Proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EEC) 1911/91 on the application of the provisions of Community law to the Canary Islands (COM(1999) 226 - C5-0127/1999 - 1999/0111(CNS))
C 189/272 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Friday 19 November 1999 having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0054/1999); 1. Approves the Commission proposal; Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parlia- 2. ment; Calls for the conciliation procedure to be initiated should the Council intend to depart from the text 3. approved by Parliament; Asks to be consulted again should the Council intend to amend the Commission proposal substan- 4. tially; 5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission. 5. Application of Community law to the Canary Islands * A5-0053/1999 Proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EEC) 1911/91 on the application of the provisions of Community law to the Canary Islands (COM(1999) 226 * C5-0127/1999 * 1999/ 0111(CNS)) The proposal was amended as follows: TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION (1) AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, in particular Article 299(2) thereof, (Amendment 1) First citation (Amendment 2) Recital 1a (new) (1a) Having regard to the Opinion of the European Par- liament of 17 May 1991 (1) on the application of the provi- sions of Community law to the Canary Islands, the opi- nions of the European Parliament of 7 April 1995 (2) and 15 January 1998 (3) and the resolution of the European Parliament of 24 April 1997 (4) on the status of the outer- most regions; (1) OJ C 158, 17. 6. 1991, p. 297. (2) OJ C 109, 1. 5. 1995, p. 316. (3) OJ C 34, 2. 2. 1998, p. 128. (4) OJ C 150, 19. 5. 1997, p. 62. (Amendment 3) Recital 1b (new) (1b) Having regard to the European Parliament resolu- tion of 11 February 1999 on relations between the Over- seas Countries and Territories (OCTs), the ACP States and the outermost regions of the European Union (1); (1) OJ C 150, 28. 5. 1999, p. 439. (1) OJ C 274 E, 28. 9. 1999, p. 8. 7. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 189/273 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Friday 19 November 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 4) Recital 1c (new) (1c) Whereas, by virtue of their remote location the Can- ary Islands encounter specific difficulties in competing in a unified internal market and whereas therefore the Community rules applicable to this region cannot be fully harmonised, and it is necessary to maintain the special tax provisions needed to ensure the competitiveness of a number of economic sectors which provide jobs in a region suffering from a high level of unemployment; (Amendment 5) Recital 1d (new) (1d) Whereas Article 5(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) 1911/91 (1) states that the tax on production and imports (APIM) will cease to apply in the Canary Islands as from 1 January 2001; (1) OJ L 171, 29. 6. 1991, p. 1. (Amendment 6) Recital 1e (new) (1e) Whereas, moreover, Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty, as amended by the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997, envisages maintaining special the outermost for arrangements regions, including special tax provisions; (Amendment 7) Recital 1f (new) (1f) Whereas the Commission has not yet submitted any proposals for these special arrangements and they are unli- kely to be adopted and to enter into force before 31 December 2000; (Amendment 8) Recital 1g (new) (1g) Whereas, therefore, it is reasonable to extend the validity of the APIM pending the adoption of new rules regulating the special tax provisions for all the outermost regions, in particular the Canaries; C 189/274 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Friday 19 November 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 9) Recital 1h (new) (1h) Whereas a future Commission proposal should result in the authorisation of a new tax in the Canary Islands aimed at ensuring the harmonious development of this particularly remote region; (Amendment 10) Recital 1i (new) (1i) Having regard to the recommendation from the European Council to the Council at the Cologne summit of June 1999 concerning the outermost regions; (Amendment 11) Recital 6 (6) Whereas the negative impact on output and employment nevertheless varies greatly according to the sector concerned; whereas, although the time that has elapsed has allowed most sectors to adjust, this is not the case for certain products in sensitive sectors; whereas the Commission has, at the request of the Spanish authorities, accordingly studied the most vulner- able sectors and identified the sensitive products, and has con- cluded that such vulnerability could in some cases lead to the virtual disappearance of the sector concerned; (6) Whereas, nevertheless, over