(1)

On 25 May 2009 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 with a view to the renegotiation of concessions on poultrymeat tariff lines under Chapter 16 of the Combined Nomenclature as provided for in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (1) (hereinafter ‘CN’).

(2)

Those negotiations resulted in Agreements in the form of Exchanges of Letters initialled with Thailand on 22 November 2011 and with Brazil on 7 December 2011 (hereinafter ‘the Agreements’).

(3)

The Agreements should be signed,

(1)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 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 Annex XVI, Part A thereto.

(2)

The standard import value is calculated each working day, in accordance with Article 136(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, taking into account variable daily data. Therefore this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

(1)

Article 136(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 states that the import duty on products covered by CN codes 1001 19 00, 1001 11 00, ex 1001 91 20 (common wheat seed), ex 1001 99 00 (high quality common wheat other than for sowing), 1002 10 00, 1002 90 00, 1005 10 90, 1005 90 00, 1007 10 90 and 1007 90 00 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 136(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 lays down that, in order to calculate the import duty referred to in paragraph 1 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 (EU) No 642/2010, the price to be used for the calculation of the import duty on products covered by CN codes 1001 19 00, 1001 11 00, ex 1001 91 20 (common wheat seed), ex 1001 99 00 (high quality common wheat other than for sowing), 1002 10 00, 1002 90 00, 1005 10 90, 1005 90 00, 1007 10 90 and 1007 90 00 is the daily cif representative import price determined as specified in Article 5 of that Regulation.

(4)

Import duties should be fixed for the period from 1 May 2012 and should apply until new import duties are fixed and enter into force.

(5)

Given the need to ensure that this measure applies as soon as possible after the updated data have been made available, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication,

(1)

By letter registered with the Commission on 27 September 2011, Romania requested authorisation to introduce special measures concerning certain motorised road vehicles derogating from those provisions laid down in Directive 2006/112/EC which govern a taxable person’s right to deduct VAT paid on the purchase of goods and services and those which require tax to be accounted for on business assets used for non-business purposes.

(2)

In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 395(2) of Directive 2006/112/EC, by letter dated 1 December 2011, the Commission informed the other Member States of the request made by Romania. By letter dated 5 December 2011, the Commission notified Romania that it had all the information necessary to consider the request.

(3)

Article 168 of Directive 2006/112/EC establishes a taxable person’s right to deduct VAT charged on supplies of goods and services received by him for the purposes of his taxed transactions. Point (a) of Article 26(1) of that Directive contains a requirement to account for VAT when a business asset is put to use for the private purposes of the taxable person or his staff or, more generally, for purposes other than those of his business.

(4)

The non-business use of vehicles is difficult to identify accurately and even where it is possible, the mechanism for doing so is often burdensome. Under the requested measures, the amount of VAT on expenditure eligible for deduction concerning motorised road vehicles which are not used exclusively for business purposes should, with some exceptions, be set at a flat percentage rate. Based on currently available information, Romania believes that a rate of 50 % is justifiable. At the same time, to avoid double taxation, the requirement for accounting for VAT on the non-business use of a motorised road vehicle should be suspended where it has been subject to this restriction. These measures can be justified by the need to simplify the procedure for charging VAT and to prevent evasion through incorrect record-keeping and false tax declaration.

(5)

The restriction on the right of deduction under the special measures should apply to VAT paid on the purchase, intra-Community acquisition, importation, hire or leasing of specified motorised road vehicles and on expenditure related thereto, including the purchase of fuel.

(6)

Certain types of motorised road vehicles should be excluded from the scope of the special measures since, due to their nature or the type of business they are used for, any non-business use thereof is considered to be negligible. Therefore, the special measures should not apply to vehicles with more than nine seats including the driver’s, or with a maximum permissible laden mass of more than 3 500 kilograms. In addition, a detailed list of specific types of vehicles excluded from that restriction should be provided, based on their particular use.

(7)

These derogating measures should be limited in time to allow for an evaluation of their effectiveness and of the appropriate percentage, since the proposed percentage is based on initial findings regarding business use.

(8)

Where Romania considers an extension of the derogating measures is necessary, a report on the application of the measures in question, which includes a review of the percentage applied, should be submitted to the Commission together with the request for an extension in a timely manner.

