(1)

The representative prices and additional duties applicable to imports of white sugar, raw sugar and certain syrups for the 2009/10 marketing year are fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 877/2009 (3). These prices and duties have been last amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 423/2010 (4).

(2)

The data currently available to the Commission indicate that those amounts should be amended in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 951/2006,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 provides that each Member State is to establish a system for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals in accordance with that Regulation. Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 ovine and caprine animals are identified by a first and a second means of identification. One of those means of identification must be an electronic identifier and the other one a visible identifier.

(2)

Commission Decision 2006/968/EC (2) sets out guidelines and procedures for the approval of identifiers and readers for the electronic identification of ovine and caprine animals pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 21/2004. That Decision lays down minimum requirements concerning certain conformance and performance tests for the approval of those devices in order to ensure that electronic identifiers are readable throughout the Union and fulfil the minimum reading distances as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 21/2004.

(3)

Those test procedures were laid down in accordance with methods specified in the International Agreement on Recording Practices of the International Committee on Animal Recording (ICAR Guidelines). The ICAR Guidelines have been further developed and now replaced by ISO standards 24631-1, 24631-2, 24631-3 and 24631-4. For the sake of transparency, a direct reference to the relevant points in the ISO standards should be established.

(4)

Throughout their lifetime, animals may be moved and thus be kept in different holdings. It is necessary to lay down minimum performance criteria for electronic identifiers, in order to ensure that those devices are readable under different conditions in the whole Union.

(5)

In order to reduce potential administrative burden, the requirements for the approval procedure for readers should be clarified. In contrast to identifiers, no binding requirements for readers should be laid down at the level of the Union. However, Member States should have the possibility of setting additional criteria in order to ensure the functionality of electronic identification under their specific geographic, climatic and management conditions, if necessary.

(6)

Practical experience in implementing Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 has shown that only a small number of laboratories are sufficient, in order to carry out all the tests provided for by that Regulation. A specific procedure for designating national test laboratories in all Member States is therefore not needed. It is sufficient that tests be carried out in laboratories accredited for those tests in accordance with standard EN ISO/IEC 17025.

(7)

Decision 2006/968/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

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

(1)

Pursuant to Article 18.1 of the Statute of the ESCB, national central banks of Member States whose currency is the euro (hereinafter the ‘euro area NCBs’) and the European Central Bank (ECB) (hereinafter collectively referred to as the ‘Eurosystem central banks’) may operate in the financial markets by, among other things, buying and selling outright marketable instruments.

(2)

On 9 May 2010 the Governing Council decided and publicly announced that, in view of the current exceptional circumstances in financial markets, characterised by severe tensions in certain market segments which are hampering the monetary policy transmission mechanism and thereby the effective conduct of monetary policy oriented towards price stability in the medium term, a temporary securities markets programme (hereinafter the ‘programme’) should be initiated. Under the programme, the euro area NCBs, according to their percentage shares in the key for subscription of the ECB’s capital, and the ECB, in direct contact with counterparties, may conduct outright interventions in the euro area public and private debt securities markets.

(3)

The programme forms part of the Eurosystem’s single monetary policy and will apply temporarily. The programme’s objective is to address the malfunctioning of securities markets and restore an appropriate monetary policy transmission mechanism.

(4)

The Governing Council will decide on the scope of the interventions. The Governing Council has taken note of the statement of the euro area Member State governments that they ‘will take all measures needed to meet their fiscal targets this year and the years ahead in line with excessive deficit procedures’ and the precise additional commitments taken by some euro area Member State governments to accelerate fiscal consolidation and ensure the sustainability of their public finances.

(5)

As part of the Eurosystem’s single monetary policy, the outright purchase of eligible marketable debt instruments by Eurosystem central banks under the programme should be implemented in accordance with the terms of this Decision,