(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)

Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (‘WTO Agreement’) set out the procedures for waiving an obligation imposed on a Member by the WTO Agreement or by any of the Multilateral Trade Agreements.

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2000 (1) introducing duty-free or preferential treatment to products originating in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo (*1), Montenegro and Serbia) was substantially amended several times and codified by Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 (2). Regulation (EU) No 1336/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) extended the granting of the autonomous trade preferences until 31 December 2015.

Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 (4) removed Croatia from the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009, following its accession to the European Union. Regulation (EU) 2015/2423 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) extends the granting of the autonomous trade preferences until 31 December 2020. Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009, as most recently amended, provides for free access to the Union market for products originating in the Western Balkan countries and territories, except for certain agricultural products, which benefit from limited concessions in the form of duty free tariff quotas.

(3)

In the absence of a waiver from the obligations of the Union under paragraph 1 of Article I of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and Article XIII GATT 1994, to the extent necessary, the treatment provided by the autonomous trade preferences would need to be extended to all other Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

(4)

It is in the interest of the Union to request an extension of the WTO waiver on autonomous trade preferences granted by the Union to the Western Balkans pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article IX of the WTO Agreement.

(5)

The Union is required to submit such a request to the WTO.

(6)

It is appropriate, therefore, to establish the position to be taken by the Union within the General Council of the WTO concerning this request,

(1)

If the amount of manure that a Member State intends to apply per hectare each year is different from those specified in the first sentence of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC and in point (a) of that subparagraph, that amount is to be fixed so as not to prejudice the achievement of the objectives specified in Article 1 of that Directive and it has to be justified on the basis of objective criteria, such as long growing seasons and crops with high nitrogen uptake.

(2)

On 3 November 2011, the Commission adopted Implementing Decision 2011/721/EU (2), allowing Italy to authorise in the regions of Emilia Romagna, Lombardia, Piemonte and Veneto, under certain conditions, the application of up to 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from cattle manure and treated pig manure on farms with at least 70 % of crops with high nitrogen demand and long growing season.

(3)

The derogation granted by Implementing Decision 2011/721/EU concerned approximately 300 farms and 13 000 ha of land and expired on 31 December 2015.

(4)

On 20 January 2016, Italy submitted to the Commission a request for a derogation under the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of Annex III to Directive 91/676/EEC with regard to the Regions of Lombardia and Piemonte.

(5)

The requested derogation concerns the intention of Italy to allow the application in the Regions of Lombardia and Piemonte of up to 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from cattle manure and treated pig manure on farms with at least 70 % of crops with high nitrogen demand and long growing season. Approximately 600 cattle farms and 60 pig farms in the Regions of Lombardia and Piemonte corresponding to respectively 15 % and 6 % of total cattle and total pig farms in the same regions, 4 % of the Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA) and 14 % of the total dairy livestock and 7,4 % of total pig numbers in the same regions are estimated to be potentially encompassed by the derogation. Arable farms can also apply for the derogation.

(6)

The legislation implementing Directive 91/676/EEC and establishing the action programmes in Lombardia (Decision n. X/5171 of 16 May 2016) and Piemonte (Decision n. 19/2971 of 29 February 2016) has been adopted and applies in conjunction with this Decision for the period 2016 to 2019.

(7)

The designated vulnerable zones to which the action programmes apply cover about 80 % of the UAA of Lombardia and 44 % of the UAA of Piemonte.

(8)

Water quality data submitted show that for groundwater in the Regions of Lombardia and Piemonte 87 % of groundwater bodies have mean nitrate concentrations below 50 mg/l nitrate and 55 % have mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l nitrate. For surface waters, more than 90 % of monitoring sites have mean nitrate concentrations below 25 mg/l and no points have nitrate concentrations over 50 mg/l nitrate.

(9)

The Regions Lombardia and Piemonte account for more than 35 % of livestock in Italy: in particular, 38 % of dairy cattle, 60 % of pigs and 15 % of poultry. Livestock numbers show a decreasing trend in the period 2007-2013.

(10)

In the period 2003-2013, chemical nitrogen consumption declined about 27 %, as well as utilisation of mineral phosphorus fertilisers; the latter has been reduced by 57 %.

(11)

Grassland, maize grain, maize silage and winter cereals occupy about 65 % of the total agricultural area in Lombardia and Piemonte.

(12)

The supporting documents presented in the request for the derogation show that the proposed amount of 250 kg nitrogen per hectare per year from cattle manure and treated pig manure is justified on the basis of objective criteria such as high net precipitation, long growing seasons and high yields of crops with high nitrogen uptake.

