Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia, and in particular the first paragraph of Article 41 thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1870/2005^f1 opens and provides for the administration of tariff quotas and introduces a system of certificates of origin for garlic imported from third countries.

Regulation (EC) No 1870/2005 provides for transitional measures allowing importers from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (hereinafter ‘the new Members States’) to benefit from the quotas. The aim of those measures is to make a distinction between traditional importers and new importers in the new Member States, and to adapt the concept of the reference quantity so that those importers can benefit from the system.

To ensure uninterrupted supplies to the enlarged Community market while taking account of the economic supply conditions in the new Member States prior to their accession to the European Union, an autonomous and temporary import tariff quota should be opened for fresh or chilled garlic falling within CN code 0703 20 00.

The new quota should be transitional and may not prejudge the outcome of the negotiations under way in the context of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a result of the accession of the new Member States.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: