty, including the decision to amend the chain of command, upon a proposal by the Secretary General/High Representative.

(2)

On 21 November 2006, upon a proposal by the Secretary General/High Representative, the PSC appointed by its Decision 2006/853/CFSP (2) Mr Colin SMITH as Head of Mission/Police Commissioner of EUPOL COPPS until 31 December 2007.

(3)

On 18 October 2007 the Secretary General/High Representative proposed to the PSC that it extend the mandate of Mr Colin SMITH for an additional year, until 31 December 2008,