Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 31 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

In order to ensure the sufficient and uninterrupted supply of certain goods insufficiently produced in the Union and to avoid any disturbances on the market for certain agricultural and industrial products, autonomous tariff quotas have been opened by Council Regulation (EU) No 1388/2013^f1. Products falling within those tariff quotas can be imported into the Union at reduced or zero duty rates. For the reasons indicated, it is necessary to open, with effect from 1 January 2015, tariff quotas at zero duty rates for an appropriate volume as regards nine additional products.

In certain cases, the existing autonomous tariff quotas of the Union should be adapted. In the case of three products, it is necessary to amend the product description for clarification purposes and in order to take into account the most recent product developments. In the case of seven other products, the TARIC codes should be amended as a result of CN and classification changes. In the case of another product, the quota volume needs to be increased in the interest of economic operators of the Union. Also, for reasons of clarity one quota period should be specified and one order number should be changed.

In the case of one product, the autonomous tariff quota of the Union should be closed with effect from 1 January 2015 as it is not in the Union's interest to continue granting it as from that date.

Tariff quotas should be reviewed regularly with the possibility of deletion at the request of a party concerned.

Due to the number of amendments to be made in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 1388/2013, in the interests of clarity that Annex should be replaced.

Regulation (EU) No 1388/2013 should therefore be amended accordingly.

As some of the amendments to the tariff quotas provided for in this Regulation should take effect from 1 January 2015, this Regulation should apply from that date and enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: