18.10.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2263/2000 of 13 October 2000 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclatureand on the Common Customs Tariff THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 (1), and in particular Articles 9 and 12 thereof, Whereas: (1) Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 established a goods nomenclature, hereinafter called the ‘Combined Nomenclature’, to meet, at one and the same time, the requirements of the Common Customs Tariff, the exter- nal trade statistics of the Community and other Com- munity policies concerning the importation or expor- tation of goods. (2) The combined Nomenclature is reproduced in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 together with the autonomous and the conventional duty rates and the statistical supplementary units. (3) It is appropriate to modernise and to simplify Annex I as envisaged by the SLIM initiative (Simpler legislation for the internal market). (4) It is necessary to amend the Combined Nomenclature to take account of: 1. changes in requirements relating to statistics and to commercial policy; 2. technological or commercial developments; 3. the need for alignment or clarification of texts. () OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p.1, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1264/2000, OJ L 144, 17.6.2000, p. 6). (5) Following the adoption of Council Regulation (EC) No 254/2000 (?) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and the Com- mon Customs Tariff, and in particular Article 1 thereof, the presentation of Annex I has been rationalised and simplified by having one column reflecting the conven- tional duty rates with an indication in a footnote of the autonomous duty rate whenever such a rate is lower than the conventional duty rate. (6) Annex I includes adjustments of duty rates resulting from measures adopted by the Council, including Deci- sion 94/800/EC of 22 December 1994 concerning the conclusion on behalf of the European Community, as regards matters within its competence, of the agree- ments reached in the Uruguay Round multilateral nego- tiations (1986 to 1994), Council Regulation (EC) No 3093/95 of 22 December 1995 laying down the rates of duty to be applied by the Community resulting from negotiations under GATT Article XXIV:6 (consequent upon the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden to the European Union) as well as measures adopted by the Council or the Commission (3). () OJL 28, 3.2.2000, p 16. () Incorporated in Annex I to this Regulation are amendments resulting from the adoption of the following measures: — Council Decision (EC) No 96/611 of 16 September 1996 (O] L 271, 24.10.1996, p. 31), — Council Decisions 97/359/EC and 97/360/EC of 24 March 1997 (OJ L 155, 12.6.1997, p. 1), — Council Regulation (EC) No 2216/97 of 3 November 1997 (O] L 305, 8.11.1997, p. 1), — Commission Regulation (EC) No 2472/97 of 11 December 1997 (OJ L 341, 12.12.1997, p. 25), — Council Regulation (EC) No 1110/1999 of 10 May 1999 (OJ L 135, 29.5.1999,p. 1), — Commission Regulation (EC) No 2626/1999 of 14 December 1999 (OJ L 321, 14.12.1999, p. 3), — Council Regulation (EC) No 1264/2000 of 8 June 2000 (O] L 144, 17.6.2000, p.6).