22.4.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 110/1

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007 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,

22.4.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 110/3

(1)

The rules provided for in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1239/95 of 31 May 1995 establishing implementing rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 as regards proceedings before the Community Plant Variety Office (2) should be simplified, in particular by allowing the use of electronic means of communication.

(2)

It is appropriate to simplify, on the one hand, the filing of applications, objections or appeals and, on the other, the service of documents by the Community Plant Variety Office (the Office) by permitting the use of electronic means. Moreover, the Office should be given the possibility to issue certificates for Community plant variety rights in electronic form. Publication of information regarding Community plant variety rights should also be possible by electronic means. Finally, electronic storage of files relating to proceedings should be allowed to improve efficiency.

(3)

The President of the Office should be empowered to determine all necessary details with respect to the use of electronic means of communication or storage.

(4)

Regulation (EC) No 1239/95 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Community Plant Variety Rights,

1.

in Article 2, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.   Addresses shall contain all the relevant administrative information, including the name of the State in which the party to proceedings is resident or where his seat or establishment is located. Only one address should preferably be indicated for each party to proceedings; where several addresses are indicated, only the address mentioned first shall be taken into account, except where the party to proceedings designates one of the other addresses as an address for service.

The President of the Office shall determine the details concerning the address including any relevant details of other data communication links.’;

2.

Article 16 is amended as follows:

3.

Article 28 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 28

Proposal for a variety denomination

The proposal for a variety denomination shall be signed and shall be filed at the Office, or, if the proposal accompanies the application for a Community plant variety right filed at the national agency designated or the sub-office established pursuant to Article 30(4) of the Basic Regulation, in duplicate.

The Office shall make available, free of charge, a form for the purposes of proposing a variety denomination.

Where the proposal for a variety denomination is submitted by electronic means it shall comply with the second subparagraph of Article 57(3) as regards the signature.’;

4.

in Article 36, the last sentence of paragraph 1 is deleted and the following paragraph 4 is added:

‘4.   Where the proposal for an amendment of a variety denomination is submitted by electronic means it shall comply with the second subparagraph of Article 57(3) as regards the signature.’;

5.

in Article 52, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   Within three months after closure of the oral proceedings, the decision on the appeal shall be forwarded in writing, by any means provided for in Article 64(3), to the parties to the appeal proceedings.’;

6.

in paragraph 2 of Article 53, the second sentence is replaced by the following:

‘Subsequently, the decision in writing shall be served on the parties to proceedings in accordance with Article 64.’;

7.

in Article 54(3), the word ‘duplicate’ is replaced by ‘copy’;

8.

Articles 57 and 58 are replaced by the following:

‘Article 57

Documents filed by parties to proceedings

1.   Any documents filed by a party to proceedings shall be submitted by post, personal delivery or electronic means.

The details concerning electronic submissions shall be determined by the President of the Office.

2.   The date of receipt of any document filed by parties to proceedings shall be deemed to be the date on which a document is in fact received on the premises or in the case of a document filed by electronic means, when the document is received electronically by the Office.

3.   With the exception of annexed documents, any documents filed by parties to proceedings must be signed by them or their procedural representative.

Where a document is submitted to the Office by electronic means, it shall contain an electronic signature.

4.   If a document has not duly been signed, or where a document received is incomplete or illegible, or where the Office has doubts as to the accuracy of the document, the Office shall inform the sender accordingly and shall invite him to submit the original of the document signed in accordance with paragraph 3, or to retransmit a copy of the original, within a time limit of one month.

Where the request is complied with within the period specified, the date of receipt of the signed document or of the retransmission shall be deemed to be the date of the receipt of the first document. Where the request is not complied with within the period specified, the document shall be deemed not to have been received.

5.   Such document must be communicated to other parties to proceedings as well as to the Examination Office concerned, or documents relating to two or more applications for a Community plant variety right or an exploitation right, shall be filed in a sufficient number of copies. Missing copies shall be provided at the expense of the party to the proceedings.

The first subparagraph shall not apply to documents submitted by electronic means.

Article 58

Documentary evidence

1.   Evidence of final judgments and decisions, other than those of the Office, or other documentary evidence to be submitted by parties to proceedings, may be furnished by submitting an uncertified copy.

2.   Where the Office has doubts as to the authenticity of the evidence referred to in paragraph 1, it may require submission of the original or a certified copy.’;

9.

Article 64 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 64

General provisions on service

1.   In proceedings before the Office, any service of documents to be made by the Office on a party to proceedings shall take the form of the original document, of an uncertified copy thereof or a computer print-out. Documents emanating from other parties to proceedings may be served in the form of uncertified copies.

2.   If a procedural representative has been appointed by one or more parties to proceedings, service shall be made on him in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1.

3.   Service shall be made:

The President of the Office shall determine the details concerning service by electronic means.