(13)

After examining the request, the Commission considers that the proposed amount of 250 kg per hectare from cattle manure and treated pig manure will not prejudice the achievement of the objectives of Directive 91/676/EEC, subject to certain strict conditions being met.

(14)

Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and the Council (3) provides for a comprehensive, cross-border approach to water protection organised around river basin districts, with the objective of achieving a good status for European bodies of water by 2015. Reducing nutrients is an integral part of that objective. Granting of a derogation under this Decision is without prejudice to the provisions pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC and does not exclude that additional measures may be needed to fulfil obligations derived from it.

(15)

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) lays down general rules aimed at the establishment of the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the Union for the purposes of environmental policies of the Union and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. Where applicable, the spatial information collected in the context of this Decision should be in line with the provisions set out in that Directive. In order to reduce administrative burden and enhance data coherence, Italy, when collecting the necessary data under this Decision should, where appropriate, make use of the information generated under the Integrated Administration and Control System established pursuant to Chapter II of Title V of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).

(16)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Nitrates Committee set up pursuant to Article 9 of Directive 91/676/EEC,

(a)

‘farms’ means agricultural holdings with or without livestock rearing;

(b)

‘parcel’ means an individual field or a group of fields, homogeneous regarding cropping, soil type and fertilisation practices;

(c)

‘grassland’ means permanent or temporary grassland (temporary lies less than five years);

(d)

‘late maturing maize’ means maize class FAO 600-700, planted from mid-March to the beginning of April, with a growing cycle of at least 145-150 days;

(e)

‘maize or sorghum followed by winter herbage’ means medium-late or early maturing maize, according to FAO international classification, or sorghum followed by winter herbage, such as Italian ryegrass, barley, triticale or winter rye;

(f)

‘winter cereal followed by summer herbage’ means winter wheat, winter barley or triticale, followed by summer herbage, such as maize, sorghum, Setaria or Panicum sp.;

(g)

‘crops with high nitrogen demand and long growing season’ means grassland, late maturing maize, maize or sorghum followed by winter herbage and winter cereal followed by summer herbage;

(h)

‘cattle manure’ means livestock manure excreted by cattle, including during grazing or in processed form;

(i)

‘manure treatment’ means the processing of pig manure into two fractions, a solid fraction and a liquid fraction, performed in order to improve land application and enhance nitrogen and phosphorus recovery;

(j)

‘treated manure’ means the liquid fraction resulting from pig manure treatment, with a minimum nitrogen to phosphate ratio (N/P2O5) of 2,5;

(k)

‘treated manure with nitrogen removal’ means treated manure with a nitrogen content of less than 30 % compared to nitrogen content of the raw pig manure;

(l)

‘soils with low organic matter content’ means soils with organic carbon content lower than 2 % in the top 30 centimetres of soil;

(m)

‘non-saline and low salinity soils’ means those soils with electrical conductivity on saturated soil paste extract ECe < 4 mS/cm or electrical conductivity on aqueous extract with 1:2 soil/water ratio EC 1:2 < 1 mS/cm, or areas defined as certainly not affected by risk of salinization, as indicated on the soil map defined at regional level;

(n)

‘nitrogen use efficiency’ means the percentage of total nitrogen applied in livestock manure form which is available to crops in the year of application.

(a)

70 % or more of the acreage of the farm shall be cultivated with crops with high nitrogen demand and long growing season;

(b)

temporary grassland shall be ploughed in spring;

(c)

temporary and permanent grassland shall not include more than 50 % of leguminous or other plants fixing atmospheric nitrogen;

(d)

late maturing maize shall be harvested, including the stalks;

(e)

winter herbage, such as Italian ryegrass, barley, triticale or winter rye, shall be seeded within two weeks after harvest of maize or sorghum and shall be harvested no earlier than two weeks before maize or sorghum sowing;

(f)

summer herbage, such as maize, sorghum, Setaria or Panicum sp., shall be seeded within two weeks after harvest of winter cereals and shall be harvested no earlier than two weeks before winter cereals sowing;

(g)

a crop with high nitrogen demand shall be seeded within two weeks after ploughing grass and fertilisers shall not be applied in the year of ploughing of permanent grassland.

(a)

evaluation of the implementation of the derogation, on the basis of controls at farm level, as well as controls on manure transport, and information on non-compliant farms, on the basis of the results of the administrative and field inspections;

(b)

information on manure treatment, including further processing and utilisation of the solid fractions, and provide detailed data on characteristics of treatment systems, their efficiency and composition of treated manure, as well as final destination of solid fractions;

(c)

maps showing areas with low organic matter content, as well as the measures taken in order to encourage the use of the stabilized solid fraction on soils with low organic matter content, as referred to in Article 5(2);

(d)

the methodologies to assess the composition of treated manure, the variations in composition and treatment efficiency for each farm benefiting from individual derogation, referred to in Article 5(3);

(e)

the inventory of ammonia and other emissions from manure treatment, referred to in Article 5(4);

(f)

the established protocol to measure electrical conductivity and maps showing areas affected by salinization, referred to in Article 6(12);

(g)

the methodologies to verify the compatibility of granted derogations with the capacity of manure treatment plants, referred to in Article 8(1);

(h)

the methodologies to verify the compatibility of each granted derogation with the authorized water use in the farm benefitting from the derogation, referred to in Article 8(2);

(i)

maps showing the percentage of farms, percentage of livestock, percentage of agricultural land covered by individual derogations and maps showing local land use, as well as data on crop rotations and agricultural practices in derogation farms, referred to in Article 10(1) and (2)

(j)

the results of water monitoring, including information on water quality trends for ground and surface waters, including coastal waters, as well as the impact on derogation on water quality as referred to in Article 10(3);

(k)

the list of most vulnerable water bodies, referred to in Article 10(4);

(l)

summary and evaluation of data obtained from the monitoring sites referred to in Article 10(5);

(1)

Pursuant to Article 18.1 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of Member States whose currency is the euro may conduct credit operations with credit institutions and other market participants, with lending being based on adequate collateral.

(2)

The standard criteria and minimum requirements for credit quality thresholds determining the eligibility of marketable assets as collateral for the purposes of Eurosystem monetary policy operations are laid down in Guideline (EU) 2015/510 (ECB/2014/60) and in particular in Article 59 and in Part Four, Title II thereof.

(3)

Pursuant to Article 1(4) of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 (ECB/2014/60), the Governing Council may, at any time, change the tools, instruments, requirements, criteria and procedures for the implementation of Eurosystem monetary policy operations. Pursuant to Article 59(6) of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 (ECB/2014/60), the Eurosystem reserves the right to determine whether an issue, issuer, debtor or guarantor fulfils the Eurosystem's credit quality requirements on the basis of any information that the Eurosystem may consider relevant for ensuring adequate risk protection of the Eurosystem.

(4)

Article 8(2) of Guideline ECB/2014/31 provides that the Eurosystem's credit quality thresholds do not apply to marketable debt instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the central governments of Member States whose currency is the euro under a European Union/International Monetary Fund programme, unless the Governing Council decides that the respective Member State does not comply with the conditionality of the financial support and/or the macroeconomic programme.

(5)

In February 2015, the Governing Council concluded that it was not possible to assume a successful conclusion of the review of the European Union/International Monetary Fund financial assistance programme for the Hellenic Republic that was ongoing at the time. Consequently, Decision (EU) 2015/300 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2015/6) (4) provided that the Hellenic Republic should no longer be considered to be in compliance with a European Union/International Monetary Fund programme for the purposes of Article 6(1) and Article 8 of Guideline ECB/2014/31 and that the Eurosystem's credit quality thresholds should apply in respect of marketable debt instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the Hellenic Republic. On 19 August 2015, following the expiry of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) programme of financial support for Greece, the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) approved a new three-year financial assistance programme for Greece.

(6)

The first tranche under the new ESM programme was disbursed once all required measures were taken and milestones met which supported the gradual stabilisation of the Greek economy and allowed for the recapitalisation of the Greek banking system at the end of 2015. Upon completion of the prior actions agreed under the programme for the first review, the Board of Directors of the ESM approved on 17 June 2016 the disbursement of the first part of the second tranche of the programme. The first review of the ESM programme has thus been successfully concluded.

(7)

The Governing Council has assessed the effects of the new ESM programme for Greece, the continued implementation thereof and the commitment demonstrated by the Greek authorities to fully implement the programme.

(8)

On the basis of the abovementioned assessment, the Governing Council considers the Hellenic Republic to be in compliance with the conditionality of the programme and has decided to restore the eligibility of marketable debt instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the Hellenic Republic for Eurosystem's monetary policy operations. Therefore, Decision (EU) 2015/300 (ECB/2015/6) should be repealed.

(9)

In view of the specific market and credit risk conditions for marketable debt instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the Hellenic Republic, the Governing Council has decided to revise the haircut schedule applicable to those instruments pursuant to Article 8(3) of Guideline ECB/2014/31.

(10)

In line with past Governing Council deliberations, potential purchases of marketable debt instruments issued or guaranteed by the Hellenic Republic in the secondary markets public sector asset purchase programme (PSPP) will be examined at a later stage, taking into account the progress in the analysis and reinforcement of the sustainability of Greece's public debt and other risk management considerations,