(1)

Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007 lays down, pursuant to the outcome of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations, the criteria whereby the Commission fixes the standard values for imports from third countries, in respect of the products and periods stipulated in the Annex thereto.

(2)

In compliance with the above criteria, the standard import values must be fixed at the levels set out in the Annex to this Regulation,

(1)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature annexed to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classification of the goods referred to in the Annex to this Regulation.

(2)

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any additional subdivision to it and which is established by specific Community provisions, with a view to the application of tariff and other measures relating to trade in goods.

(3)

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in column 1 of the table set out in the Annex should be classified under the CN codes indicated in column 2, by virtue of the reasons set out in column 3 of that table.

(4)

It is appropriate to provide that binding tariff information which has been issued by the customs authorities of Member States in respect of the classification of goods in the Combined Nomenclature but which is not in accordance with this Regulation can, for a period of three months, continue to be invoked by the holder, under Article 12(6) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (2).

(5)

The Customs Code Committee has not issued an opinion within the time limit set by its Chairman,

(1)

In order to monitor the application by Member States of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 the Commission should conduct inspections starting six months after the entry into force of that Regulation. The organisation of inspections under the supervision of the Commission is necessary to verify the effectiveness of national quality control systems and maritime security measures, procedures and structures.

(2)

In accordance with Article 13(3) of Directive 2005/65/EC, the Commission should monitor the implementation by Member States of the said Directive jointly with the inspections provided for in Regulation (EC) No 725/2004.

(3)

The European Maritime Safety Agency established by Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) should provide the Commission with technical assistance in the performance of the latter’s inspection tasks in respect of ships, relevant companies and Recognised Security Organisations.

(4)

The Commission should co-ordinate the schedule and preparation of its inspections with the Member States. The Commission’s inspection teams should be able to call upon qualified national inspectors, where available.

(5)

Commission inspections should be carried out according to a set procedure, including a standard methodology.

(6)

Sensitive information relating to inspections should be treated as classified information.

(7)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 884/2005 of 10 June 2005 laying down procedures for conducting Commission inspections in the field of maritime security (4) should therefore be repealed.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee instituted by Article 11(1) of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 of 17 May 2002 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, concerning access to confidential data for scientific purposes (2) establishes, for the purpose of enabling statistical conclusions to be drawn for scientific purposes, the conditions under which access to confidential data transmitted to the Community authority may be granted and the rules of cooperation between the Community and national authorities in order to facilitate such access.

(2)

Commission Decision 2004/452/EC (3) has laid down a list of bodies whose researchers may access confidential data for scientific purposes.

(3)

The Directorate for Research, Studies and Statistics (Direction de l’Animation de la Recherche, des Études et des Statistiques — DARES) in the Ministry of Labour, Labour Relations and Solidarity, Paris, France, the Research Foundation of State University of New York (RFSUNY), Albany, USA and the Finnish Centre for Pensions, (Eläketurvakeskus — ETK), Finland have to be regarded as bodies fulfilling the required conditions and should therefore be added to the list of agencies, organisations and institutions referred to in Article 3(1)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 831/2002.

(4)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Statistical Confidentiality,

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 establishes a framework for the protection and sustainable use of the stock of European eel in Community waters and in coastal lagoons, in estuaries, and in rivers and communicating inland waters of Member States.

(2)

Member States are to identify and define the individual river basins lying within their national territory that constitute natural habitats for the European eel. For each eel river basin, Member States are to prepare an Eel Management Plan.

(3)

Since European eel are found in the Black Sea and in river systems connected to it in low numbers, it is not certain whether or not those waters constitute a natural habitat for that species.

(4)

Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 empowers therefore the Commission to decide whether the Black Sea and the river systems connected to it constitute such a natural habitat requiring the implementation of recovery measures.

(5)

The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries has advised the Commission that the Black Sea and the river systems connected to it are at the extreme limit of the distribution of European eel and that, before stocking occurred, the natural presence of eel was sporadic. Prior to stocking the density of European eel in those waters was too low to support fisheries on any life stage of eel.

(6)

It is unlikely that any significant number of eel stocked into the rivers connected to the Black Sea could reach maturity and successfully complete the spawning migration to the Sargasso Sea. Additionally, it is unlikely that any significant number of juvenile eel could recruit into the rivers connected to the Black Sea, attain maturity and escape to spawning grounds.

(7)

Any potential benefit to the stock of European eel resulting from recovery measures in the Black Sea and the river systems connected to it would be negligible and thus disproportionately low compared to the administrative and financial burden that would be laid upon the Member States concerned.

(8)

It should therefore be established that the Black Sea and the river systems connected to it do not constitute a natural habitat for European eel for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

(1)

Commission Decision 2006/784/EC (2) authorises five methods (Capteur Gras/Maigre — Sydel (CGM), CSB Ultra-Meater, the manual method (ZP), Autofom, UltraFom 300) for grading pig carcasses in France.

(2)

France has asked the Commission to authorise two new methods of grading pig carcasses and has presented the results of its dissection trials in the second part of the protocol provided for in Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2967/85 of 24 October 1985 laying down detailed rules for the application of the Community scale for grading pig carcasses (3).

(3)

Examination of this request has revealed that the conditions for authorising these grading methods are fulfilled.

(4)

Decision 2006/784/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Pigmeat,

1.

The following points (f) and (g) are added to the first paragraph of Article 1:

2.

The Annex is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Decision.

(1)

The i2010 — European Information Society strategic framework (2) — promotes an open and competitive digital economy in the European Union and emphasises ICT as a driver of inclusion and quality of life. Development of additional means of communicating could be beneficial for work productivity and for growth in the mobile telephony market.

(2)

Airborne connectivity applications are, by nature, pan-European as they will be used mostly for cross-border flights within the Community and beyond. A coordinated approach to regulate mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA services) will support the objectives of the Single Market.

(3)

Harmonisation of the rules on the use of radio spectrum across the Community will facilitate timely deployment and uptake of MCA services within the Community.

(4)

Commercial operation of MCA services is currently considered only for GSM systems operating in the 1 710-1 785 MHz band for uplink (terminal transmit and base station receive) and the 1 805-1 880 MHz band for downlink (base station transmit and terminal receive), in accordance with ETSI standards EN 301 502 and EN 301 511. However, in the future it may be extended to other terrestrial public mobile communication systems, operating in accordance with other standards and in other frequency bands.

(5)

Pursuant to Article 4(2) of Decision No 676/2002/EC, the Commission has given a mandate (3) to the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (hereinafter the CEPT) to undertake all activities required to assess specific issues concerning technical compatibility between the operation of airborne GSM 1800 systems and a number of radio services potentially affected. This Decision is based on the technical studies undertaken by the CEPT under the EC mandate, as presented in CEPT Report 016 (4).

(6)

The MCA system considered in the CEPT report consists of a network control unit (NCU) and an aircraft base transceiver station (aircraft BTS). The system is designed to ensure that signals transmitted by ground-based mobile systems are not detectable within the aircraft cabin and that the user terminals on the aircraft only transmit at a minimum level. The technical parameters for the NCU and aircraft BTS were derived from theoretical models.

(7)

Spectrum use by terrestrial mobile electronic communication networks is outside the scope of this Decision. They will be addressed, inter alia, by a Commission Decision on the harmonisation of the 900 MHz and 1 800 MHz frequency bands for terrestrial systems capable of providing pan-European electronic communication services.

(8)

Authorisation terms and conditions for MCA services are also outside the scope of this Decision. Coordination of national authorisation conditions for MCA services is addressed by Commission Recommendation 2008/295/EC (5) pursuant to Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (the Framework Directive) (6).

(9)

Equipment for MCA services covered by this Decision falls within the scope of Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity (7). Presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of Directive 1999/5/EC for equipment used for MCA services in the European Union may be demonstrated by compliance with ETSI Harmonised Standard EN 302 480 or by using the other conformity assessment procedures set out in Directive 1999/5/EC.

(10)

Issues relating to air safety are of paramount importance and no provision in this Decision should be contrary to maintaining optimum air safety conditions.

(11)

MCA services may be provided only on condition that they fulfil air safety requirements via appropriate airworthiness certification and other relevant aeronautical provisions, together with electronic communication requirements. Airworthiness certificates valid for the whole Community are issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1702/2003 of 24 September 2003 laying down implementing rules for the airworthiness and environmental certification of aircraft and related products, parts and appliances, as well as for the certification of design and production organisations (8).

(12)

This Decision does not address spectrum issues relating to the communication links between the aircraft, the satellite space station and the ground which are also required to provide MCA services.

(13)

For the purpose of ensuring that the conditions specified in this Decision are still relevant and given the rapid changes in the radio spectrum environment, national administrations ought to monitor, where possible, use of the radio spectrum by equipment for MCA services, in order to keep this Decision under active review. Such review should take into account technological progress and verify that the initial assumptions concerning operation of MCA services are still relevant.

(14)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Radio Spectrum Committee,

1.

‘mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA services)’ means electronic communication services, as defined in Article 2(c) of Directive 2002/21/EC, provided by an undertaking to enable airline passengers to use public communication networks during flight without establishing direct connections with terrestrial mobile networks;

2.

‘non-interference and non-protected basis’ means that no harmful interference may be caused to any radiocommunication service and that no claim may be made for protection of these devices against harmful interference originating from radiocommunication services;

3.

