(1)

Managers of qualifying social entrepreneurship funds should adopt procedures and measures to ensure that persons engaged in such business activities carry out those activities in the best interests of the qualifying social entrepreneurship funds and their investors. To achieve a harmonised level of investor protection in the Union, and to enable those managers to adopt and follow a consistent and effective practice to prevent, monitor and manage conflicts of interest, a minimum set of steps should be listed in their conflicts of interest policy. To avoid unnecessary administrative burdens while ensuring an appropriate level of investor protection, the conflicts of interest policies should be adapted to the nature, scale and complexity of the managers' businesses.

(2)

The procedures and measures set out in the conflicts of interest policies may be insufficient to protect the interests of the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund or its investors, in which case managers of qualifying social entrepreneurship funds should take necessary additional steps to protect those interests. Those steps should include informing the senior management or other competent internal body of the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund, and taking the necessary decisions or actions to act in the best interest of the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund or its investors.

(3)

Managers of qualifying social entrepreneurship funds may be active in the management of companies in which the qualifying social entrepreneurship funds invest. To prevent conflicts of interest and to ensure that those managers' voting rights are exercised for the benefit of both the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund concerned and its investors, it is necessary to specify detailed requirements in relation to the exercise of those voting rights. To ensure a sufficient standard of investor protection, managers of qualifying social entrepreneurship funds should develop adequate and effective strategies in that respect and provide upon request a summary of those strategies and the actions they have taken.

(4)

To secure the effectiveness of the disclosure of conflicts of interest, the information provided should be regularly updated. Given the inherent risks of using a website as a tool to disclose conflicts of interest, it is necessary to lay down criteria for the publication of that information.

(5)

To ensure a consistent approach as regards procedures used by managers of qualifying social entrepreneurship funds to measure the achievement of positive social impact by the qualifying portfolio undertakings, specific elements should be incorporated in those procedures. The resources used by the qualifying portfolio undertakings as well as the products and services made available by those undertakings are key indicators of positive social impact, which should therefore form an integral part of those procedures. To distinguish social enterprises from undertakings that achieve social objectives only incidentally, an evaluation of the outcomes generated by the qualifying portfolio undertakings should also form part of those procedures.

(6)

It should be ensured that the pre-contractual information provided to investors contains sufficient details about the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund. The description of the investment strategy and objectives of the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund should therefore contain descriptions of the social sectors, the geographical areas and the legal forms of the qualifying portfolio undertakings in which the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund intends to invest, as well as information on the distribution of those undertakings' profits.

(7)

Investors should be provided with the information necessary to assess the underlying methodologies used by the manager of the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund to measure social impact. The pre-contractual information should therefore specify whether the manager of the qualifying social entrepreneurship relied upon internal methodologies, or used generally accepted methodologies. Pre-contractual information should also contain a description of the main features of the methodologies, including the screening criteria, the relevant indicators and an explanation of how the manager of the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund ensures compliance with those methodologies.

(8)

Investors should be able to verify whether the manager of the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund follows the investment policy when selecting non-qualifying assets. The pre-contractual information should therefore include information about the types of non-qualifying assets in which the qualifying social entrepreneurship fund invests, investment techniques, relevant restrictions, and the sector of activity and the geographical area in which those investments are made.

(9)

In the interest of transparency, investors should be provided with the information necessary to assess the nature and extent of the business support services and the other support activities the manager of a qualifying social entrepreneurship fund is providing or arranging through third parties. Pre-contractual information on business support services and the other support activities should therefore describe the types of the services and activities it provides.

(10)

To enable managers of qualifying social entrepreneurship funds to adapt to the new requirements, the date of application of this Regulation should be deferred by six months,

(1)

To ensure effective control and management of conflicts of interest in the area of European venture capital funds, it is important to specify the situations where conflicting interests are likely to occur.

(2)

In the context of qualifying venture capital funds, the types of conflict of interest differ depending on the role, interests and incentives of the persons involved. To facilitate the identification of conflicts of interest in that context, it is necessary to establish a list of situations deemed to give rise to conflicts of interest. That list should be sufficiently broad to cover any type of conflict of interest that may arise in the area of European venture capital funds. Therefore, the types of conflict of interest should include situations where there is a prospect of financial gain or avoidance of financial loss, or where incentives are provided in a way that favours particular interests at the expense of the interests of the qualifying venture capital fund or investors therein.

(3)

Managers of qualifying venture capital funds should adopt procedures and measures to ensure that persons engaged in such business activities carry out those activities in the best interests of the qualifying venture capital funds and their investors. To achieve a harmonised level of investor protection in the Union, and to enable those managers to adopt and follow a consistent and effective practice to prevent, monitor and manage conflicts of interest, a minimum set of steps should be listed in their conflicts of interest policy. To avoid unnecessary administrative burdens while ensuring an appropriate level of investor protection, the conflicts of interest policies should be adapted to the nature, scale and complexity of the managers' businesses.

(4)

The procedures and measures set out in the conflicts of interest policies may be insufficient to protect the interests of the qualifying venture capital fund or its investors, in which case managers of qualifying venture capital funds should take the necessary additional steps to protect those interests. Those steps should include informing the senior management or other competent internal body of the qualifying venture capital fund, and taking the necessary decisions or actions to act in the best interest of the qualifying venture capital or its investors.

(5)

Managers of qualifying venture capital funds may be active in the management of companies in which the qualifying venture capital funds invest. To prevent conflicts of interest and to ensure that those managers' voting rights are exercised for the benefit of both the qualifying venture capital fund concerned and its investors, it is necessary to specify detailed requirements in relation to the exercise of those voting rights. To ensure a sufficient standard of investor protection, managers of qualifying venture capital funds should develop adequate and effective strategies in that respect and provide upon request a summary of those strategies and the actions they have taken.

(6)

To secure the effectiveness of the disclosure of conflicts of interest, the information provided should be regularly updated. Given the inherent risks of using a website as a tool to disclose conflicts of interest, it is necessary to lay down criteria for the publication of that information on a website.

(7)

To enable managers of qualifying venture capital funds to adapt to the new requirements, the date of application of this Regulation should be deferred by six months,

(1)

Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/1076 lists the countries to which the market access arrangements provided for by that Regulation apply.

(2)

On 6 December 2018, the Council approved, on behalf of the Union, the accession of Samoa to the interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the Union and the Pacific States. Following Samoa's deposition of its Act of Accession, the interim Economic Partnership Agreement is provisionally applied between the Union and Samoa from 31 December 2018.

(3)

Therefore the Independent State of Samoa should be included in Annex I,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (2), it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 34(9) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. That period should be set at three months.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (2), it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 34(9) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. That period should be set at three months.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

By Council Decision (EU) 2015/2437 (1), the Union concluded the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (2) (‘CSBT Convention’), which established the Commission for the Conservation of the Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).

(2)

The CCSBT is responsible for the management and conservation of the fishery resources in the area of distribution of Southern Bluefin tuna. As the CSBT Convention is restricted to States, the CCSBT has established the ‘Extended Commission of the CCSBT’ that includes fishing entities and the Union in addition to the CCSBT Members. Within the CCSBT, the Extended Commission of the CCSBT prepares the decisions that the CCSBT formally endorses. The CCSBT adopts conservation and management measures for the conservation, management and optimum utilisation of Southern Bluefin tuna. Such measures may become binding upon the Union.

(3)

Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) provides that the Union is to ensure that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long term and are managed in a way that is consistent with the objectives of achieving economic, social and employment benefits, and of contributing to the availability of food supplies. It also provides that the Union is to apply the precautionary approach to fisheries management, and is to aim to ensure that exploitation of marine biological resources restores and maintains population of harvested species above levels which can produce the maximum sustainable yield. It further provides that the Union is to take management and conservation measures based on best the available scientific advice, to support the development of scientific knowledge and advice, to gradually eliminate discards and to promote fishing methods that contribute to more selective fishing and the avoidance and reduction, as far as possible, of unwanted catches, to fishing with low impact on marine ecosystem and fishery resources. Furthermore, Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 specifically provides that those objectives and principles are to be applied by the Union in the conduct of its external fisheries relations.

(4)

As stated in the Joint communication by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission ‘International ocean governance: an agenda for the future of oceans’, and the Council conclusions on that Joint communication, the promotion of measures to support and enhance the effectiveness of regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) and, where relevant, improve their governance is central to the Union's action in these fora.

(5)

The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions ‘European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy’, refers to specific measures to reduce plastics and marine pollution as well as the loss or abandonment at sea of fishing gear.

(6)

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the meetings of the CCSBT for the period 2019-2023, as the CCSBT conservation and enforcement measures will be binding on the Union and capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law, namely, Council Regulations (EC) No 1005/2008 (4) and (EC) No 1224/2009 (5), and Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6).

(7)

Currently, the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the meetings of the CCSBT is established by the Council Decision of 12 June 2014 on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the Union, in the CCSBT. It is appropriate to repeal that Decision and to replace it by a new Decision which would cover the period 2019-2023.

(8)

In view of the evolving nature of fishery resources in the area of distribution of Southern Bluefin tuna and the consequent need for the position of the Union to take account of new developments, including new scientific and other relevant information presented before or during the meetings of the CCSBT, procedures should be established, in line with the principle of sincere cooperation among the Union institutions enshrined in Article 13(2) of the Treaty on European Union, for the year-to-year specification of the Union's position for the period 2019-2023,