Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and in particular the first paragraph of Article 95 thereof,

Having consulted the Consultative Committee and with the unanimous assent of the Council,

Whereas:

For the years 1995 to 2001 trade in certain products covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Treaty was the subject of agreements between the Parties^f1.

The Community has concluded a further ECSC steel agreement with the Russian Federation concerning trade in certain steel products covered by the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty which take account of developments in the relationship between the Parties^f2.

This agreement establishes quantitative limits for the entry into free circulation in the Community of certain steel products between 2002 to 2004 and provides a framework for the removal of quantitative restrictions provided that certain conditions are met and in particular when compatible disciplines in respect of competition, state aid and environmental protection have been established in respect of the steel products covered by the Agreement.

It is necessary to provide the means to administer this agreement within the Community, taking into account the experience gained during the previous agreements.

It is necessary to ensure that the origin of the products in question is checked and appropriate methods of administrative cooperation are set up to this end.

The effective application of the agreement requires the introduction of a requirement of a Community import licence for the entry into free circulation in the Community of the products in question together with a system for administering the grant of such Community import licences.

Products placed in a free zone or imported under the arrangements governing customs warehouses, temporary importation or inward processing (suspension system) should not be counted against the limits established for the products in question.

In order to ensure that these quantitative limits are not exceeded, it is necessary to establish a management procedure whereby the competent authorities of the Member States will not issue import licences before obtaining prior confirmation from the Commission that appropriate amounts remain available within the quantitative limit in question.

The agreement provides for a system of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Community with the aim of preventing circumvention by means of transhipment, rerouting or other means; whereas a consultation procedure is established under which an agreement can be reached with the country concerned on an equivalent adjustment to the relevant quantitative limit when it appears that the agreement has been circumvented; whereas the Russian Federation also agreed to take the necessary measures to ensure that any adjustments could be rapidly applied; whereas, in the absence of agreement with a supplier country within the time limit provided, the Community may, where clear evidence of circumvention is provided, apply the equivalent adjustment.

Imports of products covered by this Decision as from 1 January 2002 have been subjected to a licence in pursuance of Decision 2002/385/ECSC^f3, as amended, that the ECSC steel agreement foresees that those quantities are to be counted against the limits established for 2002 in this Decision,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: