5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/1

(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,

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/3

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1458/2003 (2) provides for the opening and administration of a tariff quota in the pigmeat sector.

(2)

The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the United States of America pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 (3), approved by Council Decision 2006/333/EC (4) provides for an increase of the annual import tariff quota of pigmeat, erga omnes, of 1 430 tonnes of pigmeat.

(3)

The reference to be shown in the import licence applications should be mentioned in the different languages of the Community.

(4)

In view of the possible accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union as from 1 January 2007, it is advisable to provide for a different period for lodging the licence applications for the first quarter of the year 2007.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1458/2003 should be amended accordingly.

(6)

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

1.

In article 4, points d and e are replaced by the following:

2.

In Article 5, paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is added:

‘However, for the period of 1 January to 31 March 2007 licence applications shall be lodged during the first 15 days of January 2007.’

3.

The Annexes I to IV are replaced by the text in the Annex to this Regulation.

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/10

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 lays down specific requirements for rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption.

(2)

In order to avoid any risk of dispersal of pathogens and/or residues, Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 provides that animal by-products are to be processed, stored and kept separate in an approved and supervised plant designated by the Member State concerned or to be disposed of in a suitable manner. Chapters III and IV of that Regulation lay down requirements concerning the approval of such plants.

(3)

Article 26(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 provides that Member States are to draw up lists of plants approved in accordance with that Regulation.

(4)

Accordingly, it is necessary to lay down implementing rules concerning those lists of approved plants, including the presentation of the information contained in such lists on national websites which are available to the Commission and the public. It is also necessary to provide for a website to be maintained by the Commission concerning those lists.

(5)

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

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/12

(1)

Under Article 27(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine (1), any natural or legal person or group of persons having made wine is required to deliver for distillation all the by-products of that wine-making.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 of 25 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms (2) establishes the rules applicable to such distillation and Article 49 thereof provides for certain exceptions to that obligation.

(3)

Hungary has adopted the measures needed to implement this distillation obligation. However, distilleries in Hungary do not currently have sufficient capacity to distil all by-products.

(4)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1990/2004 (3) authorises Hungary to exempt certain categories of producers from the obligation to distil by-products of wine-making for the 2004/05 wine year. This authorisation has been extended to cover the 2005/06 wine year. In view of the situation described above, that authorisation should be extended once again to cover the 2006/07 marketing year.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1990/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)

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

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/13

(1)

Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 provides for the possibility of a crisis distillation measure in the event of exceptional market disturbance due to major surpluses. Such measures may be limited to certain categories of wine and/or certain areas of production, and may apply to quality wines psr at the request of the Member State concerned.

(2)

Portugual has requested that crisis distillation be opened for table wine produced in its territory.

(3)

Considerable surpluses have been recorded on the table wine market in Portugal, which are reflected in a fall in prices and a worrying rise in stocks towards the end of the 2005/06 marketing year. In order to reverse this negative trend, and so remedy the difficult market situation, stocks of table wine should be reduced to a level that can be regarded as normal in terms of covering market requirements.

(4)

Since the conditions laid down in Article 30(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 are satisfied, a crisis distillation measure should be opened for a maximum of 200 000 hectolitres of table wine.

(5)

The crisis distillation opened by this Regulation must comply with the conditions laid down by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 of 25 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms (2) as regards the distillation measure provided for in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999. Other provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 must also apply, in particular those concerning the delivery of alcohol to intervention agencies and the payment of advances.

(6)

The price distillers must pay producers should be set at a level that permits the market disturbance to be dealt with by allowing producers to take advantage of the possibility afforded by this measure.

(7)

The product of crisis distillation must be raw or neutral alcohol only, for compulsory delivery to the intervention agency in order to avoid disturbing the market for potable alcohol, which is supplied largely by the distillation provided for in Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999.

(8)

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

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/15

(1)

The Council has authorised the Commission on 5 June 2003 to open negotiations with third countries on the replacement of certain provisions in existing bilateral agreements with a Community agreement.

(2)

The Commission has negotiated on behalf of the Community an Agreement with the Republic of Lebanon on certain aspects of air services in accordance with the mechanisms and directives in the Annex to the Council's Decision authorising the Commission to open negotiations with third countries on the replacement of certain provisions in existing bilateral agreements with a Community agreement.