the period of application of the APIM in the Canary Islands, following the calendar laid down for their integration into the customs union, the expected results for local production have not been achieved; whereas the negative impact on output and employ- ment varies greatly according to the sector concerned; whereas, although the time that has elapsed although the time that has elapsed has allowed most sectors to adjust, this is not the case for certain products in sensitive sectors; whereas the Commi- ssion has, at the request of the Spanish authorities, accordingly studied the most vulnerable sectors and identified the sensitive products, and has concluded that such vulnerability could in some cases lead to the virtual disappearance of the sector con- cerned; (Amendment 12) Recital 7a (new) (7a) Whereas the APIM has not altered matters in the Canary Islands as regards the effects of the tax, given that the need to ensure local production has, in the past, been met in the islands by means of various different taxes, both national and local, integrated into the islands’ specia1 tax regime; whereas these taxes have derived their raison d’être from their specific characteristics and the economic model permitted by them * circumstances which are today classified, at European level, as conferring most- remote region status; (Amendment 13) Recital 7b (new) (7b) Whereas the final outcome of this change will be a new kind of tax, unrelated to the process of integration of the Canary Islands, entailing the abolition of the APIM and the introduction of the CCT (common customs tariff); 7. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 189/275 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Friday 19 November 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 14) ARTICLE 1(1a) (new) Article 5(6a) (new) (Regulation (EEC) 1911/91) 1a. The following paragraph is added after Article 5(6): shall examine, no later The Commission, following consultation of the 6a. Spanish authorities, than 30 June 2000 and in the context of the specific Community fiscal policy measures established for the Canary Islands pursuant to Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty, the effects of the abolition of the APIM on the sectors affected. On the basis of this examination, the Commission may propose to the Council that the Spanish authorities shall be authorised to introduce a new tax, not related to the process of integration of the Canary Islands and having similar structural and operational characteristics to the APIM, which shall affect sensitive products utilised in local activities, with the aim of guaranteeing their development and preservation. (Amendment 19) Annex, ‘Miscellaneous foodstuffs’ section 0403 10, 0407 00 90, 0701 90, 0702, 0703, 0803, 0901 21 0901 90 90, 1101, 1601, 1602, 1704 90 71, 1806 (except 1806 20 95), 1901 90 99, 1902, 1904 10 10, 1905 10 00, 1905 20, 1905 30, 1905 40, 1905 90, 2002 10 90, 2002 10 90, 2002 90 91, 2007 91 10, 2007 99 39, 2008 99 61, 2008 99 68, 2101, 2103, 2105, 2106 90 98, 2309. 0403 10, 0407 00 90, 0701 90, 0702, 0703, 0803, 0901 21 0901 90 90, 1101, 1601, 1602, 1704 90 71, 1806 (except 1806 20 95), 1901 90 99, 1902, 1904 10 10, 1905 10 00, 1905 20, 1905 30, 1905 40, 1905 90, 2002 10 90, 2002 10 90, 2002 90 91, 2007 91 10, 2007 99 39, 2008 99 61, 2008 99 68, 2101, 2103, 2105, 2106 90 98, 2309. 0210 11 * Meat of swine, salted, smoked; edible flours and meals in brine, dried or 0406 * Cheese and curd, except 0406 90 76 00, 0406 90 78 00 and 0406 90 79 00 0603 * Cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh or dried 1507 90 90 00 * Other soya-bean oil, refined, but not chemically modified (only in containers of less than 5 litres) 1508 90 90 00 * Other groundnut oil, refined, but not chemically modified (only in containers of less than 5 litres) 1512 19 91 00 * Other sunflower-seed oil, refined, but not chemically modified (only in containers of less than 5 litres) 1514 90 90 00 * Other colza and mustard oil, refined, but not chemically modified (only in containers of less than 5 litres)/Other/Other 1515 29 90 00 * Maize (corn) oil and its fractions (only in containers of less than 5 litres)/Other/Other C 189/276 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Friday 19 November 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 15) Annex, new section at end Fishery products 1604 * Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar sub- stitutes prepared from fish eggs, except 1604 20 05 00 ‘Preparations of Surimi’ 1605 * Crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic inverte- brates, prepared or preserved (Amendment 16) Annex, new section at end Refined petroleum products: 2710 00 27 00 * Other spirits with a lead content not exceeding 0,013 g per litre with an octane number of less than 95 2710 00 29 00 * Other