L 83/16 Official Journal of the European Union 27.3.2015 REGULATION (EU) 2015/478 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 March 2015 on common rules for imports (codification) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (}), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (), Whereas: (1)  Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 (}) has been substantially amended (). In the interests of clarity and rationality, that Regulation should be codified. (2)  The common commercial policy should be based on uniform principles. (3)  The European Community concluded the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO’). Annex 1A to that Agreement contains, inter alia, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (‘GATT 1994’) and an Agreement on Safeguards. (4)  The Agreement on Safeguards meets the need to clarify and reinforce the disciplines of GATT 1994, and specifically those of Article XIX. That Agreement requires the elimination of safeguard measures which escape those rules, such as voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing arrangements and any other similar import or export arrangements. (5)  The Agreement on Safeguards also covers coal and steel products. The common rules for imports, especially as regards safeguard measures, therefore also apply to those products without prejudice to any possible measures to apply an agreement specifically concerning coal and steel products. (6)  The textile products covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 (°) are subject to special treatment at Union and international level. They should therefore be excluded from the scope of this Regulation. (7)  The Commission should be informed by the Member States of any danger created by trends in imports which might call for Union surveillance or the application of safeguard measures. (8)  In such instances the Commission should examine the terms and conditions under which imports occur, the trend in imports, the various aspects of the economic and trade situations and, where appropriate, the measures to be applied. (9)  If prior Union surveillance is applied, release for free circulation of the products concerned should be made subject to presentation of a surveillance document meeting uniform criteria. That document should, on simple application by the importer, be issued by the authorities of the Member States within a certain period but without the importer thereby acquiring any right to import. The surveillance document should therefore be valid only during such period as the import rules remain unchanged. (*) Opinion of 10 December 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () Position of the European Parliament ofP 11 February 2015 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 2 March 2015. (}) Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the common rules for imports (O] L 84, 31.3.2009, p. 1). () See AnnexII. () Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports of textile products from certain third countries not covered by bilateral agreements, protocols or other arrangements, or by other specific Community import rules (O] L 67, 10.3.1994, p-1).