{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2013-20/introduction",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2013-20/introduction.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2013/20",
  "legislation_title": "Regulation (EU) No 20/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 implementing the bilateral safeguard clause and the stabilisation mechanism for bananas of the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2013-20",
  "path": "introduction",
  "kind": "introduction",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Introductory text",
  "text": "Regulation (EU) No 20/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council\nof 15 January 2013\nimplementing the bilateral safeguard clause and the stabilisation mechanism for bananas of the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other\nTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,\nHaving regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(2) thereof,\nHaving regard to the proposal from the European Commission,\nAfter transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,\nActing in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,\nWhereas:\n(1)\nOn 23 April 2007 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with certain countries of Central America (‘Central America’) for an Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other (‘the Agreement’) on behalf of the Union and its Member States.\n(2)\nThose negotiations have been concluded and the Agreement was signed on 29 June 2012, received the consent of the European Parliament on 11 December 2012 and is to apply as provided for in Article 353 of the Agreement.\n(3)\nIt is necessary to lay down the most appropriate procedures to guarantee the effective application of certain provisions of the Agreement which concern the bilateral safeguard clause and for applying the stabilisation mechanism for bananas that has been agreed with Central America.\n(4)\nIt is also necessary to create appropriate safeguard mechanisms to prevent serious harm to the Union banana growing sector which is of great importance to the agricultural producers of many of the outermost regions of the Union. The limited ability of those regions to diversify, owing to their natural characteristics, makes the banana sector particularly vulnerable. It is therefore essential to create effective mechanisms to address preferential imports from third countries concerned, in order to guarantee that Union banana production is maintained under the best possible conditions, as it is a crucial employment sector in certain areas, especially in the outermost regions.\n(5)\nThe terms ‘serious injury’, ‘threat of serious injury’ and ‘transition period’ as referred to in Articles 104 and 105 of the Agreement should be defined.\n(6)\nSafeguard measures should be considered only if the product in question is imported into the Union in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to Union production, and under such conditions as to cause, or threaten to cause, serious injury to Union producers of like or directly competitive products as laid down in Article 104 of the Agreement.\n(7)\nSpecific safeguard provisions should be available in case the product in question is imported in such increased quantities and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious deterioration in the economic situation of any of the outermost regions as referred to in Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).\n(8)\nSafeguard measures should take one of the forms referred to in Article 104(2) of the Agreement.\n(9)\nThe tasks of following up and reviewing the Agreement, carrying out investigations and, if necessary, imposing safeguard measures should be carried out in the most transparent manner possible.\n(10)\nThe Commission should submit an annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of the Agreement and the application of the safeguard measures and the stabilisation mechanism for bananas.\n(11)\nThe challenges in Central America as regards human, social, labour and environmental rights in connection with products from that region require a close dialogue between the Commission and Union civil society organisations.\n(12)\nThe importance of complying with the international labour standards drawn up and supervised by the International Labour Organisation should be stressed.\n(13)\nThe Commission should monitor the observance by Central America of the social and environmental standards laid down in Title VIII of Part IV of the Agreement.\n(14)\nThere should be detailed provisions on the initiation of proceedings. The Commission should receive information including available evidence from the Member States of any trends in imports which might call for the application of safeguard measures.\n(15)\nThe reliability of statistics on all imports from Central America to the Union is therefore crucial to determining whether the conditions to apply safeguard measures are met.\n(16)\nIn some cases, an increase of imports concentrated in one or several of the Union's outermost regions or Member States may cause, or threaten to cause, serious deterioration or serious injury in their economic situation. In the event that there is an increase of imports concentrated in one or several of the Union's outermost regions or Member States, the Commission should be able to introduce prior surveillance measures.\n(17)\nIf there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding, the Commission should publish a notice as provided for in Article 111(3) of the Agreement in the Official Journal of the European Union.\n(18)\nThere should be detailed provisions on the initiation of investigations, access to and inspections by interested parties of the information gathered, hearings for the interested parties involved and the opportunities for those parties to submit their views as provided for in Article 111(3) of the Agreement.\n(19)\nThe Commission should notify Central America in writing of the initiation of an investigation and notify the results of the investigations to the Association Committee as provided for in Article 116 of the Agreement.\n(20)\nIt is also necessary, pursuant to Article 112 of the Agreement, to set time limits for the initiation of an investigation and for determinations as to whether or not safeguard measures are appropriate, with a view to ensuring that such determinations are made quickly, in order to increase legal certainty for the economic operators concerned.\n(21)\nAn investigation should precede the application of any safeguard measure, subject to the Commission being allowed to apply provisional safeguard measures in critical circumstances as referred to in Article 106 of the Agreement.\n(22)\nClose monitoring should facilitate a timely decision concerning the possible initiation of an investigation or imposition of measures. Therefore the Commission should regularly monitor imports of bananas from the date of application of the Agreement. Monitoring should be extended to other sectors upon a duly justified request.\n(23)\nThere should be a possibility to suspend swiftly for a maximum period of three months the preferential customs duties when imports exceed a defined annual trigger import volume. The decision whether or not to apply the stabilisation mechanism for bananas should take into account the stability of the Union market for bananas.\n(24)\nSafeguard measures should be applied only to the extent, and for such time, as may be necessary to prevent serious injury and to facilitate adjustment. The maximum duration of safeguard measures should be determined and specific provisions regarding extension and review of such measures should be laid down, as referred to in Article 105 of the Agreement.\n(25)\nThe Commission should enter into consultations with the Central American country affected by measures.\n(26)\nThe implementation of the bilateral safeguard clause and the stabilisation mechanism for bananas provided for in the Agreement requires uniform conditions for the adoption of provisional and definitive safeguard measures, for the imposition of prior surveillance measures, for the termination of an investigation without measures and for suspending temporarily the preferential customs duty established under the stabilisation mechanism for bananas that has been agreed with Central America. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, those measures should be adopted by the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers.\n(27)\nThe advisory procedure should be used for the adoption of surveillance and provisional safeguard measures given the effects of those measures and their sequential logic in relation to the adoption of definitive safeguard measures. Where a delay in the imposition of provisional safeguard measures would cause damage which would be difficult to repair, the Commission should adopt immediately applicable implementing acts.\n(28)\nGiven the nature and the relatively short duration of the measures foreseen under the stabilisation mechanism for bananas, and in order to prevent a negative impact on the situation of the Union market for bananas, the Commission should also adopt immediately applicable implementing acts for the temporary suspension of the preferential customs duty established under the stabilisation mechanism for bananas, or to determine that such temporary suspension is not appropriate. Where such immediately applicable implementing acts are applied, the advisory procedure should be used.\n(29)\nThe Commission should make diligent and effective use of the stabilisation mechanism for bananas in order to avoid a threat of serious deterioration or a serious deterioration for producers in the outermost regions in the Union. From 1 January 2020, the general bilateral safeguard mechanism, including the special provisions for outermost regions, remains applicable.\n(30)\nFor purposes of adopting the necessary implementing rules for the application of the rules contained in Appendix 2A of Annex II (Concerning the definition of the concept of 'originating products' and methods of administrative co-operation) and Appendix 2 of Annex I (Elimination of Customs Duties) to the Agreement, Article 247a of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code should be applied.\n(31)\nThis Regulation should apply only to products originating in the Union or in Central America,\nHAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "Position of the European Parliament of 11 December 2012 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 20 December 2012."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2013/20/introduction",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:48:54.564840+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}