2000 - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2000)351 - Exceptional trade measures for countries and territories participating in or linked to the EU's stabilisation and ...
document	COM(2000)351
date	September 18, 2000

(1) At its meeting in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000, the European Council concluded that Stabilisation and Association Agreements with Western Balkan countries should be preceded by asymmetrical trade liberalisation.

(2) The Council, in its conclusions of 24 January and 14 February 2000, also invited the Commission to examine the question of facilitating trade with the Republic of Montenegro within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2000 of 17 December 1999 concerning the arrangements applicable to imports into the Community of products originating in the Republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and to imports of wine originating in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Slovenia i offers for certain industrial products exemption from customs duties within the limit of tariff ceilings and limited concessions are made for agricultural goods, many of them in form of exemption from duties within the limit of tariff quotas. Council Regulation (EC) No 1763/99 i concerning arrangements applicable to imports into the Community of products originating in Albania provides for a similar regime containing the same restrictions.

(4) The general level of imports from the Western Balkan countries is less than 0.6% of all Community imports. Further market opening is expected to contribute to the process of political and economic stabilisation in the region while not creating negative effects for the Community.

(5) It is, therefore, appropriate to further improve the Community's autonomous trade preferences by removing all remaining tariff ceilings for industrial products and by further improving access to the Community market for agricultural and fishery products, including processed products.

(6) These measures are proposed as part of the EU Stabilisation and Association process, in a response to the specific situation in the Western Balkans. They will not constitute a precedent for Community trade policy with other third countries.

(7) In accordance with the EU Stabilisation and Association process, based on the earlier Regional Approach and the Council Conclusions of 29 April 1997, the development of bilateral relations between the European Union and the Western Balkan countries is subject to certain conditions. The granting of autonomous trade preferences is linked to respect for fundamental principles of democracy and human rights and to the readiness of the countries concerned to develop economic relations between themselves; the granting of improved autonomous trade preferences in favour of countries participating in the EU Stabilisation and Association process should be linked to their readiness to engage in effective economic reforms and in regional cooperation, in particular through the establishment of free trade areas in line with relevant GATT/WTO standards.

(8) Trade preferences can only be granted to countries or territories possessing a customs administration.

(9) Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo, as the latter is defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999 i, (hereinafter referred to as 'Kosovo') fulfil these conditions, and similar trade preferences should be granted to all of them in order to avoid discrimination within the region;

(10) The Republic of Montenegro within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia does not possess a separate customs administration. It is, therefore, impossible to grant the same preferences to it. However, the granting of limited trade preferences for certain Montenegrin industrial products that are not produced in other parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is possible without prejudice to the principle of excluding the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from the trade preferences as a whole and in full compliance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1294/99 of 15 June 1999 concerning a freeze of funds and a ban on investment in relation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1295/98 and (EC) No 1607/98 i.

(11) The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is already linked to the Community by a Co-operation Agreement containing trade preferences, and the Community and its Member States opened negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with that country. The equivalent of improved autonomous trade preferences under this Regulation should, therefore, be granted to that country on a separate basis, with the exception of concessions for wine.

(12) The proposed Regulation should continue to provide for concessions on wine, as granted under Regulation (EC) No 6/2000, which apply equally to Slovenia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia pending the conclusion of specific wine agreements with these countries. As these concessions continue to consist of a global tariff quota, it is appropriate to keep these provisions in one and the same Regulation.

(13) It is, therefore, appropriate to grant the improved autonomous trade preferences to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and to include Kosovo and to grant limited and specific trade preferences for certain industrial products originating in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

(14) For the purposes of certification or origin and administrative cooperation procedures, the relevant provisions of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code i should be applied.

(15) For the sake of rationalisation and simplification, it is appropriate to provide that the Commission may, having consulted the Customs Code Committee and without prejudice to the specific procedures provided for in this Regulation, make any necessary changes and technical amendments necessary to this Regulation.

(16) Since the measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation are management measures within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission i, they should be adopted by use of the management procedure provided for in Article 4 of that Decision;

(17) The introduction of the proposed measures for agricultural products and fishery products originating in the Republics of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia will make the inclusion of those Republics in the Community's scheme of generalised tariff preferences superfluous. It is therefore appropriate to remove those Republics from the list of beneficiaries of Council Regulation (EC) No 2820/98 of 21 December 1998 applying a multiannual scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 1 July 1999 to 31 December 2001 i.

(18) A single new Regulation containing all autonomous trade preferences would give greater transparency to the Community trade regime with countries and territories participating in or linked to the EU Stabilisation and Association process. Consequently, Council Regulations (EC) Nos 1763/1999 and 6/2000 should be replaced.

(19) These import arrangements should be renewed on the basis of the conditions established by the Council and in the light of the experience gained in granting these arrangements under this Regulation. It is therefore appropriate to limit the duration of the arrangements to 31 December 2002.