(3)

Subject to its possible conclusion at a later date, the agreement negotiated by the Commission should be signed and provisionally applied,

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/26

(1)

The reform of the Lisbon Strategy in 2005 has placed the emphasis on growth and jobs. The Employment Guidelines (4) of the European Employment Strategy and the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (5) have been adopted as an integrated package, whereby the European Employment Strategy has the leading role in the implementation of the employment and labour market objectives of the Lisbon Strategy.

(2)

The European Union must mobilise all appropriate national and Community resources — including the cohesion policy — in the Lisbon strategy's three dimensions (economic, social and environmental) so as better to tap into their synergies in a general context of sustainable development.

(3)

The Employment Guidelines and the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines should be fully reviewed only every three years, while in the intermediate years until 2008 their updating should remain strictly limited to ensure the degree of stability that is necessary for effective implementation.

(4)

The examination of the Member States' National Reform Programmes contained in the Commission's Annual Progress Report and in the Joint Employment Report shows that Member States should continue to make every effort to address the priority areas of:

(5)

The European Council of 23 and 24 March 2006 stressed the central role of employment policies in the framework of the Lisbon agenda and the necessity of increasing employment opportunities for priority categories, within a life-cycle approach. In this connection, it approved the European Pact for Gender Equality that should further heighten the profile of gender mainstreaming and give impetus to improving the perspectives and opportunities of women on a broad scale.

(6)

The removal of obstacles to mobility for workers, as laid down by the Treaties, including the Treaties of Accession, should strengthen the functioning of the internal market and enhance its growth and employment potential.

(7)

In the light of both the Commission’s examination of the National Reform Programmes and the European Council conclusions, the focus should now be on effective and timely implementation, paying special attention to the agreed quantitative targets as laid down in the Employment Guidelines for 2005-2008, and in line with the conclusions of the European Council.

(8)

Member States should take the Employment Guidelines into account when programming their use of Community funding, in particular of the European Social Fund.

(9)

In view of the integrated nature of the guidelines package, Member States should fully implement the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines,

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/28

(1)

Directive 2002/53/EC allows for the Council to determine whether the official examinations of varieties carried out in a third country afford the same assurances as those carried out in the Member States.

(2)

The rules on the official examination of varieties carried out in Croatia in respect of wheat, barley and maize provide that the acceptance of varieties as regards their distinctness, stability and uniformity is based on the results of official examinations, particularly growing trials, covering a sufficient number of characteristics for the variety to be described.

(3)

An examination of those rules and the manner in which they are applied in Croatia in respect of the three aforementioned species has shown that they afford the same assurances as those carried out by the Member States, provided that further conditions are satisfied.

(4)

This Decision does not prevent Community findings on equivalence from being revoked if the conditions on which they are based are not, or cease to be, satisfied.

(5)

Given that the Annexes may require frequent modification of their technical provisions, they should be amended in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 4 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (2),

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/30

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/31

(1)

On 27 January and 28 February 2006, the Italian Republic transmitted to the Commission the Decrees Nos 35 and 36 of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of 29 December 2005 (published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana on 11 January 2006) imposing public service obligations (PSOs) on a total of 16 routes between Sardinia and the main national airports and requested the Commission to publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union in accordance with Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92.

(2)

On 24 March 2006 the Commission published a notice concerning the public service obligations imposed by Decree No 35 (the ‘Notice of 24 March 2006’) (2) on the following six routes:

(3)

On 21 April 2006 the Commission published another notice concerning the public service obligations imposed by Decree No 36 (the ‘Notice of 21 April 2006’) (3) on the following 10 routes:

(4)

The main features of the PSOs published in the two notices are as follows:

(5)

It should be noted that prior to imposing the public service obligations referred to in this Decision, the Italian Republic had imposed public service obligations by the Decrees of 1 August 2000 and of 21 December 2000 on six routes between the Sardinian airports and Rome and Milan. Those obligations were published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 7 October 2000 (4) (the ‘Notice of 7 October 2000’). In accordance with Article 4(1)(d) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, the routes concerned were put to tender to select the carriers authorised to operate them on an exclusive basis with financial compensation (5).

(6)

The carriers authorised to operate the routes in accordance with the public service obligations imposed were:

(7)

These arrangements were replaced by the public service obligations imposed by the Italian Decree of 8 November 2004 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 10 December 2004 (the ‘Notice of 10 December 2004’) (6). Following a decision of the Regional Administrative Tribunal of Lazio of 17 March 2005 which annulled partially the Decree of 8 November 2004, the Italian authorities informed the Commission that they had ‘suspended’ those obligations. A notice to this effect was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 1 July 2005 (7). On 6 December 2005 the Italian authorities informed the Commission that the Decree of 8 November 2004 had been repealed with effect from 15 November 2004.

(8)

On 28 February 2006 the Italian authorities informed the Commission of the adoption on 23 February 2006 of a decree amending Decree No 35, of 29 December 2005, whereby the Decrees of 1 August 2000 and 21 December 2000 were repealed as from 2 May 2006.

(9)

In a communication to the Commission dated 22 March 2005, the Italian authorities stated that the PSOs published in the Notice of 7 October 2000 were being applied ‘on a voluntary basis’. This was the first time that the Italian authorities informed the Commission that those PSOs were still being applied.

(10)

The rules on public service obligations are laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 (the ‘Regulation’), which defines the conditions for applying the principle of freedom to provide services in the air transport sector.

(11)

Public service obligations are defined as an exception to the principle of the Regulation that ‘subject to this Regulation, Community air carriers shall be permitted by the Member State(s) concerned to exercise traffic rights on routes within the Community’ (8).

(12)

The conditions for imposing them are defined in Article 4. They are interpreted strictly and in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality. They must be adequately justified on the basis of the criteria laid down in the same Article.

(13)

More precisely, the rules governing public service obligations provide that these may be imposed by a Member State in respect of scheduled air services to an airport serving a peripheral or development region in its territory or on a thin route to any regional airport, provided the route is considered vital for the economic development of the region in which the airport is located and to the extent necessary to ensure on that route the adequate provision of scheduled air services satisfying fixed standards of continuity, regularity, capacity and pricing, standards which air carriers would not meet if they were solely considering their commercial interest.

(14)

The adequacy of scheduled air services is assessed by the Member States having regard to the public interest, the possibility of having recourse to other forms of transport, the ability of such forms to meet the transport needs under consideration and the combined effect of all air carriers operating or intending to operate on the route.

(15)

Article 4 provides for a two-phase mechanism: in the first phase (Article 4(1)(a)) the Member State concerned imposes a public service obligation on one or more routes, which is open to all Community carriers, provided they meet the obligations. Where no carrier applies to operate the route on which the public service obligation has been imposed, the Member State can move on to a second phase (Article 4(1)(d)) which limits access to that route to only one carrier for a renewable period of up to three years. The carrier is selected by a Community tender procedure. The selected carrier can then receive financial compensation for operating the route in accordance with the public service obligation.

(16)

By virtue of Article 4(3) the Commission may decide, following an investigation, carried out either at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, whether the public service obligation published should continue to apply. The Commission must communicate its decision to the Council and to the Member States. Any Member State may refer the matter to the Council which, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision.

(17)

Article 4(1)(a) of the Regulation lists a certain number of cumulative criteria for imposing public service obligations:

(18)

In addition, the public service obligations must comply with the basic principles of proportionality and non-discrimination (see, for example, Court of Justice decision of 20 February 2001, in case C-205/99, Asociación Profesional de Empresas Navieras de Líneas Regulares (Analir) and others v Administración General del Estado, [2001] ECR p. I-01271).

(19)

In the case in point, the notices imposing public service obligations published in the Official Journal at the request of the Italian Republic contains several provisions which raise serious doubts as to their conformity with Article 4 of the Regulation. In particular:

(20)

The requirement that interested carriers operate six of the routes to which the public service obligations apply as packages may be particularly restrictive of the freedom to provide services. It seems to have no basis in Article 4(1) of the Regulation and could be in breach of the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination; considering in particular that:

(21)

The possibility mentioned in point 1.6 of both Notices that, if several carriers accept the operation of a route subject to PSOs, ENAC shall ‘intervene’ in order to avoid ‘overcapacity’ by ‘redistributing routes and frequencies’ among the carriers concerned appears to have no basis on Article 4(1) of the Regulation and could be contrary to Article 3(1) insofar as these measures restrict the freedom of each carrier to choose which routes and frequencies it wishes to serve. Furthermore, the existence of ‘overcapacity’ seems to indicate that there is no need of regulatory intervention to ensure that transport operators meet basic demand.

(22)

The requirement, in point 4.8 of both Notices, that reduced fares must be applied to passengers solely because of their place of birth (in this case Sardinia) does not appear to have a legitimate justification and may constitute prohibited indirect discrimination for reasons of nationality (see for example case C-338/01 Commission v Italy [2003] ECR p. I-00721).

(23)

No adequate explanation has been given in order to justify why:

(24)

Despite calls from the Commission drawing the attention of the Italian authorities to these problems and expressing doubts as to the conformity of the notices imposing public service obligations with the Regulation, the Italian Republic decided to have them published.

(25)

As soon as these were published, several interested parties contacted the Commission to informally express their concerns and complaints regarding the disproportionate and discriminatory nature of the public service obligations.

(26)

In the light of the above, and by virtue of Article 4(3) of the Regulation, the Commission may carry out an investigation to determine whether the development of one or more routes is unduly restricted by the imposition of public service obligations, in order to decide whether these obligations should continue to be imposed on the routes in question.

(27)

On 9 March 2006 the Commission requested the Italian authorities, as provided in Article 12 of the Regulation, to supply certain information with respect to the public service obligations in issue. The reponse provided by the Italian authorities on 22 March 2006 was incomplete.

—

A detailed explanation of the socio-economic objectives pursued by the imposition of the public service obligations referred to in Article 1 and a justification of how such obligations are adequate and proportionate in order to attain these objectives — in particular with respect to the new 10 routes not covered by the Notice of 7 October 2000.

—

A detailed explanation of how the measures envisaged in point 1.6 of the two Notices referred to in Article 1 with a view to avoiding ‘overcapacity’ if several carriers accept a route subject to public service obligations will operate in practice and of their justification under Article 4(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92.

—

A legal analysis, with regard to Community law, justifying the different conditions contained in the public service obligations referred to in Article 1, and particularly:

—

A detailed analysis of the economic relations between the regions of Sardinia and the other regions of Italy where the airports concerned by the public service obligations referred to in Article 1 are located.

—

A detailed analysis of the current supply of air transport between the Sardinian airports and the other Italian airports concerned by the public service obligations referred to in Article 1 including the supply of indirect flights, as well as an indication of when Decree No 36 entered into force.

—

A detailed analysis of the availability of other means of transport and their capacity to meet the transport needs under consideration.

—

An analysis of the current demand for air transport for each route concerned by these obligations, including the operating forecasts (passenger traffic, freight, financial forecasts, etc.) communicated by the carrier or carriers.

—

A precise description of the journey times and frequency required to connect by road the different Sardinian airports concerned by these obligations.

—

A description of the situation on the day of notification of this Decision regarding the operation of services in accordance with the obligations and the identity of the carrier or carriers operating services under the PSO regime.

—

Any claims existing before the national courts on the day of notification of this Decision and the legal situation of the notice imposing the public service obligations.

—

An explanation of whether the public service obligations published in the Notice of 7 October 2000 continued to apply following the suspension and repeal of the obligations published in the Notice of 10 December 2004 and, if so, on which legal base, as well as of the reasons why the Italian authorities failed to inform promptly the Commission thereof.

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/38

(1)

In accordance with Article 2(1) of the Commission's provisions on security as set out in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom (1), the Member of the Commission responsible for security matters is to take appropriate measures to ensure that, when handling EU classified information, the Commission's rules on security are respected within the Commission, and, inter alia, by contractors external to the Commission.

(2)

Article 2(2) of the Commission provisions on security states that Member States, other institutions, bodies, offices and agencies established by virtue or on the basis of the Treaties are to be allowed to receive EU classified information on the condition that they ensure that strictly equivalent rules are respected within their services and premises, inter alia, by Member State's external contractors.

(3)

The Commission provisions on security do not at present include elements on how their basic principles and minimum standards should apply where the Commission confers on external entities, by contract or grant agreement, tasks involving, entailing and/or containing EU classified information.

