(1)

On 4 June 2009, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with the Republic of Cape Verde on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas. The negotiations were successfully concluded and the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas to citizens of the Republic of Cape Verde and of the European Union (‘the Agreement’) was initialled on 24 April 2012.

(2)

The Agreement should be signed, on behalf of the Union, subject to its conclusion.

(3)

This Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis, in which the United Kingdom does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2000/365/EC of 29 May 2000 concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (1); the United Kingdom is therefore not taking part in its adoption and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(4)

This Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis, in which Ireland does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (2); Ireland is therefore not taking part in its adoption and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(5)

In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol (No 22) on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Decision and is not bound by it or subject to its application,

(1)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 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 Annex XVI, Part A thereto.

(2)

The standard import value is calculated each working day, in accordance with Article 136(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, taking into account variable daily data. Therefore this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 616/2007 (3) opened tariff quotas for imports of poultrymeat products originating in Brazil, Thailand and other third countries.

(2)

The applications for import licences lodged in respect of Groups Nos 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 during the first seven days of October 2012 for the subperiod from 1 January to 31 March 2013 relate, for some quotas, to quantities exceeding those available. The extent to which import licences may be issued should therefore be determined by establishing the allocation coefficient to be applied to the quantities requested.

(3)

The applications for import rights lodged during the first seven days of October 2012 for the subperiod from 1 January to 31 March 2013 in respect of Group No 5 relate to quantities exceeding those available. The extent to which import rights may be allocated should therefore be determined by establishing the allocation coefficient to be applied to the quantities requested,

(1)

Article 162(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that the difference between prices on the world market for the products referred to in Part XX of Annex I to that Regulation and prices in the Union for those products may be covered by an export refund.

(2)

In view of the current situation on the market in poultrymeat, export refunds should be fixed in accordance with the rules and criteria provided for in Articles 162, 163, 164, 167 and 169 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(3)

Article 164(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that refunds may vary according to destination, especially where the world market situation, the specific requirements of certain markets, or obligations resulting from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 300 of the Treaty make this necessary.

(4)

Refunds should be granted only on products which are authorised to move freely in the Union and bear the identification mark provided for in Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (2). Those products should also comply with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (3).

(5)

The currently applicable refunds have been fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 663/2012 (4). Since new refunds should be fixed, that Regulation should therefore be repealed.

(6)

In order to prevent divergence with the current market situation, to prevent market speculation and to ensure efficient management this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(7)

The Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its Chair,

(1)

The representative prices and additional duties applicable to imports of white sugar, raw sugar and certain syrups for the 2012/13 marketing year are fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 892/2012 (3). Those prices and duties were last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 940/2012 (4).

(2)

The data currently available to the Commission indicate that those amounts should be amended in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 951/2006.

(3)

Given the need to ensure that this measure applies as soon as possible after the updated data have been made available, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1484/95 (3) lays down 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)

Regular monitoring of the data used to determine representative prices for poultrymeat and egg products and for egg albumin shows that the representative import prices for certain products should be amended to take account of variations in price according to origin.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1484/95 should be amended accordingly.

(4)

Given the need to ensure that this measure applies as soon as possible after the updated data have been made available, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 lays down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin. In particular, it provides that products of animal origin are to be imported only from a third country or a part of a third country that appears on a list drawn up and updated in accordance with that Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 also provides that when drawing up and updating such lists, account is to be taken of Union controls in third countries and guarantees by the competent authorities of third countries as regards compliance or equivalence with Union feed and food law and animal health rules specified in Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules (2).

(3)

Commission Decision 2006/766/EC of 6 November 2006 establishing the lists of third countries and territories from which imports of bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates, marine gastropods and fishery products are permitted (3) lists those third countries which satisfy the criteria referred to in Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 and are therefore able to guarantee that those products meet the sanitary conditions laid down in Union legislation to protect the health of consumers and can accordingly be exported to the Union. In particular, Annex II to that Decision sets out a list of third countries and territories from which imports into the Union of fishery products for human consumption, other than live, chilled, frozen or processed bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropodes, are permitted.

(4)

The autonomous country of the Netherlands Antilles is currently included in the list in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC as a third country from which imports of fishery products intended for human consumption are permitted.

(5)

Following an internal reform in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, effective as of 10 October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as an autonomous country within that Kingdom. On that same date, Curaçao and Sint Maarten gained the status of autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became special municipalities of the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is therefore appropriate to delete the entry for the Netherlands Antilles from the list set out in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC.

(6)

The competent authorities of Curaçao and Sint Maarten have presented the necessary information to the Commission to prove that the sanitary control system in place in those autonomous countries provides sufficient guarantees of compliance with Union requirements. The information provided by the competent authorities of Curaçao and Sint Maarten also shows that those authorities have the same legal powers to conduct controls as the competent authority of the Netherlands Antilles used to have and that food business operators are bound by the same obligations as in the period before the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist. In addition, according to that information, the official sanitary controls in those autonomous countries continue at the same levels as in the period before the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist.

(7)

It is therefore appropriate that Curaçao and Sint Maarten be included in the list set out in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC.

(8)

Decision 2006/766/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9)

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)

the entry for the Netherlands Antilles is deleted;

(2)

the following entry for Curaçao is inserted between the entries for Cape Verde and Algeria:

(3)

the following entry for Sint Maarten is inserted between the entries for El Salvador and Togo: