14.2.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L 421 | (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 247/2006 of 30 January 2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 36, 37 and 299(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (%), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (2), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (%), Whereas: The particular geographical situation of the outermost regions imposes additional transport costs in supplying products which are essential for human consumption, for processing or as agricultural inputs. In addition, objective factors arising as a result of insularity and remoteness impose further constraints on economic operators and producers in the outermost regions that severely handicap their activities. In certain cases, operators and producers suffer from double insularity. These handicaps can be alleviated by lowering the price of these essential products. It is therefore appropriate to introduce specific supply arrangements to guarantee supply to the outermost regions and compensate for the additional costs arising from their remoteness, insularity and distant location. (") Not yet published in the Official Journal. () See footnote 1. () O] C 231, 20.9.2005, p. 75. 2 To that end, notwithstanding Article 23 of the Treaty, imports of certain agricultural products from third countries should be exempt from the applicable import duties. To take account of their origin and the customs treatment accorded to them under the Community provisions, products which have entered the Commu- nity’s customs territory under inward processing or customs warchousing arrangements should be considered as direct imports, for the purpose of granting the benefits of the specific supply arrangements. In order to achieve the goal of lowering prices in the outermost regions and mitigating the additional costs of their remoteness, insularity and distant location while maintaining the competitiveness of Community products, aid should be granted for the supply of products of Community origin to the outermost regions. Such aid should take account of the additional cost of transport to the outermost regions and the prices applied to exports to third countries and, in the case of agricultural inputs and products intended for processing, the additional costs of insularity and distant location. Since the quantities covered by the specific supply arrangements are limited to the supply requirements of the outermost regions, those arrangements do not impair the proper functioning of the internal market. Nor should the economic advantages of the specific supply arrangements provoke diversions of trade in the products concerned. Dispatching or exportation of those products from the outermost regions should therefore be prohibited. However, dispatch or exportation of those products should be authorised where the advantage resulting from the specific supply arrangements is reim- bursed or, in the case of processed products, to permit regional trade or trade between the two Portuguese outermost regions. Account should also be taken of traditional trade flows with third countries in all the outermost regions, and exports of processed products corresponding to traditional exports for all those regions should accordingly be authorised. Nor should the restriction apply to the traditional dispatching of processed products. For the sake of clarity, the reference period for defining those traditionally exported or dispatched quantities should be specified.