2005/431/EC, Euratom: Council and Commission Decision of 25 April 2005 on the conclusion of the Additional Protocol to the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic to the European Union

The Additional Protocol to the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic to the European Union, is hereby approved. The text of the Additional Protocol is attached to this Decision.

The Commission shall adopt detailed rules for the implementation of the Additional Protocol in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 4(2).

1 The order numbers as attributed to the tariff quotas in the Annex to this Decision may be changed by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 4(2). Tariff quotas with an order number above 09.5100 shall be administered by the Commission in accordance with Articles 308a, 308b and 308c 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 .

2 Quantities of goods subject to tariff quotas and released for free circulation as from 1 July 2004 under the concessions provided for in Annex A(b) to the Protocol approved under Decision 2003/18/EC shall be fully counted against the quantities provided for in the fourth column in Annex A(b) to the Additional Protocol attached to this Decision, except for quantities for which import licences were issued before 1 July 2004.

1 The Commission shall be assisted by the Management Committee for Sugar as set up in Article 42 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector or, where appropriate, by the committee instituted by the relevant provisions of the other Regulations on the common organisation of agricultural markets.

2 Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply. The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Council Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.

3 The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person empowered to sign the Additional Protocol on behalf of the European Community.

The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the European Community and its Member States, give the notification provided for in Article 9 of the Additional Protocol. The President of the Commission shall give such notification on behalf of the European Atomic Energy Community.

The Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as ‘the new Member States’) shall be Parties to the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 1 February 1993 and entered into force on 1 February 1995 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Europe Agreement’) and shall respectively adopt and take note, in the same manner as the other Member States of the Community, of the texts of the Europe Agreement, as well as of the Agreements in the form of an Exchange of Letters, the Joint Declarations, and the Unilateral Declarations annexed to the Final Act signed on the same date.

To take account of recent institutional developments within the European Union, the Parties agree that, following expiry of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), existing provisions in the Europe Agreement referring to the European Coal and Steel Community shall be deemed to refer to the European Community, which has taken over all rights and obligations contracted by the European Coal and Steel Community.

The arrangements for import into the Community applicable to certain agricultural products originating in Romania as set out in Annexes A(a) and A(b) and the arrangements for import into Romania applicable to certain agricultural products originating in the Community, as set out in Annexes B(a) and B(b) to this Protocol, shall replace those set out in the Europe Agreement, as amended by the Protocol adjusting the trade aspects of the Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part, to take account of the outcome of negotiations between the parties on new mutual agricultural concessions .

‘1 Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 2(1), products shall be considered as originating in the Community if such products are obtained there, incorporating materials originating in Romania, Switzerland (including Liechtenstein) (1), Iceland, Norway, Bulgaria, Turkey (2), or in the Community in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol on rules of origin annexed to the Agreements between the Community and each of these countries, provided that the working or processing carried out in the Community goes beyond the operations referred to in Article 7. It shall not be necessary that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing.’;

‘1 Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 2(2), products shall be considered as originating in Romania if such products are obtained there, incorporating materials originating in Romania, Switzerland (including Liechtenstein) (3), Iceland, Norway, Bulgaria, Turkey (4), or in the Community in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol on rules of origin annexed to the Agreements between Romania and each of these countries, provided that the working or processing carried out in Romania goes beyond the operations referred to in Article 7. It shall not be necessary that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing.’;

The text of Article 86 on monetary policy shall be replaced with the following: ‘At the request of Romanian authorities, the Community shall provide technical assistance designed to support the efforts of Romania towards the gradual approximation of its policies to those of the Economic and Monetary Union. This will include informal exchange of information concerning the principles and the functioning of the Economic and Monetary Union.’.

1 Proofs of origin properly issued by either Romania or a new Member State in the framework of preferential agreements applied between them shall be accepted in the respective countries provided that: (a) the acquisition of such origin confers preferential tariff treatment on the basis of the preferential tariff measures contained in the Europe Agreement; (b) the proof of origin and the transport documents were issued no later than the day before the date of accession; (c) the proof of origin is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession. Where goods were declared for importation in either Romania or a new Member State, prior to the date of accession, under preferential agreements or autonomous arrangements applied between Romania and that new Member State at that time, proof of origin issued retrospectively under those agreements or arrangements may also be accepted provided that it is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession.

2 Romania and the new Member States are authorised to retain the authorisations with which the status of ‘approved exporters’ has been granted in the framework of preferential agreements or autonomous arrangements applied between them, provided that: (a) such a provision is also provided for in the agreement concluded prior to the date of accession between Romania and the Community; and (b) the approved exporter apply the rules of origin in force under that agreement. These authorisations shall be replaced no later than one year after the date of accession, by new authorisations issued under the conditions of the Europe Agreement.

3 Requests for subsequent verification of proof of origin issued under the preferential agreements or autonomous arrangements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall be accepted by the competent customs authorities of either Romania or the Member States for a period of three years after the issue of the proof of origin concerned and may be made by those authorities for a period of three years after acceptance of the proof of origin submitted to those authorities in support of an import declaration.

1 The provisions of the Europe Agreement shall be applied to goods exported from either Romania to one of the new Member States or from one of the new Member States to Romania, which comply with the provisions of Protocol 4 on rules of origin to the Europe Agreement and that on the date of accession are either en route or in temporary storage, in a customs warehouse or in a free zone in Romania or in that new Member State.

2 Preferential treatment shall be granted in such cases, subject to the submission to the customs authorities of the importing country, within four months of the date of accession, of a proof of origin issued retrospectively by the customs authorities of the exporting country.

This Protocol and the Annexes thereto shall form an integral part of the Europe Agreement.

1 This Protocol shall be approved by the Community, by the Council of the European Union on behalf of the Member States, and by Romania in accordance with their own procedures.

2 The Parties shall notify each other of the accomplishment of the corresponding procedures referred to in the preceding paragraph. The instruments of approval shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.

This Protocol shall enter into force on the first day of the first month following the date of the deposit of the last notification of the approval by the Contracting Parties.

This Protocol is drawn up in duplicate in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, and Swedish languages and the Romanian language, each of these texts being equally authentic.

The text of the Europe Agreement, including the Annexes and Protocols forming an integral part thereof, and the Final Act together with the declarations annexed thereto shall be drawn up in the Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Slovak and Slovene languages, and these texts shall be authentic in the same way as the original texts. The Association Council shall approve these texts.