(1)

Article 17(1)(f) and Article 21(2a) of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 require Member States to store information on VAT exempted importations collected by them under Article 143(2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC (2) and to grant other Member States automated access to that information, with a view to helping Member States identify discrepancies in VAT reporting and potential VAT frauds.

(2)

Information on such VAT exempted importations is already collected by national customs authorities under Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and forwarded to the Commission using the electronic system referred to in Article 56(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 (4). The storage of and automated access to information on VAT exempted importations required by Article 17(1)(f) and Article 21(2a) of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 should take place using that same electronic system for the sake of efficiency. In order to guarantee uniform implementation of those Articles of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010, it is necessary to specify the data elements of customs information collected under Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 that correspond to the information referred to in Article 17(1)(f) of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010.

(3)

The technical details concerning the automated enquiry of the information referred to in Article 17(1)(f) of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 should allow for national tax authorities and Eurofisc liaison officials to have automated access to the electronic system referred to in Article 56(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.

(4)

Article 21a of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 grants Eurofisc liaison officials automated access to certain vehicle registration information. Automated enquiry of that information should be conducted via a version of the European Vehicle and Driving Licence Information System (EUCARIS) especially designed for the purposes of Article 21a of that Regulation. In the context of VAT, Eurofisc liaison officials should be in a position to request precise identification data relating to vehicles and their owners and holders. To this end, the data as well as the means that will be used to retrieve the data from the system should be specified. It is also necessary to define the availability and reliability of the system, how exchanges will be secured, and which communication network will be used.

(5)

At national level, incoming requests to access vehicle registration data for VAT purposes will usually be processed by each Member State's national vehicle registration authorities. Nevertheless, Member States should be free to decide to entrust that responsibility to another authority if they wish. As regards outgoing requests, Member States should again be free to decide whether to entrust responsibility for the processing of such requests to their national vehicle registration authorities or to another authority, such as their tax authorities.

(6)

Article 21(2)(e) and (2a)(d) and Article 21a(2) of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 lay down the conditions under which access to certain information is to be granted. In order to implement those conditions, Member States should be required to allocate a unique personal user identification to each of their Eurofisc liaison officials and to make a list of those personal user identifications available to the other Member States and to the Commission. They should also make sure that each automated outgoing request for information sent out by their Eurofisc liaison officials contains the Eurofisc liaison official's personal user identification.

(7)

Articles 17(1)(f), 21(2a) and 21a of Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 are to apply from 1 January 2020, in accordance with Article 3 of Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1541 (5). Application of the measures provided for in this Regulation should therefore apply from 1 January 2020 too.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Administrative Cooperation,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 constitutes the legal framework for the regional classification of the Union in order to enable the collection, compilation and dissemination of harmonised regional statistics.

(2)

Article 4b of Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 empowers the Commission to establish at Union level uniform conditions for the harmonised application of the territorial typologies referred to in that Article.

(3)

Those conditions should describe the method for assigning the typologies to individual local administrative units (LAUs) and Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) level 3 regions.

(4)

When applying the uniform conditions, it is important to take account of geographical, socioeconomic, historical, cultural and environmental circumstances.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the European Statistical System Committee,

(1)

Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 make it possible to apply and collect anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty on certain goods in the continental shelf of a Member State or the exclusive economic zone declared by a Member State pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (3).

(2)

If the product concerned is brought to an artificial island, a fixed or floating installation or any other structure in the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone of a Member State of the Union from the customs territory of the Union, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) requires in that case that a re-export declaration, a re-export notification or an exit summary declaration be used to declare such product before its departure. To ensure that the information necessary to determine whether the payment of anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty is due is available to the customs authorities or to fulfil the registration and reporting obligations under Article 14(5), (5a) and (6) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 and Article 24(5), (5a) and (6) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037, the recipient should be required to lodge a receipt declaration at the competent customs authority of the Member State where the re-export declaration was accepted or where the re-export notification or the exit summary declaration was registered within 30 days of the receipt of the product concerned on an artificial island, a fixed or floating installation or any other structure in the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone.

(3)

If the product concerned is brought to an artificial island, a fixed or floating installation or any other structure in the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone of a Member State of the Union directly from outside the customs territory of the Union, it is not possible to make use of the instruments provided for in Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. To ensure that the information necessary to determine whether the payment of anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty is due is available to the customs authorities or to fulfil the registration and reporting obligations under Article 14(5), (5a) and (6) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 and Article 24(5), (5a) and (6) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037, the product concerned should be declared by means of a receipt declaration lodged by the recipient within 30 days of the receipt of the product concerned on an artificial island, a fixed or floating installation or any other structure in the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone. As the Member State to which the continental shelf or exclusive economic zone belongs is best placed to carry out controls, the declaration should be lodged at the competent customs authority of that Member State.

(4)

In order to simplify the controls to be carried out by the customs authorities under this Regulation, the concept of the debtor should as a general rule be limited to the holders of licences permitting commercial operation in the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone of the Member States who receive the products concerned in an artificial island, a fixed or floating installation or any other structure in that continental shelf or that exclusive economic zone, regardless of the place from which the product concerned is brought. However, in specific situations, persons other than holders of licences may also be debtors.

(5)

With regard to cases where the product concerned is placed under the inward processing procedure prior to being delivered to an artificial island, a fixed or floating installation or any other structure in the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone of a Member State of the Union, special rule is necessary to avoid possible circumvention of anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty.

(6)

In order to allow for the effective operation of the framework set out in this Regulation, the relevant procedures already laid down in Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 as regards the calculation, notification, recovery, repayment, remission and extinguishment of the customs debt and the provision of a guarantee should apply insofar as they are relevant under this Regulation.

(7)

As the provisions on customs control contained in Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 do not apply outside the customs territory of the Union, it is necessary to establish specific rules as regards customs controls in this Regulation.

(8)

In order to give customs authorities sufficient time to prepare for the processing of receipt declarations, the application of the provisions of this Regulation should be deferred.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 and Article 25(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037,

(1)

The beef and veal sector has traditionally been the most fragile agri-food sector due to a number of factors, in particular restricted market access to third-country markets and falling domestic consumption. Additional new challenges emerge from concerns over the sector's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions

(2)

The structure of the beef and veal industry makes it vulnerable, mainly due to its long life-cycle and high costs linked to extensive production. These factors have been aggravated by the prospect of the United Kingdom leaving the Union and uncertainties linked to the future United Kingdom's customs tariff once it withdraws from the Union. The United Kingdom is a premium market for beef and veal that is critical for the sustainability of the entire Union beef and veal sector. In parallel, the sector is confronted with demands of trade partners for increased market access to the Union.

(3)

Those problems are more acute in the case of the Irish beef and veal sector. The latter is concentrated in small-scale holdings in the poorer regions of the country where alternative types of production are limited. After years of stagnating beef prices in Ireland, gross margins have fallen in the past year by 11 to 19 %, with suckler cow farms suffering the biggest losses.

(4)

Ireland's beef and veal sector is both large and hugely dependent on exports. Five of every 6 tonnes of beef produced is exported and almost 50 % of these exports are to the United Kingdom. Uncertainty around the withdrawal of the United Kingdom is putting downward pressure on prices, deteriorating further the situation of beef producers in Ireland. This actually happened in the months preceding earlier announced dates for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom.

(5)

Market adjustment is particularly slow in Ireland's extensive beef production system where animals are typically slaughtered at a later age, between 18 and 30 months of age. This particular production system is suited to the requirements of the United Kingdom's beef market. Efforts to open new markets continue to be hampered by third-country restrictions related to outdated animal health requirements in particular.

(6)

In the light of the abovementioned specific problems faced by Irish producers, it is in the interest of the market stability of the Union beef and veal sector to adopt measures that reinforce the resilience of Irish beef. In conjunction with the need to avoid that downward price pressure on Irish beef spills over to other Member States, those problems constitute specific problems within the meaning of Article 221 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. Those specific problems cannot be addressed by measures taken pursuant to Article 219 or 220 of that Regulation. On the one hand, they are not specifically linked to a significant market disturbance or threat thereof. On the other hand, the measures provided for in this Regulation are not taken in a context of combatting the spread of a disease.

(7)

In addition, available instruments under the common agricultural policy such as public intervention and private storage aid are not adequate measures to address the needs of the Irish beef and veal sector. It is therefore appropriate to provide Ireland with a financial grant to support farmers in that sector engaging in actions enhancing their resilience and sustainability, including the adjustment of production to markets with requirements other than the United Kingdom.

(8)

The Union aid made available to Ireland should take into account the main features of its beef and veal sector, including its share of specialised beef farmers and its vulnerability to disruption of exports.

(9)

Ireland should design measures aimed at production reduction and restructuring of its beef and veal sector to protect its long-term viability, based on one or more of the following activities: fostering environmental and economic sustainability, developing new markets and enhancing beef and veal quality.

(10)

Ireland should distribute the aid through measures on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, while ensuring that farmers in the beef and veal sector are the ultimate beneficiaries of the aid, and avoiding any market and competition distortion.

(11)

As the amount allocated to Ireland would compensate only a part of the actual cost for farmers in the beef and veal sector, Ireland should be allowed to grant additional support to those farmers, under the same conditions of objectiveness, non-discrimination and non-distortion of competition.

(12)

In order to give Ireland the flexibility to distribute the aid as circumstances require, Ireland should be allowed to cumulate it with other support financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

(13)

In accordance with Article 221 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, this Regulation should be limited to a period of maximum 12 months starting from its date of entry into force. Payments made by Ireland to the beneficiaries after that period should not be eligible for Union financing.

