Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer^f1, and in particular Article 3(1) thereof,

Whereas:

The Community has already phased out the production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons, other fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbons, halons, carbon tetrachloride,1,1,1-trichloroethane, hydrobromofluorocarbon and bromo-chloromethane.

Each year the Commission has to determine essential uses for these controlled substances, the quantities that may be used and the companies that may use them.

Decision IV/25 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, hereinafter ‘the Montreal Protocol’, sets out the criteria used by the Commission for determining any essential uses and authorises the production and consumption necessary to satisfy essential uses of controlled substances in each Party.

Decision XV/8 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol authorises the production and consumption necessary to satisfy essential uses of controlled substances listed in Annexes A, B and C (Group II and III substances) of the Montreal Protocol for laboratory and analytical uses as listed in Annex IV to the report of the seventh Meeting of the Parties, subject to the conditions set out in Annex II to the report of the sixth Meeting of the Parties, Decision VII/11 and Decision XI/15 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.

Pursuant to paragraph 3 of Decision XII/2 of the 12th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on measures to facilitate the transition to chlorofluorocarbon-free metered-dose inhalers (MDIs), Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom have notified the United Nations Environment Programme^f2 that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are no longer essential for the manufacture of specific short-acting beta agonist CFC-MDIs. Article 4(4)(i)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 prevents CFCs from being used and placed on the market unless they are considered essential under the conditions described in Article 3(1) of that Regulation. These non-essentiality determinations have reduced the demand for CFCs in the Community. In addition, Article 4(6) prevents CFC-MDI products being imported and placed on the market unless the CFCs in these products are considered essential under the conditions described in Article 3(1).

The Commission published a notice^f3 on 11 July 2003 to those companies in the Community (15) that request consideration by the Commission for the use of controlled substances for essential uses in the Community in 2004 and a further notification to companies in the 10 new Member States on 11 May 2004^f4, and has received declarations on intended essential uses of controlled substances in 2004.

Commission Decision 2004/209/EC of 28 January 2004 on the allocation of quantities of controlled substances allowed for essential uses in the Community in 2004 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f5 should be amended in order to take account of the inclusion of specific quantities of ozone depleting substances required for essential uses in the 10 new Member States from 1 May 2004.

In the interests of legal clarity and transparency Decision 2004/209/EC should therefore be replaced.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee established by Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: