15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/1

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 533/2004 (2) provides that partnerships will be established for all the Western Balkan countries.

(2)

The European Council decided at its meeting in Brussels in December 2005 that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is to be a candidate country for membership of the European Union.

(3)

It is therefore appropriate to provide that instead of a European Partnership, the European Union should implement in its relations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia an Accession Partnership, and to amend Regulation (EC) No 533/2004 accordingly.

(4)

The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro has ceased to exist. Therefore, it is appropriate to amend the Regulation to take into account the fact that Serbia as well as Montenegro are now two independent States.

(5)

The Regulation covers Accession Partnerships as well as European Partnerships. Therefore, the full text needs to take this into account,

1.

Article 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 1

European Partnerships shall be established to cover Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia including Kosovo as defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the partners). The European Partnerships shall provide a framework covering the priorities resulting from the analysis of the partners’ different situations, on which preparations for further integration into the European Union must concentrate in the light of the criteria defined by the European Council, and the progress made in implementing the stabilisation and association process including Stabilisation and Association Agreements, where appropriate, and in particular regional cooperation.’;

2.

Article 1a shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 1a

As part of the stabilisation and association process, Accession Partnerships for Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shall be established. The Accession Partnerships shall provide a framework covering the priorities resulting from the analysis of the situation in each country, on which preparations for accession must concentrate in the light of the Copenhagen criteria defined by the European Council and the progress made in implementing the stabilisation and association process, including the Stabilisation and Association Agreements concluded with those countries (3), and in particular regional cooperation.

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/3

(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,

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/5

(1)

Article 3(1) and (2) of Protocol No 1 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Tunisia, of the other part (3) opens a tariff quota, at a zero rate of duty, for imports of untreated olive oil falling within CN codes 1509 10 10 and 1509 10 90 wholly obtained in Tunisia and transported directly from Tunisia to the Community, up to the limit laid down for each year.

(2)

Article 2(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1918/2006 of 20 December 2006 opening and providing for the administration of tariff quota for olive oil originating in Tunisia (4) lays down monthly quantitative limits for issuing import certificates.

(3)

Applications were submitted to the competent authorities in accordance with Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1918/2006 for import licences covering a total quantity exceeding the limit of 4 000 tonnes laid down for March.

(4)

Under these circumstances, the Commission must set a coefficient allocation to allow the issue of licences in proportion to the quantity available,

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/6

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1786/2003 of 29 September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder (3) is to be repealed from 1 April 2008 under Article 201(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(2)

Article 86(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides for an aid for processing in respect of the products of the dried fodder sector to be granted to undertakings processing products. The conditions and the obligations to be fulfilled by those undertakings are currently laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1786/2003 and in its implementing rules contained in Commission Regulation (EC) No 382/2005 (4).

(3)

In particular, Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1786/2003 provides among others the obligation of processing undertakings to keep stock records. Article 12 of the said Regulation determines the information to be stated in the contracts provided for by Article 86(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1786/2003 provides that Member States have to introduce control systems.

(4)

Those conditions and obligations have not been incorporated in the Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(5)

In order to enable the dried fodder sector to continue to function properly and in the interest of clarity and rationalisation, those conditions and obligations should be laid down in Regulation (EC) No 382/2005.

(6)

Eligibility for the aid requires, in certain cases, conclusion of a contract between producers and processing undertakings. To promote transparency of the production chain and facilitate essential checking, certain particulars in contracts should be made compulsory.

(7)

To receive the aid, processors should therefore be required to keep stock records providing necessary information for checking entitlement and to furnish any other document needed.

(8)

Where there is no contract between the producers and the processing undertakings, the latter should have to provide other information allowing entitlement to be checked.

(9)

Regulation (EC) No 382/2005 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10)

In accordance with Article 33(2)(e), Member States should notify to the Commission, inter alia, the changes in areas of leguminous and other green fodder. In order to render this provision more precise, it should be specified that the areas concerned are those whose production was, in the previous marketing year, subject to processing in view of obtaining the aid referred to in Article 88 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

(11)

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

1.

Article 12 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 12

Stock records of processing undertakings

1.   Aid provided for in Article 86(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (5) shall only be granted to undertakings processing the products listed in Part IV of Annex I to that Regulation which comply with the following conditions:

2.   The stock records of processing undertakings provided for in paragraph 1 shall be kept in conjunction with the accounts and shall permit daily tracking of:

3.   Processing undertakings shall keep separate stock records for all categories of dried fodder provided for in Part IV of Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

4.   Where a processing undertaking also dehydrates or processes products other than dried fodder, it shall keep separate stock records in respect of such other dehydrating or processing activities.

2.

Article 14 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 14

Contracts

1.   Each contract as referred to in Article 86(1), points (a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 shall include, in particular:

2.   Where a processing undertaking is executing a special-order contract for processing of fodder as referred to in Article 86(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 concluded with an independent producer or with one or more of its own members, the contract shall also indicate:

3.

the following Article 22a is inserted in Chapter 5:

‘Article 22a

Inspection systems

1.   Member States shall introduce inspection systems for verifying that each processing undertaking has complied with the following:

2.   Dried fodder shall be weighed on leaving the processing plant and samples taken.

3.   Before adopting provisions for the application of paragraph 1, Member States shall notify such provisions to the Commission.’;

4.

in Article 33(2) point (e) is replaced by the following:

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/10

(1)

Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 states that the import duty on products falling within CN codes 1001 10 00, 1001 90 91, ex 1001 90 99 (high quality common wheat), 1002, ex 1005 other than hybrid seed, and ex 1007 other than hybrids for sowing, is to be equal to the intervention price valid for such products on importation and increased by 55 %, minus the cif import price applicable to the consignment in question. However, that duty may not exceed the rate of duty in the Common Customs Tariff.

(2)

Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 lays down that, for the purposes of calculating the import duty referred to in paragraph 2 of that Article, representative cif import prices are to be established on a regular basis for the products in question.

(3)

Under Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1249/96, the price to be used for the calculation of the import duty on products of CN codes 1001 10 00, 1001 90 91, ex 1001 90 99 (high quality common wheat), 1002 00, 1005 10 90, 1005 90 00 and 1007 00 90 is the daily cif representative import price determined as specified in Article 4 of that Regulation.

(4)

Import duties should be fixed for the period from 16 March 2008, and should apply until new import duties are fixed and enter into force.

(5)

However, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2008 of 20 December 2007 temporarily suspending customs duties on imports of certain cereals for the 2007/08 marketing year (3), the application of certain duties set by this Regulation is suspended,

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/13

(1)

The consultation of users and producers of statistical information as well as respondents to requests for such information is essential for the preparation and development of the Community’s statistical information policy.

(2)

The European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres set up by Council Decision 91/116/EEC (3) currently assists the Council and the Commission in the coordination of the objectives of the Community’s statistical information policy, taking into account user requirements and the costs borne by information providers and producers.

(3)

The European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres has been of use but changes that have taken place in the Community, in particular its enlargement to 27 Member States, require that a number of modifications be made to the role, mandate, composition and procedures of that Committee. In the interests of clarity, it is appropriate to replace that Committee by a new European Statistical Advisory Committee (the Committee).

(4)

The Committee should contribute to a close cooperation in the programme-planning process in order to improve the governance of the European Statistical System and enhance the quality of Community statistics. To this effect, close collaboration should be maintained with the Statistical Programme Committee established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom (4) and with the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics established by Council Decision 91/115/EEC (5).

(5)

A balance should be achieved between the need to reduce membership in order to enable the Committee to work efficiently in an enlarged Community on the one hand, and the need to allow representation of all stakeholders in Community statistics, as requested in the Council conclusions of 8 November 2005, on the other.

(6)

In order to meet the objectives of better assessing and balancing the benefits and costs of Community statistical requirements and rebalancing and reducing the burden of Community statistical legislation, so facilitating compliance with increasing demand, the Committee should play a stronger role in preparing and implementing the Community statistical programme.