‘aircraft base transceiver station (aircraft BTS)’ means one or more mobile communication stations located in the aircraft supporting the frequency bands and systems specified in Table 1 in the Annex;

4.

‘network control unit (NCU)’ means equipment to be located in the aircraft that ensures that signals transmitted by ground-based mobile electronic communication systems listed in Table 2 in the Annex are not detectable within the cabin by raising the noise floor inside the cabin in mobile communication receive bands.

(1)

The EU’s information society policy and the i2010 initiative stress the benefits of ready access to information and communication resources in all areas of daily life. A coordinated approach to regulate mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA services) would help to secure these benefits and facilitate cross-border electronic communications services across the Community.

(2)

When authorising MCA services, Member States must comply with the Framework Directive and with Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (2).

(3)

Pursuant to the Framework Directive, national regulatory authorities in the Member States should contribute to the development of the internal market by, inter alia, removing remaining obstacles to the provision of electronic communications networks, associated facilities and services and electronic communications services at European level and by encouraging the establishment and development of trans-European networks and the interoperability of pan-European services, and end-to-end connectivity.

(4)

Pursuant to the Authorisation Directive, the least onerous authorisation system possible should be used to allow the provision of electronic communications networks and services in order to stimulate the development of new electronic communications services and pan-European communication networks and services and to allow service providers and consumers to benefit from the economies of scale of the single market. Those aims can generally best be achieved by general authorisation of all electronic communications networks and services.

(5)

The technical conditions necessary to reduce the risk of harmful interference with terrestrial mobile networks by MCA operation are dealt with separately in Commission Decision 2008/294/EC (3).

(6)

The technical basis for Decision 2008/294/EC is Report 016 of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), which was written in response to the EC mandate given to the CEPT on MCA of 12 October 2006.

(7)

ETSI Harmonised Standard EN 302 480 provides for presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity (4) for equipment used for MCA services in the European Union.

(8)

Issues relating to air safety are of paramount importance and MCA services may be provided only on condition that they have fulfilled air safety requirements via appropriate airworthiness certification and other relevant aeronautical agreements, together with electronic communications requirements. Airworthiness certificates valid for the whole European Union are issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

(9)

Provided the technical conditions specified in Decision 2008/294/EC and in Harmonised Standard EN 302 480 or equivalent standards and relevant airworthiness certificates fulfil the relevant requirements, the risk of harmful interference will be negligible and therefore general authorisations should be considered for MCA services.

(10)

Responsibility for authorisation of MCA services should lie with the country of registration of the aircraft, in accordance with that country’s authorisation system.

(11)

The availability and sharing of sufficient information should help to resolve possible cross-border interference issues caused by MCA services.

(12)

Member States are to provide some of the information required to the ERO Frequency Information System (EFIS) pursuant to Commission Decision 2007/344/EC of 16 May 2007 on harmonised availability of information regarding spectrum use within the Community (5). Other relevant information may be obtained from operators of MCA services or from civil aviation administrations.

(13)

A dedicated register of relevant data for all MCA-bearing aircraft flying within the European Union, and also into and out of the European Union, could help to resolve interference by gathering all the information on a timely basis and in a common format. At first, and subject to periodic review, such a common register would be maintained by the relevant MCA operators and would be made available to the Commission and to the Member States.

(14)

The resolution of interference issues between Member States may also be helped by the provisions of the international ITU Radio Regulations treaty on notification and recording of frequency assignments and on reporting harmful interference.

(15)

The authorisation of MCA-bearing aircraft flying within the airspace of Member States but registered outside the European Union would be assisted by relevant information provided by industry in its dedicated MCA register and by the application of relevant provisions in the ITU Radio Regulations. A common approach on the mutual recognition of MCA authorisations with countries where non-EU aircraft is registered could be helpful.

(16)

Member States have already granted rights of use of frequencies to terrestrial mobile operators. Such authorisations do not cover MCA services and are generally limited to terrestrial mobile services.

(17)

For the purposes of this Recommendation, the aircraft cabin space is considered to be under the jurisdiction and control of the country of registration of the aircraft.

(18)

Use of MCA services may also have implications for public security. Appropriate measures may be taken nationally or pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 establishing common rules in the field of civil aviation security (6) in order to ensure that mobile phones in aircraft are not used for illegal purposes.

(19)

The regulatory and technical elements of the common approach to authorisation of MCA services in the European Union should be kept under scrutiny to ensure that they remain satisfactory for the overall purpose of avoiding harmful interference, failing which appropriate remedial measures will be considered.

(20)

The measures provided for in this Recommendation are in accordance with the opinion of the Communications Committee,