4.   Documents or copies thereof containing actions for which service is provided in Article 79 of the Basic Regulation shall be served by registered letter with advice of delivery served by postal means; it can also be served by electronic means to be determined by the President of the Office.’;

10.

in Article 65, paragraph 1 is deleted;

11.

in Article 67, ‘Article 65(1)’ is replaced by ‘Article 64(4)’;

12.

in Article 71, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.   If a time limit expires on a day on which there is a general interruption or a subsequent dislocation in the delivery of mail in a Member State or between a Member State and the Office, the time limit shall be extended until the first day following the end of the period of dislocation or interruption in the delivery of mail for parties to proceedings having their domicile or seat or establishment in the Member State concerned or having appointed procedural representatives with a seat in that State. Should the Member State concerned be the State in which the Office is located, this provision shall apply to all parties to proceedings. The duration of the period of interruption or dislocation shall be as stated and communicated by the President of the Office.

As regards documents submitted by electronic means, the first subparagraph shall apply mutatis mutandis in cases where there is an interruption of the connection of the Office to the electronic means of communication.’;

13.

in Article 78(3), the following subparagraph is added:

‘The President of the Office shall determine the form of Registers. The Registers may be maintained in the form of an electronic database.’;

14.

in Article 79, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   Any transfer of Community plant variety rights shall be entered in the Register of Community Plant Variety Rights on production of documentary evidence of the transfer, or of official documents confirming the transfer, or of such extracts from those documents as suffice to establish the transfer. The Office shall retain a copy of those pieces of documentary evidence in its files.

The President of the Office shall determine the form in and the conditions under which those pieces of documentary evidence are to be retained in the files of the Office.’;

15.

Article 83 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 83

Keeping of the files

1.   Documents, either in the form of originals or copies relating to proceedings shall be kept in files, a file number being attached to such proceedings, except for those documents relating to the exclusion of, or objection to, members of the Board of Appeal, or to the staff of the Office or the Examination Office concerned, which shall be kept separately.

2.   The Office shall keep one copy of the file referred to in paragraph 1 (file copy) which shall be considered the true and complete copy of the file. The Examination Office may keep a copy of the documents relating to such proceedings (examination copy), but shall ensure delivery of those originals which the Office does not hold.

3.   The original documents filed by parties to the proceedings which form the basis of any electronic files may be disposed of after a period following their reception by the Office.

4.   The President of the Office shall determine the details as to the form in which the files to be kept, the period during which files are to be kept and the period referred to in paragraph 3.’;

16.

in Article 87 the following paragraph 3 is added:

‘3.   The President of the Office shall determine the manner in which the Official Gazette is published.’;

17.

Article 91 is amended as follows:

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   Inspection of files under Article 91(1) of the Basic Regulation shall be of copies of the files issued by the Office exclusively for that purpose.’.

22.4.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 110/7

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007 (2) establishes a multi-annual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean as recommended by the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

(2)

To ensure the success of the multi-annual recovery plan, it is necessary to establish a specific control and inspection programme involving France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, Cyprus and Greece, with the objective of guaranteeing an appropriate level of implementation of the conservation and control measures applicable to fishing activities in relation to the recovery of bluefin tuna stocks.

(3)

That specific control and inspection programme should be set up for the period from 1 April to 31 December 2008. The results obtained by the application of the specific control and inspection programme should be periodically evaluated in cooperation with the Member States concerned.

(4)

In order to harmonise the control and inspection of the bluefin tuna fishery at Community level, it is appropriate to draw up common rules for the control and inspection activities to be carried out by the competent authorities of the Member States concerned, and that Member States adopt national control programmes in order to match such common rules. To that end, benchmarks for the intensity of control and inspection activities should be fixed, as well as control and inspection priorities and procedures.

(5)

To ensure the follow-up of infringements in accordance with Article 25 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (3), a framework should be set up under which all the authorities concerned may request mutual assistance and exchange relevant information in accordance with Articles 34a and 34b of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

(6)

Joint inspection and surveillance activities should be carried out in accordance with joint deployment plans established by the Community Fisheries Control Agency set up by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 (4).

(7)

The measures provided for in this Decision have been established in concert with the Member States concerned.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

(a)

all fishing activities by vessels and traps catching bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean;

(b)

all landings, transfers and transhipments of bluefin tuna caught in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean;

(c)

all related activities of farms and enterprises engaged in caging or processing of bluefin tuna and/or in trade of bluefin tuna products, including importation, exportation and re-exportation, transport and storage;

(d)

the implementation of the annual fishing plans referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007;

(e)

the prohibition to use spotting aircrafts and helicopters established in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007;

(f)

the sport and recreational fisheries as referred to in Articles 10 and 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007;

(g)

the implementation of the ICCAT Scheme of Joint International Inspection as referred to in Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007.

(a)

ensure that inspectors from other Member States concerned are invited to participate in joint inspection and surveillance activities;

(b)

establish joint operational procedures applicable to their surveillance crafts.

(a)

the relevant flag Member State and/or ICCAT Contracting Party and, where appropriate;

(b)

the Member State where the farming installation or the enterprise engaged in the processing and/or trade of bluefin tuna products are established.

(a)

the inspection and control activities carried out;

(b)

all infringements, including for each infringement the identification of:

(c)

the current state of play concerning the follow-up of infringements detected;

(d)

any relevant coordination and cooperation actions between Member States.

(a)

indicate the current status of the case (e.g. case pending, under appeal, still under investigation); and

(b)

describe in specific terms any penalties imposed (e.g. level of fines, value of forfeited fish and/or gear, written warning given).

22.4.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 110/16

22.4.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 110/16