THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) and in particular Article 187, in conjunction with Article 4 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
The world market prices for sugar have been at a constant high level during the first months of the 2010/2011 marketing year, which has slowed down the pace of imports in particular from third countries benefiting from certain preferential agreements.
(2)
Confronted with this situation, the Commission recently adopted a series of measures with the purpose to bring additional supply to the Union market. Those measures included Commission Regulation (EU) No 222/2011 of 3 March 2011 laying down exceptional measures as regards the release of out-of-quota sugar and isoglucose on the Union market at reduced surplus levy during marketing year 2010/2011, which increased the combined availability of sugar and isoglucose on the Union market by 526 000 tonnes, and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 302/2011 of 28 March 2011 opening an exceptional import tariff quota for certain quantities of sugar in the 2010/11 marketing year, which suspended the import duties for sugar falling within CN 1701 for a quantity of 300 000 tonnes.
(3)
Imports of sugar under Inward Processing in accordance with chapter 3 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code have been reduced and the processing industry has increased the use of quota sugar in exported products. Those developments have maintained the tight supply situation on the Union market, which threaten to cause undersupply during the last months of the marketing year, until the arrival of the new harvest.
(4)
The high prices on the world market for sugar therefore threaten the availability of supply on the Union market. For that reason and with the view to increasing the supply, it is necessary to make imports easier through the reduction of the import duty for certain quantities of sugar. That quantity and the reduction of the duty should be assessed in the light of the current state and foreseeable development of the Union and world sugar market. The quantity and reduction should therefore be based on a tendering system.
(5)
The minimum eligibility requirements to tender should be specified.
(6)
A security should be lodged for each tender. That security should become the security for the import licence application in the case of a successful tender and be released when a tender is unsuccessful.
(7)
The competent authorities of the Member States should notify the Commission of the admissible tenders. In order to simplify and standardise those notifications, models should be made available.
(8)
For each partial invitation to tender, provision should be made for the Commission to fix a minimum customs duty and, if appropriate, an allocation coefficient in order to reduce the quantities accepted, or to decide not to fix a minimum customs duty.
(9)
Member States should inform the tenderers of the result of their participation in the partial invitation to tender within a short period.
(10)
The competent authorities should notify the Commission of the quantities for which import licenses have been issued. For this purpose, models should be made available by the Commission.
(11)
The Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its Chair,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: