15. 12. 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 322/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 3036/94 of 8 December 1994 establishing economic outward processing arrangements applicable to certain textiles and clothing products reimported into the Community after working or processing in certain third countries THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas the import arrangements in the Community for the textile and clothing sectors as regards certain third countries contain specific measures applicable to products resulting from outward processing operations ; Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 636/82(") created economic outward processing arrangements applicable to certain textile and clothing products reimported into the Community after working or processing in certain third countries ; ' Whereas the policy followed by the Community is intended in particular to enable the textile and clothing industry to adapt to the conditions of international competition ; whereas these new outward processing arrangements must fit in with efforts to increase the competitiveness of Community industry and must there- fore not only be reserved for that industry but also be granted only to undertakings which make, in the Community, products at the same stage of manufacture as those which are intended to be reimported after outward processing, without prejudice, however, to the rights of persons who do not fulfil the conditions of this Regula- tion to whom derogations may be granted up to the total quantities imported under specific arrangements during one of the two years preceding the entry into force of this Regulation, for products which are not different in character and use; (") OJ No L 76, 20. 3. 1982, p. 1. Regulation as amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal. Whereas the creation of the Internal Market in 1993 entails an area without frontiers in which, in particular, the free movement of goods will be ensured ; whereas this entails, inter alia, the abolition of controls at internal frontiers and the elimination of disparities as regards import arrangements, as well as the option of reimporting compensating products into a Member State other than that in which the prior authorization was granted ; Whereas trade in textile and clothing products should be in line with the functioning of the said Internal Market, in particular as regards the application of the economic outward processing arrangements for textiles ; Whereas the earlier regional outward processing quotas have been replaced as from 1 January 1993 by a system of Community quotas not allocated between Member States ; Whereas the competent authorities of Member States should continue to issue prior authorizations to applicants wanting to make use of outward processing, but, in doing so, should communicate to the Commission the quanti- ties requested, in order to verify whether those quantities are available within the total limits established at Community level; Whereas quantities should be allocated by maximum tranches and the applications for a new tranche should be possible only when the previously allocated tranche has been utilized by at least 50 % ; Whereas the criteria and conditions which Member State operators must observe in order to qualify under these arrangements are not at present applied uniformly throughout the Community ; Whereas, therefore, the rules for implementation of these criteria and conditions have to be harmonized in order to allow access to outward processing under conditions common to the whole Community, especially in respect of the definition of ‘beneficiary’, of the term ‘similar