(14)

In order to ensure transparency, monitoring and proper administration of the amounts available, Ireland should provide the Commission with certain information, including, in particular, information on the concrete measures to be taken, the criteria used to distribute the aid and the measures taken to avoid distortion of competition in the market concerned.

(15)

In order to ensure that farmers receive aid as soon as possible, Ireland should be enabled to implement this Regulation without delay. Therefore, this Regulation should apply from the day following that of its publication.

(16)

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

(1)

The Terms of Reference for the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) (‘the Agreement’) were signed in Rome by 12 States including four Member States of the European Community on 24 May 2009 and were concluded by the European Community by Council Decision 2009/954/EC (1).

(2)

Pursuant to point 7.1 of the Agreement, the Members of the IPEEC may decide to extend the duration of the Agreement. The Policy Committee, being IPEEC's plenary body composed of high-level representatives of all its Members, and being entrusted to govern the overall framework and policies of the IPEEC, is the appropriate body within which the IPEEC Members can decide on an extension of the duration of the Agreement.

(3)

The IPEEC Members, except for the Union, approved the extension of the Terms of Reference for the IPEEC for the period from 24 May until 31 December 2019 at the Policy Committee meeting on 21 February 2019.

(4)

It is appropriate to establish the position on the extension of the Terms of Reference for the IPEEC to be taken on the Union's behalf, as the extension of the terms of reference would be binding on the Union.

(5)

The IPEEC Members are considering the possibility of combining the current activities of IPEEC and the energy efficiency activities of the International Energy Agency (IEA) into an energy efficiency hub in order to achieve synergies in that area. The short-term extension of the Terms of Reference for the IPEEC aims to allow for the necessary time, as an interim measure, to set up the energy efficiency hub while ensuring that IPEEC's activities continue and are transferred to the new energy efficiency hub without interruption.

(6)

Operationally, an extension until 31 December 2019 takes into account the continued implementation of IPEEC's work programme and of core services to the IPEEC Members. This includes energy efficiency work under the G20, which this year will include events scheduled after the end of IPEEC's current mandate on 24 May 2019. The availability of funds to cover activities during the extension period is also considered, as the IPEEC Secretariat is currently receiving contributions for the full 2019 calendar year and activities, remaining staff and possible resources could be transferred to the new energy efficiency hub.

(7)

A short-term extension of the Terms of Reference for the IPEEC is therefore important to avoid an abrupt termination of IPEEC's activities on 24 May 2019. In accordance with point 3.4 of the Terms of Reference for the IPEEC, the final decision on the extension is to be adopted by consensus of the IPEEC Members, and following the Policy Committee meeting of 21 February 2019, a Council decision on the Union's position is necessary,

(1)

The validity of the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for televisions, and of the related assessment and verification requirements, set out in Commission Decision 2009/300/EC (2) expires on 31 December 2019.

(2)

The validity of the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for growing media, soil improvers and mulch, and of the related assessment and verification requirements, set out in Commission Decision (EU) 2015/2099 (3) expires on 18 November 2019.

(3)

The EU Ecolabel criteria for televisions laid down in Decision 2009/300/EC refer, as regards energy savings, to the energy labelling and eco-design requirements for televisions laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 642/2009 (4) and in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1062/2010 (5) both of which are currently under review in the light of technological progress.

(4)

In line with the conclusions of the EU Ecolabel Fitness check (REFIT) of 30 June 2017 (6), the Commission, together with the EU Ecolabelling Board, has been assessing the relevance of each product group before proposing its prolongation, suggesting solutions to improve synergies across product groups and to increase the uptake of EU Ecolabel, and ensuring that, during the revision process, appropriate attention is paid to the coherence between relevant EU policies, legislation and scientific evidence. Additional public stakeholders consultations have also been carried out.

(5)

For Decision (EU) 2015/2099, this assessment confirmed the relevance and appropriateness of the current ecological criteria and of the related assessment and verification requirements.

(6)

For Decision 2009/300/EC, this assessment should further reflect on the relevance and appropriateness of the criteria, pending adoption of the proposed new energy labelling and eco-design requirements for televisions, including the proposals for additional requirements in support of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and broader circular economy objectives.

(7)

In those circumstances, in order to allow sufficient time for finalizing the assessment and potential revision or discontinuation of the current ecological criteria for televisions, the period of validity of the existing criteria for televisions and related assessment and verification requirements, should be prolonged until 31 December 2020.

(8)

To give stability to the market, increase the uptake of the EU Ecolabel and allow current licence holders to maintain the benefits of the EU Ecolabel on their awarded products, the period of validity of the current criteria for growing media, soil improvers and mulch and of the related assessment and verification requirements, should be prolonged until 30 June 2022.

(9)

It is therefore appropriate to prolong the period of validity of the ecological criteria for the product groups ‘televisions’ and ‘growing media, soil improvers and mulch’ and of the related assessment and verification requirements.

(10)

Decision 2009/300/EC and Decision (EU) 2015/2099 should be amended accordingly.

(11)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010,