WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3729/97 by Daniel VARELA SUANZES- CARPEGNA to the Commission. Opening of a reduced tariff quota of 1000 tonnes for 'loin' fillets of tuna
C 196/12 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 6. 98 The specific problems of good faith and the standardisation of action taken by Member States in relation to recovery are given precise answers in that communication. With regard to ágood faithí, the Commission is naturally obliged to comply with the findings of the Court of Justice namely, that confidence in the validity of the certificate of origin is not normally protected. This means that its validity may be contested if, for example, the goods to which it relates were not obtained in compliance with the criteria of origin. Likewise, however reliable the authorities issuing certificates of origin in a non-member country, the ability to contest their validity is still necessary, should fraud occur after a certificate is issued (e. g. attempted importation into the Community of a good other than that exported). To the Court of Justice (2), all these points constitute, among others, a normal commercial risk. Action by the Member States lacks the desired uniformity because the Community does not have a single customs administration. The Commission will attempt to improve the situation either by means of a horizontal instrument, or under Decision No 210/97/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 19 December 1996 adopting an action programme for customs in the Community (Customs 2000) (3). (1) COM(97) 402 final. (2) Case of Van Gend & Loos NV; Joined cases 98/83 and 230/83; Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities of 13 November 1994. See also, however, Faroe Seafood › Joined cases C 153/94 and C 204/94 › Judgment of 14 May 1997. (3) OJ L 33, 4. 2. 1997. (98/C 196/19) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3729/97 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (21 November 1997) Subject: Opening of a reduced tariff quota of 1000 tonnes for áloiní fillets of tuna Regulation (EC) No 702/97 (1) of 14 April 1997 provided for the opening of an autonomous Community tariff quota for certain fishery products. The regulation provided for the entry of 1000 tonnes of áloiní fillets of tuna from third countries at half the normal customs duty. Will the Commission say why this possibility was opened to countries which enjoy generalized preferences and agreements such as the Convention of Lome·? Was this an exceptional measure or is it likely to be repeated in the near future? (1) OJ L 104, 22. 4. 1997, p. 8. (98/C 196/20) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3730/97 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (21 November 1997) Subject: Tuna supplies as raw material for the Community processing industry Bearing in mind that the production of tuna and áloiní fillets of tuna in the ACP and OCT countries which benefit from the provisions of the Lome· Convention, as well as the countries of the Andean Pact and Central American Common Market included under the GSP, can be used to supply the Community processing industry with fresh fish, given the shortages experienced in recent times, does the Commission consider that the tariff quota levels for this product are adequate to enable these countries to supply the Community ás fish processing industry, or should they be increased?