EU wenst flexibeler overeenkomsten met Westelijke Balkan voor suikerquota (en)

The EU's current trade arrangements with Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Serbia and Montenegro (Western Balkans) to grant unlimited duty-free access of sugar to the EU market has led to a significant increase in EU sugar imports. Imports have risen from virtually zero in 1999 to over 270000 tonnes in 2003. This raises questions about the economic sustainability of such trade flows. This is why the Commission has proposed today to introduce tariff rate quotas per country for imports from the Western Balkans. The quotas will be set at levels that respect the trade flows. The proposal should also enable the Western Balkans' sugar sector to perform successfully under more realistic and economically sustainable conditions.

Commenting on the proposal, Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries said: "In view of these countries' long-term orientation towards the EU and the foreseeable price reductions under EU sugar reform, it is not sustainable to encourage them to produce large quantities of sugar for export to the EU, and supply domestic needs with imports from third countries."

Under the Stabilisation and Association Process aiming to promote the emergence of sustainable economies in that region, the Western Balkan countries were granted trade concessions involving duty-free access to the Community market for virtually all their exports. In the sugar sector, the current arrangements allow them to export their total domestic production to the EU, while supplying domestic needs with imports from third countries.

The significant increase in EU sugar imports from the Western Balkans - they rose from virtually zero in 1999 to over 270 000 tonnes in 2003 - raises questions about the economic sustainability of such trade flows. In order to provide a sustainable framework for the sugar sector of the Western Balkans that is consistent with their long-term orientation towards the EU, the Commission today proposes the introduction of tariff rate quotas at levels that preserve export flows to the EU and an economically sustainable balance between their production and consumption. The proposed import regime covers all countries in the Western Balkan: Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with which the Community has concluded Stabilisation and Association Agreements, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Serbia and Montenegro, which benefit from the Community's autonomous trade measures.