Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3165 of 18 December 2024 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 499/96 as regards Union tariff quotas for certain fish and fishery products originating in Iceland

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 499/96 of 19 March 1996, opening and providing for the administration of tariff quotas for certain fish and fishery products originating in Iceland (1), and in particular Article 5(1), points (a) and (d), thereof,

Whereas:

(1) By Decision of 21 April 2016 (2), the Council authorised the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Agreement between the European Union, Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway on an EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, the Agreement between the Kingdom of Norway and the European Union on a Norwegian Financial Mechanism for the period 2014-2021, the Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Norway and the Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and Iceland (‘the 2016-2021 Additional Protocol’).

(2) The 2016-2021 Additional Protocol provides for the renewal of three duty-free tariff quotas that ended on 30 April 2014 and for one new duty-free tariff quota for release for free circulation in the European Union of certain fish and fishery products originating in Iceland, until 30 April 2021.

(3) The 2016-2021 Additional Protocol further provides that the volumes of the tariff quotas covering the period from 1 May 2014 until the date on which its provisional application becomes effective are to be proportionally allocated and made available for the period from the date that it applies provisionally until 30 April 2021. It does not provide for any carrying-over of remaining volumes in a tariff quota to a subsequent application period.

(4) In 2024, a new Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Iceland (‘the 2025-2028 Additional Protocol’) was concluded concerning special provisions applicable to imports into the Union of certain fish and fishery products originating in Iceland (3). The Annex thereto provides for annual duty-free tariff quotas for release for free circulation in the Union.

(5) The annual duty-free tariff quotas set out in the 2025-2028 Additional Protocol are to apply from day the provisional application of 2025-2028 Additional Protocol becomes effective, until 30 April 2028. It further provides that the tariff quota volumes covering the period from 1 May 2021 until the day the 2025-2028 Additional Protocol applies provisionally are to be proportionally allocated annually from 1 May to 30 April each year until 30 April 2028.

(6) The 2025-2028 Additional Protocol also provides for the transfer of the unused accumulated quota volumes of these tariff quotas for a period of up to two years following the end of its application, but no longer than the provisional application of a subsequent protocol establishing duty-free quotas for the same products.

(7) The 2025-2028 Additional Protocol is to enter into force provisionally on 1 January 2025.

(8) In order to ensure that the tariff quotas are available from the date of the provisional entry into force of the 2025-2028 Additional Protocol, the tariff quotas provided for in this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2025.

(9) It is necessary to amend Regulation (EC) No 499/96 in order to implement the tariff quotas laid down in the 2025-2028 Additional Protocol.

(10) Regulation (EC) No 499/96 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(11) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 499/96 is amended as follows:

(1) In Article 1, the following paragraph is added: ‘5.   The tariff quotas with order numbers 09.0834 to 09.0841 shall cover the period from 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2028. In case these tariff quotas are not exhausted during this period and in case any subsequent protocol establishing duty-free tariff quotas for the same products is not provisionally applied, imports from Iceland can be made for the remaining accumulated quota volume of those quotas for up to two years following the end of this application period but not longer than the provisional application of any subsequent protocol establishing duty-free tariff quotas for the same products.’

(2) In the Annex after order number 09.0700, the text in the Annex to this Regulation is added.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2025.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 18 December 2024.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 75, 23.3.1996, p. 8, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1996/499/2016-08-01.

(2) Council Decision (EU) 2016/837 of 21 April 2016 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Agreement between the European Union, Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway on an EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, the Agreement between the Kingdom of Norway and the European Union on a Norwegian Financial Mechanism for the period 2014-2021, the Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Norway, and the Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and Iceland (OJ L 141, 28.5.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2016/837/oj).

(3) Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Iceland (OJ L, 2024/2601, 8.10.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/prot/2024/2601/oj).