(1)

On 24 March 2006, the European Council deplored the failure of the Belarus authorities to meet OSCE commitments to democratic elections, considered that the Presidential elections of 19 March 2006 were fundamentally flawed and condemned the action of the Belarus authorities of that day in arresting peaceful demonstrators exercising their legitimate right of free assembly to protest at the conduct of the Presidential elections. The European Council therefore decided that restrictive measures should be applied against those responsible for the violation of international electoral standards.

(2)

On 10 April 2006, the Council decided to adopt restrictive measures against President Lukashenko, the Belarusian leadership and officials responsible for the violations of international electoral standards and international human rights law, as well as for the crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition. These individuals should be subjected to a visa ban and possible further targeted measures.

(3)

Common Position 2006/362/CFSP provides that the funds and economic resources of President Lukashenko and certain officials of Belarus that have been identified for this purpose should be frozen.

(4)

These measures fall within the scope of the Treaty and, therefore, notably with a view to ensuring their uniform application by economic operators in all Member States, Community legislation is necessary to implement them as far as the Community is concerned. For the purposes of this Regulation, the territory of the Community should be deemed to encompass the territories of the Member States to which the Treaty is applicable, under the conditions laid down in the Treaty.

(5)

Member States should determine the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation. The penalties provided for should be proportionate, effective and dissuasive.

(6)

In order to ensure that the measures provided for in this Regulation are effective, this Regulation should enter into force immediately,

1.

‘funds’ means financial assets and benefits of every kind, including but not limited to:

2.

‘freezing of funds’ means preventing any move, transfer, alteration, use of, access to, or dealing with funds in any way that would result in any change in their volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, character, destination or other change that would enable the use of the funds, including portfolio management.

3.

‘economic resources’ means assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, which are not funds but can be used to obtain funds, goods or services.

4.

‘freezing of economic resources’ means preventing the use of economic resources to obtain funds, goods or services in any way, including, but not limited to, by selling, hiring or mortgaging them.

5.

‘territory of the Community’ means the territories of the Member States to which the Treaty is applicable, under the conditions laid down in the Treaty.

(a)

amend Annex I on the basis of decisions taken in respect of the Annex IV to Common Position 2006/276/CFSP; and

(b)

amend Annex II on the basis of information supplied by Member States.

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within the territory of the Community, including its airspace,

—

on board any aircraft or any vessel under the jurisdiction of a Member State,

—

to any natural person inside or outside the territory of the Community who is a national of a Member State,

—

to any legal person, entity or body which is incorporated or constituted under the law of a Member State,

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to any legal person, entity or body in respect of any business done in whole or in part within the Community.

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 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,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1081/1999 (2) provides for the opening and administration, on a multi-annual basis, of an import tariff quota for certain live bovine animals.

(2)

The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the United States of America pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 (3), approved by Council Decision 2006/333/EC (4), provides for an adjustment, as from 1 July 2006, of the import tariff quota as set out in Regulation (EC) No 1081/1999.

(3)

Moreover, in view of the quantities available for import under this quota and in order to simplify its management, it is appropriate to abolish the second allocation round referred to in Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1081/1999.

(4)

Regulation (EC) No 1081/1999 should be amended accordingly.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Beef and Veal,

1.

in the fourth column ‘Quota volume (head of cattle)’ of the table in Article 1(1):

2.

in Article 2, the paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

3.

Article 9 is deleted.

(1)

Directive 2004/36/EC introduces a harmonised approach to the effective enforcement of international safety standards within the Community by harmonising the rules and procedures for ramp inspections of third-country aircraft landing at airports located in the Member States. It requires the Member States to proceed to ramp inspections of third-country aircraft suspected of non-compliance with international safety standards landing at any of its airports open to international air traffic following a harmonised procedure, and to participate to the collection and exchange of information on the ramp inspections carried out.

(2)

The Community obligations of the Member States deriving from Directive 2004/36/EC may be to a large extent discharged through their participation in the Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) programme initiated in 1996 by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), which management has been delegated to the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). In particular, the JAA manages the SAFA database, facilitates the harmonised training of inspectors and personnel participating in the programme, and ensures the development of procedures and proposals for improving the programme and its tools and the reporting on the information gathered.

(3)

It is necessary to improve the system of collection and exchange of information contained in Directive 2004/36/EC, by designating a single specialised expert body responsible for the management of the SAFA system in the Community.

(4)

Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) establishes a European Aviation Safety Agency as a single specialised expert body responsible for assisting the Commission and taking the necessary measures within the powers conferred on it by that Regulation or other Community legislation.

(5)

In the context of the current process of transition from the JAA system to the European Aviation Safety Agency, it is necessary to entrust that Agency with the tasks related to the SAFA programme conducted so far by the JAA. This transfer should contribute to strengthening the programme and ensuring its continuation.

(6)

The continuation of the SAFA programme and an accurate exchange of information on the safety of aircraft using Community airports require that the Community SAFA system be filled with the largest possible amount of information, including the ramp inspection reports not required by Directive 2004/36/EC but which have been carried out in accordance with the procedure established under Annex II of Directive 2004/36/EC.

(7)

It is necessary that the Community SAFA system ensures that the added value resulting from the operational and technical cooperation with international organisations will be maintained.

(8)

The Community SAFA system should also be complemented with appropriate activities aimed at ensuring common standards for the performance of ramp inspections, such as the continuation of the manual for ramp inspections as well as the training activities developed by the JAA.

(9)

It has been recognised that the involvement of third countries should continue to be pursued, in order to facilitate the improvement of civil aviation safety throughout Europe. Therefore, the participation of third countries in the Community SAFA system, according to the relevant agreements, should be encouraged and promoted to ensure a seamless transition.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the committee established by Article 12 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/1991 (3),

1.

submit to the Commission a proposal for a manual of ramp inspection procedures and, whenever necessary, for further development and update of the manual and of the Annexes to Directive 2004/36/EC;

2.

develop training programmes and foster the organisation and implementation of training courses and workshops for inspectors to improve the understanding of the Community SAFA system with the aim of reaching a common standard in the performance of ramp inspections;

3.

facilitate and co-ordinate an inspector exchange programme aimed at allowing inspectors to obtain practical experience and contributing to the harmonisation of procedures.

(1)

The Agreement on Agriculture concluded under the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations (2) in accordance with Article 300 of the Treaty contains limits on the quantity and value of exports subsidised by the Community. As a result of the conclusions of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Appellate Body of 19 May 2005, exports of C sugar must be taken into account in those limits. The Community has been granted a period ending on 22 May 2006 to comply with its WTO obligations.

(2)

Article 13(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector (3) provides in particular for an obligation to export C sugar not carried forward. Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, which applies from 1 July 2006, no longer includes such an obligation for non-quota sugar produced in respect of the 2006/07 marketing year. Article 44 of that Regulation provides for the possibility of adopting transitional measures to facilitate the transition from the market situation in the 2005/06 marketing year to the market situation in the 2006/07 marketing year, and the derogations required to ensure compliance by the Community with its international obligations with regard to C sugar produced in respect of the 2005/06 marketing year.

(3)

In accordance with Article 44 of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, Article 2(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 493/2006 of 27 March 2006 laying down transitional measures within the framework of the reform of the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector, and amending Regulations (EC) No 1265/2001 and (EC) No 314/2002 (4), from 1 July 2006 C sugar produced in respect of the 2005/06 marketing year which cannot be carried forward or exported is to be considered non-quota sugar as referred to in Regulation (EC) No 318/2006, produced in respect of the 2006/07 marketing year.

(4)

Article 27(14) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 provides that compliance with the restrictions on volume resulting from agreements concluded under Article 300 of the Treaty is to be ensured by means of export licences issued for the reference periods provided for in such agreements.