spirits with a lead content not exceeding 0,013 g per litre with an octane number of 95 or more but less than 98 2710 00 32 00 * Other spirits with a lead content not exceeding 0,013 g per litre with an octane number of 98 or more 2710 00 34 00 * Other spirits with a lead content exceed- ing 0,013 g per litre with an octane number of less than 98 2710 00 39 00 * Other light oils 2710 00 51 00 * Jet fuels 2710 00 55 00 * Medium oils/For other purposes/Kero- sene/Other 2710 00 66 * Heavy oils/Gas oils/For other purposes/With a sulphur content not exceeding 0,05 % by weight 2710 00 67 * … with a sulphur content exceeding 0,05 % by weight but not exceeding 0,2 % by weight 2710 00 68 * … with a sulphur content exceeding 0,2 % by weight 2710 00 72 00 * Fuel oils for undergoing chemical trans- formation by a process other than those specified in respect of subheading 2710 00 71 2710 00 74 00 * Fuel oils for other purposes with a sul- phur content not exceeding 1 % by weight 2710 00 76 00 * Fuel oils for other purposes with a sul- phur content exceeding 1 % by weight but not exceeding 2 % by weight 2710 00 77 00 * Fuel oils for other purposes with a sul- phur content exceeding 2 % by weight but not exceeding 2,8 % by weight 7. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 189/277 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Friday 19 November 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT 2710 00 78 00 * Fuel oils for other purposes with a sul- phur content exceeding 2,8 % by weight 2711 12 11 00 * Propane of a purity not less than 99 % for use as a power or heating fuel 2711 12 19 00 * Propane of a purity not less than 99 % for other purposes 2711 12 94 00 * Propane for undergoing chemical trans- formation by a process other than those specified in respect of subheadings 2711 12 91 for other purposes, of a purity exceeding 90 % but less than 99 % 2711 13 91 00 * Butanes for other purposes of a purity exceeding 90 % but less than 95 % 2711 13 97 00 * Butanes/For other purposes/Other 2713 20 00 00 * Petroleum bitumen 2713 90 90 00 * Other petroleum bitumens not included under previous headings 2715 00 90 00 * Other products which are not bitumi- nous mastics (Amendment 17) Annex, new section at end Construction materials: 2523 29 00 00 * Other Portland cement 2523 90 * Other cements 3916 90 * Monofilament/Of other plastics 3917 21 10 90 * Tubes, pipes and hoses, rigid, of poly- mers of ethylene, seamless 3917 23 * Tubes, pipes and hoses of polymers of vinyl chloride 3917 31 90 90 * Other flexible tubes, pipes and hoses, having a minimum burst pressure of 27,6 MPa 3917 32 35 90 * Other tubes, pipes and hoses/Other, not reinforced or otherwise combined with other materials, fittings/Other/Of addition polymerisation pro- without ducts/Of polymers of vinyl chloride 3917 39 15 90 * Other tubes, pipes and hoses/Other 3917 40 90 00 * Other fittings (Amendment 18) Annex, new section at end Beverages 2009 11 * Orange juice/Frozen 2009 40 * Pineapple juice C 189/278 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Friday 19 November 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT 2009 50 * Tomato juice 2009 70 * Apple juice 2009 80 * Juice of peaches, apricots, tropical fruits, pears 2009 90 * Mixtures of juices 2201 * Waters, including natural or artificial mineral waters and aerated waters, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured; ice and snow 2202 * Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added sugar or other sweetening mat- ter or flavoured, and other non-alcoholic beverages, not including fruit or vegetable juices of heading No 2009 2203 * Beer made from malt 2204 * Wine of fresh grapes 2208 40 * Rum 2208 50 * Gin and Genever 2208 60 * Vodka 2208 70 * Liqueurs and cordials European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) 1911/91 on the application of the provisions of Community law to the Canary Islands (COM(1999) 226 * C5-0127/1999 * 1999/0111(CNS) (Consultation procedure) The European Parliament, having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(1999) 226) (1), having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 25(4), first subparagraph of the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal (C5-0127/1999), having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0053/ 1999); 1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended; Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC 2. Treaty; Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parlia- 3. ment; Calls for the conciliation procedure to be initiated should the Council intend to depart from the text 4. approved by Parliament; 5. 6. Asks to be consulted again if the Council intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially; Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission. (1) OJ C 274 E, 28. 9. 1999, p. 8