Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 510/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 laying down the trade arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 1216/2009 and (EC) No 614/2009^f1, and in particular Article 16(1)(a) thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 2004/859/EC of 25 October 2004 concerning the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Kingdom of Norway on Protocol 2 to the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Norway^f2, and in particular Article 3 thereof,

Whereas:

The Decision of the EEA joint committee No 140/2001 of 23 November 2001 amending Protocols 2 and 3 to the EEA Agreement, concerning processed and other agricultural products^f3 determines the trade arrangements between the Union and the Kingdom of Norway for certain agricultural and processed agricultural products between the Contracting Parties.

The Decision of the EEA joint committee No 140/2001 provides for a zero rate of duty for waters containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured, classified under CN code 2202 10 00, and other non-alcoholic beverages not containing products of headings 0401 to 0404 or fat obtained from products of headings 0401 to 0404, classified under CN codes 2202 91 00 and 2202 99.

The Union zero rate of duty for those waters and those other beverages has temporarily been suspended for Norway, for an undetermined period of time, by the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Kingdom of Norway concerning Protocol 2 to the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Norway^f4 (‘the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters’). In accordance with the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters, duty-free imports of goods with CN codes 2202 10 00, ex 2202 91 00 and ex 2202 99 that originate in Norway are to be allowed only within the limits of a duty-free quota. A duty is to be paid for imports that exceed that duty-free quota.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1968^f5 opening a tariff quota for the year 2019 for the import into the Union of certain goods originating in Norway resulting from the processing of agricultural products covered by Regulation (EU) No 510/2014 opened a tariff quota for the year 2019 for the import into the Union of goods originating in Norway and classified under CN codes 2202 10 00, ex 2202 91 00 and ex 2202 99.

The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters requires that if the tariff quota laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1968 has been exhausted by 31 October 2019, the tariff quota applicable from 1 January of the following year is to be increased by 10 %.

The annual tariff quota for 2019 for the waters and beverages in question, opened by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1968, and which was of a volume of 20,936 million litres, was exhausted on 4 September 2019. Therefore, an increased annual tariff quota should be opened for the waters and beverages in question for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020. In line with the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters, the quota for 2020 should therefore be opened for a 10 % higher volume, which is 23,029 million litres.

The tariff quota opened by this Regulation should be managed in accordance with the relevant rules laid down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447^f6.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on horizontal questions concerning trade in processed agricultural products not listed in Annex I,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: