(1)

By Commission Regulation (EC) No 1213/2008 (2) a first coordinated multiannual Community control programme, covering the years 2009, 2010 and 2011, was established. That programme continued under consecutive Commission Regulations. The latest one was Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/595 (3).

(2)

Thirty to forty foodstuffs constitute the major components of the diet in the Union. Since pesticide uses show significant changes over a period of 3 years, pesticides should be monitored in those foodstuffs over a series of 3-year cycles to allow consumer exposure and the application of Union legislation to be assessed.

(3)

The European Food Safety Authority, hereinafter ‘the Authority’, submitted a scientific report on a design assessment of the pesticide monitoring program. It concluded that an MRL exceedance rate above 1 % could be estimated with a margin of error of 0,75 % by selecting 683 sample units for minimum 32 different food items (4). Collection of those samples should be apportioned among Member States according to population numbers, with a minimum of 12 samples per product and per year.

(4)

Analytical results from the previous official control programmes of the Union have been taken into account to ensure that the range of pesticides covered by the control programme is representative for the pesticides used.

(5)

Guidance concerning ‘Analytical quality control and validation procedures for pesticide residues analysis in food and feed’ is published on the Commission website (5).

(6)

Where the residue definition of a pesticide includes other active substances, metabolites, breakdown or reaction products, those compounds should be reported separately as far as they are measured individually.

(7)

Implementing measures, such as the Standard Sample Description (SSD) (6) (7) for submitting results of pesticide residues analysis, relating to the submission of information by Member States have been agreed by Member States, the Commission and the European Food Safety Authority.

(8)

For the sampling procedures, Commission Directive 2002/63/EC (8), which incorporates the sampling methods and procedures recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, should apply.

(9)

It is necessary to assess whether maximum residue levels for food for infants and young children provided for in Article 10 of Commission Directive 2006/141/EC (9) and Article 7 of Commission Directive 2006/125/EC (10) are respected, taking into account only the residue definitions as they are set out in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005.

(10)

As regards single residue methods, Member States may be able to meet their obligations of analysis by having recourse to official laboratories already having the validated methods required.

(11)

Member States should submit by 31 August of each year the information concerning the previous calendar year.

(12)

In order to avoid any confusion due to an overlap between consecutive multiannual programmes, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/595 should be repealed in the interest of legal certainty. It should, however, continue to apply to samples tested in 2016.

(13)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 12(6) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (2). That period should be set at three months.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 12(6) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (2). That period should be set at three months.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 12(6) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (2). That period should be set at 3 months.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific provisions of the Union, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN code indicated in column (2), by virtue of the reasons set out in column (3) of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information issued in respect of the goods concerned by this Regulation which does not conform to this Regulation may, for a certain period, continue to be invoked by the holder in accordance with Article 12(6) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (2). That period should be set at 3 months.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 2368/2002 provides for a list of Member States' competent authorities to be maintained by the Commission in Annex III.

(2)

The contact details for the Kimberley Process Authorities in Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom have to be rectified.

(3)

Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 2368/2002 should be amended accordingly,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1484/95 (3) lays down detailed rules for implementing the system of additional import duties and fixes representative prices in the poultrymeat and egg sectors and for egg albumin.

(2)

Regular monitoring of the data used to determine representative prices for poultrymeat and egg products and for egg albumin shows that the representative import prices for certain products should be amended to take account of variations in price according to origin.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1484/95 should be amended accordingly.

(4)

Given the need to ensure that this measure applies as soon as possible after the updated data have been made available, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication,

(1)

Article 4(2) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 (2) sets the maximum number of amendments to rural development programmes that Member States may submit to the Commission. Specific rules should apply where support has the form of a financial instrument, in order to give Member States the flexibility which is needed in the implementation of the financial instrument. Therefore the maximum number of programme amendments should not apply to the amendments related to programming of financial instruments.

(2)

Article 9 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 establishes rules for conversion of units, including provisions on the conversion rates of various categories of animals to livestock units. It should be clarified that such conversion rates apply not only to commitments for the rearing of local breeds in danger of being lost to farming but to all livestock-related commitments under Articles 28, 29 and 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.

(3)

Point 8(2) of Part 1 and point 5(2) of Part 2 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 lay down certain rules on the description of the measures in rural development programmes and in national frameworks. Specific rules should apply where support has the form of a financial instrument, in order to give Member States the flexibility which is needed in the implementation of the financial instrument.

(4)

Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 defines the conversion rates of animals to livestock units referred to in Article 9 and provides that those conversion rates may be increased for all categories included in the table and decreased for other poultry, taking into account scientific evidence to be explained and duly justified in the rural development programmes. Member States should be given the possibility to decrease those conversion rates not only for ‘other poultry’ but for all categories included in the table where it is justified and based on scientific evidence.

(5)

Point 2.2 of Part 1 of Annex III to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 establishes minimum requirements for information and publicity actions by the beneficiaries during the implementation of an operation. Point 2.2(b) provides for different requirements according to the total public support. In the interest of ensuring proportionate and harmonised requirements, a single threshold should be set at EUR 50 000. In addition, taking into account the particular nature of the area and animal related measures and of other measures which do not concern investments, Member States should be allowed to decide if these measures should be concerned by the information obligations.

(6)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Rural Development Committee,

(1)

in the third subparagraph of Article 4(2), the following point (e) is added:

(2)

Article 9 is replaced by the following:

(3)

Annex I is amended as set out in Annex I to this Regulation;

(4)

Annex II is replaced by the text in Annex II to this Regulation;

(5)

Annex III is amended as set out in Annex III to this Regulation.

(1)

According to Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2015/478 prior Union surveillance may be introduced where the trend in imports of a product threatens to cause injury to Union producers and where the interest of the Union so require. Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2015/755 also allows for the possibility to introduce prior surveillance where the Union's interests so require.

(2)

The European Commission has published a communication on 16 March 2016 setting out possibilities how to overcome the recent challenges faced by the European steel producers (3).

(3)

Imports into the Union of iron and steel products in general increased by 32 % between 2012 and 2015, from 41,8 million tonnes to 55,0 million tonnes. During the same period, prices of overall steel imports decreased by 17 %. On the other hand, Union exports of steel products decreased by almost 20 % on average, from 62,3 in 2012 to 50,7 million tonnes in 2015 (4).

(4)

The trends are even more marked for the steel products which were previously subject to prior Union surveillance until 2012 (5). For these products, imports increased by 53 % over the same period, from 13,3 million tonnes in 2012 to 20,2 million tonnes in 2015, and the corresponding import prices dropped by 22 % on average (6).

(5)

Since the early 2000s the capacity to produce steel at global level has increased rapidly with most of the new capacity created in the People's Republic of China (‘China’). The world's nominal steelmaking capacity was estimated to reach 2 243 million tonnes in 2014, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (‘OECD’), a level that is more than twice as high as the capacity level of 1 060 million tonnes observed in 2000.

(6)

In parallel, overall exports increased dramatically mainly from China, due to the overall economic downturn and the decreasing domestic demand. This has depressed the steel prices worldwide. China is today the first world producer of steel with 822,7 million tonnes crude steel production in 2014 (7), which is almost half of the global steel production. The Chinese excess capacity is estimated to be around 350 million tonnes (8). This represents about 40 % of China's production and almost double of the total Union yearly production of steel.

(7)

Already in 2015 10 % of the Chinese exports reached the Union, accounting for more than 30 % of total Union imports. As a consequence, the modest rise of Union domestic demand was fully taken by imports. Given the fact that the Union is an important market for steel in terms of size and price, it is more than likely that any excess in steel capacity will continue to be re-directed to the Union.

(8)

At the same time, access to third country markets has been reduced to a significant extent recently. Governments increasingly resort to trade policy actions in response to the crisis facing the global steel industry and many economies that previously did not use such measures are now adopting them. These measures took different forms of trade barriers, including tariff increases, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures, and concern markets with a significant share of the global consumption (9). This is further increasing the possibilities of trade diversion of steel into the Union.

(9)

Union steel industry remains a world leader in the highly technologically specialised product segment. However, the Union steel makers' competitive position on the global steel market has deteriorated in the last few years. Indeed, the financial performance of the Union steel industry has been deteriorating rapidly in the recent years. Average operating profitability is below sustainable levels, investments have been slowing down, employment levels have decreased and there is hardly any room for expansion. The Union industry has to face high energy costs and dependence on imported raw material.

(10)

Furthermore, even though the production of crude steel in the Union remained relatively stable in the period 2013-2015 at around 166 to 169 million tonnes per year, during the second semester of 2015 there was a significant contraction of around 10 % as compared to the first semester.

(11)

On the basis of recent trends in imports of steel products, of the current vulnerable situation of the Union industry, the continuing weak demand on the Union market and the likelihood that current and future excess capacity would be re-directed to Union if demand recovers, a threat of injury to Union producers is therefore deemed to exist.

(12)

Thus, the Union interest requires that imports of certain steel products should be subject to prior Union surveillance in order to provide advanced statistical information permitting rapid analysis of import trends from all non-EU member countries. Rapid and anticipated trade data is necessary to deal with the vulnerability of the EU steel market to sudden changes on world steel markets. This is particularly important in the present crisis situation marked by uncertainties as to whether the demand will structurally pick up and whether the EU industry will actually benefit from it.

(13)

In view of the developments on the market of certain steel products, it is appropriate that the scope of the prior surveillance includes the products listed in Annex I to this Regulation.

(14)

The completion of the internal market requires that the formalities to be accomplished by any importer into the Union should be identical wherever the goods may be cleared.

(15)

In order to facilitate the collection of data, the release for free circulation of the products covered by this Regulation should be made subject to presentation of a surveillance document meeting uniform criteria. This requirement shall start to apply 21 working days after the entry into force of this Regulation in order not to prevent the release for free circulation of products on their way to the Union and to allow sufficient time to importers to request the necessary documents.

(16)

That document should, on simple application by the importer, be endorsed by the authorities of the Member States within a certain period but without the importer thereby acquiring any right to import. The document should therefore be valid only as long as the import rules remain unchanged.

(17)

The surveillance documents issued for the purposes of prior Union surveillance should be valid throughout the Union, regardless of the Member State of issue.

(18)

The Member States and the Commission should exchange the information resulting from prior Union surveillance as fully as possible.

(19)

The issue of surveillance documents, while subject to standard conditions at Union level, is to be the responsibility of the national authorities.

(20)

In order to minimise unnecessary constraints and not disturb excessively the activities of companies close to the borders, imports whose net weight does not exceed 2 500 kg should be excluded from the application of this Regulation.

(21)

The Union has very close economic integration with Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein within the European Economic Area (‘EEA’). Furthermore, pursuant to the EEA Agreement EEA Members do, in principle, not apply trade defence measures in their mutual relations. For those reasons, products originating in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein should be excluded from the application of this Regulation,

(1)

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 lays down, pursuant to the outcome of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations, the criteria whereby the Commission fixes the standard values for imports from third countries, in respect of the products and periods stipulated in Annex XVI, Part A thereto.

(2)

The standard import value is calculated each working day, in accordance with Article 136(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011, taking into account variable daily data. Therefore this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,