(5)

As a result, taking into account the obligations of the European Community under the WTO agreements, a derogation from the obligation to export C sugar should be laid down by suspending the lodging of applications for export licences for C sugar from 23 May 2006, and the transitional arrangements provided for in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 493/2006 should be applied to C sugar not exported under an export licence issued before 23 May 2006.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 493/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Sugar,

1.

Article 2(1) is replaced by the following:

2.

the following sentence is added to the second paragraph of Article 13:

‘Article 2 shall apply from 23 May 2006.’

(1)

The representative prices and additional duties applicable to imports of white sugar, raw sugar and certain syrups for the 2005/2006 marketing year are fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1011/2005 (3). These prices and duties were last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 732/2006 (4).

(2)

The data currently available to the Commission indicate that the said amounts should be changed in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1423/95,

(1)

The Council has authorised the Commission on 5 June 2003 to open negotiations with third countries on the replacement of certain provisions in existing bilateral agreements with a Community agreement.

(2)

The Commission has negotiated on behalf of the Community an Agreement with Georgia on certain aspects of air services in accordance with the mechanisms and directives in the Annex to the Council's Decision authorising the Commission to open negotiations with third countries on the replacement of certain provisions in existing bilateral agreements with a Community agreement.

(3)

Subject to its possible conclusion at a later date, the agreement negotiated by the Commission should be signed and provisionally applied,

(1)

Part 1 of Annexes I and II to Council Decision 79/542/EEC of 21 December 1979 drawing up a list of third countries or parts of third countries, and laying down animal and public health and veterinary certification conditions, for importation into the Community of certain live animals and their fresh meat (2) sets out a list of third countries and parts of third countries from which Member States are authorised to import certain live animals and their fresh meat.

(2)

Commission Decision 2005/432/EC of 3 June 2005 laying down the animal and public health conditions and model certificates for imports of meat products for human consumption from third countries and repealing Decisions 97/41/EC, 97/221/EC and 97/222/EC (3). That Decision lists the third countries and parts of third countries from which imports of meat products are to be authorised. That Decision also lays down the model public and animal health certificates and rules on treatments required for those products.

(3)

Following outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Brazil, Decision 79/542/EEC was amended by Commission Decision 2005/753/EC (4) in order to amend Part I of Annex II to Decision 79/542/EEC and thereby suspended imports of bovine de-boned meat from the States of Mato Grosso do Sul, Parana and Sao Paulo.

(4)

In order to ensure clarity, coherence and transparency in the regionalisation provided for in Decision 79/542/EEC concerning fresh meat and in Decision 2005/432/EC concerning meat products it is necessary to amend certain of the regionalisation descriptions and timing restrictions for Brazil.

(5)

In addition, Serbia and Montenegro are Republics with their own customs territories which together form a State Union. They should therefore be entered separately on the lists of third countries and parts of third countries from which imports of meat products are authorised.

(6)

Decision 79/542/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

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

(1)

On 10 April 2006 the Council adopted Common Position 2006/276/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against certain officials of Belarus and repealing Common Position 2004/661/CFSP (1) imposing travel restrictions against President Lukashenko, members of the leadership and certain officials of Belarus.

(2)

The Council deems it appropriate, following its conclusions of 10 April 2006, also to freeze the funds and economic resources of the persons referred to above, who played a role in the violations of international electoral standards and the crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition in the context of the 19 March 2006 Presidential elections.

(3)

These financial restrictive measures should be reviewed with a view to the speedy release and rehabilitation of all political detainees, and in the light of reforms made to the Electoral Code to bring it into line with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections as recommended by the OSCE/ODIHR, the conduct of future elections, and concrete actions by the authorities to respect democratic values, the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression and of the media, and the freedom of assembly and political association.

(4)

It is therefore appropriate to make some technical changes to the annexes of Common Position 2006/276/CFSP.

(5)

Community action is necessary to implement these measures,