(7)

The Committee should serve as a channel for advice from users, respondents and producers of statistical information on the objectives of the Community’s statistical information policy.

(8)

Decision 91/116/EEC should therefore be repealed,

(a)

the relevance of the Community statistical programme to the requirements of European integration and development, as expressed by the Community institutions, national and regional authorities, the various economic and social categories and scientific circles;

(b)

the relevance of the Community statistical programme in relation to the activities of the Community, taking into account economic, social and technical developments;

(c)

the balance as regards priorities and resources between different areas in the Community statistical programme, the annual statistical work programme of the Commission, and possibilities of re-prioritising statistical work;

(d)

the adequacy of the resources needed to implement the Community statistical programme, including the costs incurred directly by both the Community and national authorities, and appropriateness to users’ needs of the scope, level of detail, and costs of Community statistics;

(e)

the costs related to the provision of statistical information by information providers and possibilities of reducing the response burden, with particular reference to the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.

(a)

twelve members shall be appointed by the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament and the Council. They shall act independently. With a view to the appointment of those twelve members, each Member State shall provide the Commission with a list of three candidates with a well-established qualification in the field of statistics. The Commission shall endeavour to ensure that the selection of the 12 members represent, in equal measure, users, respondents, and other stakeholders in Community statistics (including the scientific community, the social partners and civil society). The 12 members shall perform their duties in their personal capacity;

(b)

eleven members shall be appointed directly by the institutions and bodies to which they belong, as follows:

(c)

the Director-General of Eurostat shall be an ex officio member of the Committee, without a voting right.

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/17

(1)

The need to establish Europe-wide standards on the independence, integrity and accountability of the national and Community statistical authorities led the Statistical Programme Committee established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom (2), unanimously to endorse, at its meeting on 24 February 2005, the European Statistics Code of Practice (hereinafter referred to as the Code of Practice) as presented in the Recommendation of the Commission of 25 May 2005 on the independence, integrity and accountability of the national and Community statistical authorities.

(2)

The Code of Practice has the dual purpose of improving trust and confidence in statistical authorities by proposing certain institutional and organisational arrangements on the one hand and reinforcing the quality of the statistics they produce on the other.

(3)

In the Communication of 25 May 2005 to the European Parliament and to the Council on the independence, integrity and accountability of the national and Community statistical authorities, the Commission acknowledged the usefulness of an external advisory body that could play an active role in overseeing how the Code of Practice is implemented by the European Statistical System as a whole. In its Recommendation of 25 May 2005, the Commission stated its intention to consider proposing the establishment of such an external advisory body.

(4)

On 8 November 2005, the Council concluded that a new high-level advisory body would enhance the independence, integrity and accountability of the Commission (Eurostat) and, in the context of the peer review assessment of implementing the Code of Practice, of the European Statistical System. The Council recommended that the body should be a small group of independent persons appointed on the basis of their competence.

(5)

The members of that body should provide a complementary mix of skills and experience, drawing, for example, on people from academia and those with national and/or international professional experience in the field of statistics.

(6)

The body should establish an assessment for the Commission (Eurostat) on the implementation of the Code of Practice analogous to the peer review of National Statistical Offices.

(7)

A dialogue with the Statistical Programme Committee and the European Statistical Advisory Committee, established by Decision No 234/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), on the Code of Practice, and also with Member States’ stakeholder bodies, should be encouraged where appropriate.

(8)

An advisory board should therefore be established, and its tasks and structure defined, without prejudice to Article 5 of the Protocol on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank,

(a)

prepare an annual report for the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Code of Practice insofar as it relates to the Commission (Eurostat) and to transmit that report to the Commission prior to submitting it to the European Parliament and to the Council;

(b)

include in that annual report an assessment of the implementation of the Code of Practice in the European Statistical System as a whole;

(c)

advise the Commission on appropriate measures to facilitate the implementation of the Code of Practice insofar as it relates to the Commission (Eurostat) and to the European Statistical System as a whole;

(d)

advise the Commission (Eurostat) on communicating the Code of Practice to users and data providers;

(e)

advise the Commission (Eurostat) and the Statistical Programme Committee as regards updating the Code of Practice.

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/20

(1)

The Republic of Bulgaria and Romania each signed a bilateral agreement concerning air services with Georgia on 19 January 1995 and on 26 March 1996, respectively.

(2)

The Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Georgia on certain aspects of air services (2) was signed in Brussels on 3 May 2006.

(3)

The Republic of Bulgaria and Romania each signed a bilateral agreement concerning air services with the Republic of Lebanon on 17 February 1967 and 25 February 1967, respectively.

(4)

The Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Lebanon on certain aspects of air services (3) was signed in Beirut on 7 July 2006.

(5)

The Republic of Bulgaria signed a bilateral agreement concerning air services with the Republic of Maldives on 13 August 2006 in Male.

(6)

The Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Maldives on certain aspects of air services (4) was signed in Brussels on 21 September 2006.

(7)

The Republic of Bulgaria and Romania each signed a bilateral agreement concerning air services with the Republic of Moldova on 17 April 1996 and 28 June 1993, respectively.

(8)

The Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Moldova on certain aspects of air services (5) was signed in Brussels on 11 April 2006.

(9)

The Republic of Bulgaria and Romania each signed a bilateral agreement concerning air services with the Republic of Singapore on 28 November 1969 and 11 January 1978, respectively.

(10)

The Agreement between the European Community and the Government of the Republic of Singapore on certain aspects of air services (6) was signed in Luxembourg on 9 June 2006.

(11)

Romania signed a bilateral agreement concerning air services with the Oriental Republic of Uruguay on 31 May 1996 in Bucharest.

(12)

The Agreement between the European Community and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay on certain aspects of air services (7) was signed in Montevideo on 3 November 2006.

(13)

The 2005 Accession Treaty was signed in Luxembourg on 25 April 2005 and entered into force on 1 January 2007.

(14)

A Protocol amending Annexes I and II to each of the abovementioned agreements between the European Community and the respective states is necessary to take account of the accession of the two new Member States.

(15)

Negotiations are based on the negotiating mandate granted by the Council to the Commission on 5 June 2003.

(16)

Consequently, the Protocols should be concluded on behalf of the Community,

—

Protocol amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Georgia on certain aspects of air services,

—

Protocol amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Lebanon on certain aspects of air services,

—

Protocol amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Maldives on certain aspects of air services,

—

Protocol amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Moldova on certain aspects of air services,

—

Protocol amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of the Republic of Singapore on certain aspects of air services,

—

Protocol amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay on certain aspects of air services.

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/32

(1)

Commission Decision 2006/805/EC of 24 November 2006 concerning animal health control measures relating to classical swine fever in certain Member States (3) was adopted in response to outbreaks of classical swine fever in certain Member States. That Decision establishes certain disease control measures concerning classical swine fever in those Member States.

(2)

Germany has informed the Commission that the disease situation in certain areas of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia has significantly improved. The measures provided for in Decision 2006/805/EC concerning those areas should therefore no longer apply.

(3)

For the sake of transparency of Community legislation, the list of the Member States concerned or the regions thereof as set out in the Annex to Decision 2006/805/EC should be replaced by the text in the Annex to this Decision.

(4)

Decision 2006/805/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(5)

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

15.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 73/34

(1)

Pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 8(1) of Joint Action 2008/112/CFSP, the PSC is authorised, in accordance with Article 25 of the Treaty, to take the relevant decisions for the purpose of exercising political control and strategic direction of EU SSR GUINEA-BISSAU, including the decision to appoint a Head of Mission.

(2)

The Secretary General/High Representative has proposed the appointment of Mr Juan Esteban Verástegui as the Head of EU SSR GUINEA-BISSAU,