(4)

It is therefore necessary to insert specific common minimum standards in that regard in the Commission's provisions on security and in the rules on security annexed thereto.

(5)

These common minimum standards should also be complied with by Member States, for measures to be taken in accordance with national arrangements, where they confer by contract or grant agreement, tasks involving, entailing and/or containing EU classified information on the external entities referred to in Article 2(2) of the Commission provisions on security.

(6)

These common minimum standards should apply without prejudice to other relevant acts, in particular Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (2), Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (3) and Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 (4) establishing its implementing rules and in particular to bilateral and multilateral agreements referred to in Articles 106 and 107 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002,

1.

In Article 2(1) the following paragraph is added:

‘When a contract or grant agreement between the Commission and an external contractor or beneficiary involves the processing of EU classified information in the contractor's or beneficiary's premises, the appropriate measures to be taken by the said external contractor or beneficiary to ensure that the rules referred to in Article 1 are complied with, when handling EU classified information, shall be an integral part of the contract or grant agreement.’

2.

The rules on security as set out in the Annex to the Commission provisions on security are amended as follows:

5.8.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 215/44

(1)

Article 52 of the Statute requires that the Governing Council take the necessary measures to ensure that banknotes denominated in currencies with irrevocably fixed exchange rates are exchanged by the national central banks (NCBs) of participating Member States at their respective par values. These measures involve the exchange of banknotes of a new participating Member State: (a) into euro banknotes and coins; or (b) for the crediting of funds to an account. By contrast, whenever a new participating Member State has a transitional period, then during that period these measures will instead involve the exchange of banknotes: (a) into the national currency of that new participating Member State; or (b) for the crediting of funds to an account.

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the euro (1) provides for different possible cash changeover regimes for Member States that adopt the euro. This Guideline ensures that the exchange of new participating Member States’ banknotes can take place regardless of which national cash changeover regime is chosen.

(3)

Certain categories of banknotes, namely badly mutilated banknotes and banknotes which have been marked as part of national marking schemes to facilitate and protect the withdrawal of national banknotes, do not generally qualify for exchange and are therefore excluded from exchange under this Guideline.

(4)

In the event that a new participating Member State has a transitional period, then the duration of the arrangements under this Guideline in that Member State will be longer as they will take this period into account, although such a transitional period should not prolong the exchange period for banknotes of other new participating Member States,

—

‘participating Member State’ means a Member State that has adopted the euro,

—

‘new participating Member State’ means a participating Member State that has adopted the euro but in which euro banknotes and coins are not the only legal tender,

—

‘euro adoption date’ means the date on which the abrogation of a given Member State’s derogation under Article 122(2) of the Treaty enters into force,

—

‘dual circulation period’ means the period between the cash changeover date in a given new participating Member State and the last date on which the national currency of that new participating Member State can be used as legal tender in parallel with the euro,

—

‘cash changeover date’ means the date on which euro banknotes and coins acquire the status of legal tender in a given new participating Member State,

—

‘national currency’ means the banknotes and coins of a new participating Member State that were issued by the competent authority in that Member State before the euro adoption date,

—

‘banknotes of a new participating Member State’ means banknotes issued by the NCB of a new participating Member State which were legal tender on the day before the euro adoption date and which are presented to another NCB or the latter’s appointed agent for exchange,

—

‘transitional period’ means a period of three years at the most beginning at 00.00 hours (local time) on the euro adoption date and ending at 00.00 hours (local time) on the cash changeover date,

—

‘Eurosystem NCB’ means the NCB of a participating Member State (including an NCB of a new participating Member State),

—

‘par value’ means the value resulting from the conversion rates adopted by the EU Council under Article 123(4) of the Treaty, without any spread between buying and selling rates,

—

‘marking’ means the identification of banknotes with a distinctive and specific symbol, for example holes punched by perforators, as part of a national marking scheme to facilitate and protect the withdrawal of banknotes of a new participating Member State that were issued by the competent authority in that Member State before the euro adoption date.

(i)

for any given transaction; or

(ii)

on any one day,

(a)

from that new participating Member State’s euro adoption date;

(b)

until all such banknotes presented for exchange before the expiry of a period of two months after that new participating Member State’s cash changeover date, have been exchanged.