1. Common Customs Tariff ad valorem duties on all products listed in Annex II which originate in a country included in the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance shall be suspended.
2. Common Customs Tariff specific duties on products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be entirely suspended, except for products for which Common Customs Tariff duties also include ad valorem duties. For products of CN codes 1704 10 91 and 1704 10 99 , the specific duty shall be limited to 16 % of the customs value.
3. For a beneficiary country the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance shall not include products of the sections for which these tariff preferences have been withdrawn according to column C of Annex I.
1. The special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance may be granted to a country which:
(a)
has ratified and effectively implemented the conventions listed in Part A of Annex III, and
(b)
has ratified and effectively implemented at least seven of the conventions listed in Part B of Annex III, and
(c)
commits itself to ratify and effectively implement by 31 December 2008 those conventions listed in Part B of Annex III which it has not yet ratified and effectively implemented, and
(d)
gives an undertaking to maintain the ratification of the conventions and their implementing legislation and measures and which accepts regular monitoring and review of its implementation record in accordance with the implementation provisions of the conventions it has ratified, and
(e)
is considered as a vulnerable country as defined in paragraph 3.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 (a) and (c) for countries faced with specific constitutional constraints, the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance may be granted to a country which has not ratified and effectively implemented a maximum of two of the sixteen conventions listed in Part A of Annex III provided:
(a)
that a formal commitment has been made by the country concerned to sign, ratify and implement any missing Convention should it be ascertained that there exists no incompatibility with its Constitution no later than 31 October 2005, and
(b)
in case of an incompatibility with its Constitution, the country concerned has formally committed itself to sign and ratify any missing Convention no later than 31 December 2006.
Before the end of 2006, the Commission shall report to the Council on the compliance by a country concerned with the above-mentioned commitments. The granting of the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance to this country beyond 1 January 2007 is subject to a Council decision. As appropriate, and on the basis of the abovementioned report, the Commission shall propose to the Council such a continuation.
3. A vulnerable country is one:
(a)
that is not classified by the World Bank as a high income country during three consecutive years, and whose five largest sections of its GSP-covered imports to the Community represent more than 75 % in value of its total GSP-covered imports, and
(b)
whose GSP-covered imports to the Community represent less than 1 % in value of total GSP-covered imports to the Community.
The data to be used are those available on 1 September 2004, as an average over three consecutive years.
4. The Commission shall keep under review the status of ratification and effective implementation of the conventions listed in Annex III. Before the end of the period of application of this Regulation and in time for the discussion on the next Regulation, the Commission shall present to the Council a report concerning the status of ratification of such conventions, including recommendations by monitoring bodies.
1. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance shall be granted if the following conditions are met:
(a)
a country or territory listed in Annex I has made a request to that effect by 31 October 2005, and
(b)
an examination of the request shows that the requesting country fulfils the conditions laid down in Article 9(1), (2) and (3).
2. The requesting country shall submit its request to the Commission in writing and shall provide comprehensive information concerning ratification of the conventions referred to in Annex III, the legislation and measures to effectively implement the provisions of the conventions and its commitment to accept and fully comply with the monitoring and review mechanism envisaged in the relevant conventions and related instruments.
3. Those countries that are granted provisionally the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance from the date of entry into force of this Regulation shall also submit a request according to paragraphs 1 and 2 by 31 October 2005. The Commission shall assess the request according to Article 11.
1. Where the Commission receives a request accompanied by the information referred to in Article 10, the Commission shall examine the request. The examination shall take into account the findings of the relevant international organisations and agencies. It may ask the requesting country any questions which it considers relevant and may verify the information received with the requesting country or any other relevant sources.
2. The Commission shall decide, in accordance with the examination referred to in paragraph 1 and the procedure referred to in Article 28(4), whether to grant a requesting country the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance as of 1 January 2006.
3. The Commission shall notify a requesting country of a decision taken in accordance with paragraph 2. Where a country is granted the special incentive arrangement, it shall be informed of the date on which that decision enters into force. The Commission shall by 15 December 2005 publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union , listing the countries benefiting from the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance.
4. Where a requesting country is not granted the special incentive arrangement, the Commission shall explain the reasons if that country so requests.
5. The Commission shall conduct all relations with a requesting country concerning the request in close coordination with the Committee acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(4).
