
Article 1 
For the purposes of this Regulation:

((a)) ‘Community of fifteen’means the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004;
((b)) ‘New Member States’means the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia;
((c)) ‘The enlarged Community’means the Community as constituted on 1 May 2004;
((d)) ‘primary import’means the economic operation defined in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 with a view to sale in one or more new Member States;
((e)) ‘minimum quantity’means the minimum quantity defined in the third subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 established on the basis of all primary imports carried out with a view to supplying the markets of the new Member States;
((f)) ‘Competent authorities’means the competent authorities listed in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 896/2001, as amended by this Regulation.
Article 2 
This Regulation introduces the transitional measures needed to facilitate the transition from the arrangements in force in the new Member States prior to their accession to the Community of fifteen to the tariff quota import arrangements introduced by Regulations (EEC) No 404/93 and (EC) No 896/2001.
Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 shall apply subject to this Regulation.
Article 3 

1. A quantity of 300 000 tonnes, net weight, shall be available for imports of bananas into the new Member States for the period from 1 May 2004 to 31 December 2004.This quantity shall be available for imports of products from the origins referred to in Article 18(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93.Imports covered by that quantity shall be subject to the duties fixed in Article 18(2) of the above Regulation.
2. The quantity fixed in paragraph 1 may be increased if a growth in demand is observed in the new Member States.
Article 4 

1. Access to the additional quantity fixed in Article 3 shall be open to traditional operators and non-traditional operators established in the enlarged Community who meet the requirements of Article 3 or Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 414/2004, as the case may be.
2. 249 000 tonnes of the quantity shall be available to traditional operators and 51 000 tonnes to non-traditional operators.
Article 5 
A quantity of 87 000 tonnes shall be available for the issue of licences in May 2004 with a view to the importation of bananas into the new Member States. 72 210 tonnes of that quantity shall be available to traditional operators and 14 790 tonnes to non-traditional operators.
Article 6 

1. The competent authority of the Member State of registration shall give each traditional operator who carried out the minimum quantity of primary imports of bananas with a view to their sale in one or more of the new Member States during either 2000, 2001 or 2002 a provisional specific reference quantity based on the average of primary imports which that operator carried out during the above period, with a view to issuing licences in May 2004.This provisional specific reference quantity shall be obtained by multiplying the average of primary imports referred to in the previous subparagraph by a coefficient of 0,1875.
2. In the light of the Member States' notifications and the available quantity fixed in Article 5, the Commission shall, if necessary, set an adjustment coefficient to be applied to the provisional specific reference quantity of each traditional operator.
3. The competent authorities shall inform each operator of its provisional specific reference quantity, as adjusted where necessary by the adjustment coefficient referred to in paragraph 2, no later than 4 May 2004.
Article 7 

1. The competent authorities shall establish a provisional specific allocation for each non-traditional operator registered with them by multiplying the quantity in each operator's application by a coefficient of 0,29 with a view to issuing licences in May 2004.
2. In the light of the Member States' notifications and the available quantity fixed in Article 5, the Commission shall, if necessary, set an adjustment coefficient to be applied to the application for a provisional specific allocation made by each non-traditional operator.
3. The competent authorities shall inform each non-traditional operator of its provisional allocation no later than 4 May 2004.
Article 8 

1. Operators shall submit their import licence applications to the competent authorities of the Member State in which they are registered.
2. Import licences, hereinafter referred to as ‘accession licences’, shall be issued only for the release for free circulation in a new Member State.
3. Licence applications shall bear the words: ‘accession licence’, ‘traditional operator’ or ‘non-traditional operator’, as the case may be, and ‘Regulation (EC) No 838/2004. Licence only valid in a new Member State’.These entries shall be entered in Box 20 of the licence.
4. Licence applications shall be submitted for the first time on 4, 5 and 6 May.To be accepted, the licence applications submitted by a single operator may not total a quantity greater than:
(a) the provisional reference quantity notified in accordance with Article 6(3), in the case of traditional operators;
(b) the provisional allocation notified in accordance with Article 7(3), in the case of non-traditional operators.The competent national authorities shall issue import licences by 7 May 2004 at the latest.
5. Import licences issued under this Article shall be valid from the day of issue and shall expire on 7 August 2004.
Article 9 

1. Securities against the import licences of traditional operators as provided for in Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 shall be released in proportion to the quantities released for free circulation in a new Member State.
2. Securities against the allocations of non-traditional operators as provided for in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 shall be released in proportion to the quantities actually released for free circulation in a new Member State on the terms laid down in that Article.
Article 10 
As an exception to Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001:

1.. Unused quantities covered by an accession licence may be reallocated to the same operator — whether holder or transferee — upon application, for use in a subsequent period. Such reallocation shall apply to bananas imported under the additional quantity.
2.. Reallocation licence applications shall bear the following words in Box 20: ‘Reallocation licence’, ‘traditional operator’ or ‘non-traditional operator’, as the case may be, and ‘Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 838/2004. The licence is only valid in a new Member State’.
Article 11 
Rights arising under accession licences covered by the additional quantity shall be transferable to a single transferee operator.
Rights may be transferred only:

— between traditional operators as referred to in Article 5,
— from a traditional operator as referred to in Article 5 to a non-traditional operator as referred to in Article 6, or
— between non-traditional operators as referred to in Article 6.
Article 12 
The Annex to this Regulation supplements the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 896/2001.
Article 13 
This Regulation shall enter into force subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 28 April 2004.
For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission
ANNEX
State Agriculture Intervention FundVe Smečkách 33CZ-11000 Praha 1

Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information BoardTrade measures UnitNarva road, 3EE-51009 Tartu

Ministry of Commerce, Industry and TourismImport & Export Licensing UnitCY-1421 Cyprus

Ministry of AgricultureRural Support ServiceTrade MechanismsDepartment/Licence DivisionRepublikas laukums, 2LV-1981 Riga

National Paying AgencyForeign Trade DepartmentGedimino av. 19LT–01103 Vilnius-25

Ministry of Economy and TransportLicensing and Administration OfficeMargit krt. 85HU-1024 Budapest

Ministry of Rural Affairs and the EnvironmentAgricultural Services & Rural Development DivisionNgiered roadMT-CMR02 Marsa

Agricultural Market AgencyForeign Trade Regulation Department6/12 Nowy Swiat Str.PL–00-400 Warsaw

Agency for Agricultural markets and rural developmentExternal Trade DepartmentDunajska Cesta 160SI-1000 Ljubljana

Agricultural Paying AgencyDobrovicova 12SK–81526 Bratislava