(9)

On 29 October 2004, the Commission adopted a proposal (2) for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC, now Directive 2006/112/EC, that includes the harmonisation of the categories of expenses for which exclusions from the right of deduction may apply. Under that proposal, exclusions from the right to deduct could be applied to motorised road vehicles. The derogating measures provided for in this Decision should expire on the date of the entry into force of such an amending Directive, if that date is earlier than the date of expiry provided for in this Decision.

(10)

The derogation will have only a negligible effect on the overall amount of tax revenue collected at the stage of final consumption and will have no impact on the Union’s own resources accruing from value added tax,

(a)

vehicles used exclusively for emergency services, for security, protection and courier services;

(b)

vehicles used by sales agents and by purchasing agents;

(c)

vehicles used for the transport of passengers for consideration, including taxi services;

(d)

vehicles used for the supply of services for consideration, including hire or driving lessons provided by driving schools;

(e)

vehicles used for hire or leasing;

(f)

vehicles used as commodities for trading purposes.

(1)

According to Commission Decision 2010/49/EC of 30 November 2009 determining the first regions for the start of operations of the Visa Information System (VIS) (2), the second region where the collection and transmission of data to the VIS for all applications should start comprises Israel, Jordan, the Lebanon and Syria.

(2)

The Member States have notified the Commission that they have made the necessary technical and legal arrangements to collect and transmit the data referred to in Article 5(1) of the VIS Regulation to the VIS for all applications in that region, including arrangements for the collection and/or transmission of the data on behalf of another Member State.

(3)

The condition laid down by the first sentence of Article 48(3) of the VIS Regulation thus being fulfilled, it is therefore necessary to determine the date from which the VIS is to start operations in a second region.

(4)

In view of the need to set the date for the start of the VIS in the very near future this Decision should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(5)

Given that the VIS Regulation builds upon the Schengen acquis, Denmark notified the implementation of the VIS Regulation in its national law in accordance with Article 5 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community. Denmark is therefore bound under international law to implement this Decision.

(6)

This Decision constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis in which the United Kingdom does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2000/365/EC of 29 May 2000 concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (3). The United Kingdom is therefore not bound by it or subject to its application.

(7)

This Decision constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (4). Ireland is therefore not bound by it or subject to its application.

(8)

As regards Iceland and Norway, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latters’ association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (5), which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point B of Council Decision 1999/437/EC (6) on certain arrangements for the application of that Agreement.

(9)

As regards Switzerland, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (7), which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point B of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2008/146/EC (8).

(10)

As regards Liechtenstein, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point B of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2011/350/EU (9).

(11)

As regards Cyprus, this Decision constitutes an act building upon, or otherwise related to, the Schengen acquis within the meaning of Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession.

(12)

As regards Bulgaria and Romania, this Decision constitutes an act building upon, or otherwise related to, the Schengen acquis within the meaning of Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act of Accession,

(1)

Under Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005, the Commission, on the basis of the annual accounts submitted by the Member States, accompanied by the information required for the clearance of accounts and a certificate regarding the integrality, accuracy and veracity of the accounts and the reports established by the certification bodies, clears the accounts of the paying agencies referred to in Article 6 of the said Regulation.

(2)

Pursuant to Article 5 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 883/2006 of 21 June 2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards the keeping of accounts by the paying agencies, declarations of expenditure and revenue and the conditions for reimbursing expenditure under the EAGF and the EAFRD (2), the financial year for the EAGF accounts begins on 16 October of year N-1 and ends on 15 October of year N. In the framework of clearing the accounts, for the purpose of aligning the reference period for EAFRD expenditure with that of the EAGF, account should be taken for the 2011 financial year of expenditure incurred by the Member States between 16 October 2010 and 15 October 2011.

(3)

The second subparagraph of Article 10(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 of 21 June 2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards the accreditation of paying agencies and other bodies and the clearance of the accounts of the EAGF and of the EAFRD (3) lays down that the amounts that are recoverable from, or payable to, each Member State, in accordance with the accounts clearance decision referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 10(1) of the said Regulation, shall be established by deducting the intermediate payments in respect of the financial year concerned from the expenditure recognised for the same year in accordance with paragraph 1. The Commission shall deduct that amount from or add it to the following intermediate payment.

(4)

The Commission has checked the information submitted by the Member States and it has communicated to the Member States before 31 March 2012 the results of its verifications, along with the necessary amendments.

(5)

The annual accounts and the accompanying documents permit the Commission to take, for certain paying agencies, a decision on the completeness, accuracy and veracity of the annual accounts submitted. Annex I lists the amounts cleared by Member States and the amounts to be recovered from or paid to the Member States.

(6)

The information submitted by certain other paying agencies requires additional inquiries and their accounts cannot be cleared in this Decision. Annex II lists the paying agencies concerned.

(7)

Pursuant to Article 33(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005, 50 % of the financial consequences of non-recovery of irregularities shall be borne by the Member State concerned if the recovery of those irregularities has not taken place prior to the closure of a rural development programme within four years of the primary administrative or judicial finding, or within eight years if the recovery is taken to the national courts, or on the closure of the programme if those deadlines expire prior such closure. Article 33(4) of the said Regulation obliges Member States to submit to the Commission, together with the annual accounts, a summary report on the recovery procedures undertaken in response to irregularities. Detailed rules on the application of the Member States’ reporting obligation of the amounts to be recovered are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 885/2006. Annex III to the said Regulation provides the table that had to be provided in 2012 by the Member States. On the basis of the tables completed by the Member States, the Commission should decide on the financial consequences of non-recovery of irregularities older than four or eight years respectively. This decision is without prejudice to future conformity decisions pursuant to Article 33(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005.

(8)

Pursuant to Article 33(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005, after closure of a rural development programme Member States may decide not to pursue recovery. Such a decision may only be taken if the costs already and likely to be incurred total more than the amount to be recovered or if the recovery proves impossible owing to the insolvency, recorded and recognised under national law, of the debtor or the persons legally responsible for the irregularity. If that decision has been taken within four years of the primary administrative or judicial finding, or within eight years if the recovery is taken to the national courts, 100 % of the financial consequences of the non-recovery should be borne by the EU budget. In the summary report referred to in Article 33(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 the amounts for which the Member State decided not to pursue recovery and the grounds for the decision are shown. These amounts are not charged to the Member States concerned and are consequently to be borne by the EU budget. This decision is without prejudice to future conformity decisions pursuant to Article 33(5) of the said Regulation.

(9)

In accordance with Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005, this Decision, does not prejudice decisions taken subsequently by the Commission excluding from European Union financing expenditure not effected in accordance with European Union rules,

(1)

At its meeting of 6 July 2006, the Governing Council decided to explore, in cooperation with central securities depositories (CSDs) and other market participants, the possibility of setting up a new Eurosystem service for securities settlement called TARGET2-Securities (T2S). As part of its tasks in accordance with Articles 17, 18 and 22 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of the ESCB’), the Eurosystem will establish T2S as a service based on a single platform allowing for core, neutral and borderless pan-European cash and securities settlement, which is offered to CSDs to enable them to provide their customers with harmonised and commoditised delivery-versus-payment settlement services in central bank money in an integrated technical environment.

(2)

On 17 July 2008, the Governing Council decided to launch T2S and to provide the resources required until its completion. On the basis of an offer made by the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Banco de España, the Banque de France and the Banca d’Italia (hereinafter the ‘4CB’), the Governing Council decided that T2S would be developed and operated by these national central banks (NCBs).

(3)

The T2S Programme Board was established as a streamlined management body to develop proposals for the Governing Council on key strategic issues and execute tasks of a purely technical nature and to provide effective and efficient organisation of T2S involving both internal and external stakeholders.

(4)

Under the principle of decentralisation laid down in Article 12.1 of the Statute of the ESCB, to the extent deemed possible and appropriate, NCBs carry out operations which form part of the tasks of the Eurosystem. The Eurosystem central banks will therefore entrust the T2S Board with certain tasks so that it can be fully operational and act on behalf of the whole Eurosystem.

(5)

In accordance with the T2S Governance framework the T2S Board will replace the T2S Programme Board.

(6)

Therefore, Decision ECB/2009/6 should be repealed,