Regulation (EU) No 512/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2011 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011

• Published date: 31 May 2011
• Subject Matter: Development cooperation,Preferential systems,Commercial policy
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 145, 31 May 2011

31.5.2011 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 145/28

---

REGULATION (EU) No 512/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 11 May 2011

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (1),

Whereas:

(1) Since 1971, the Union has granted trade preferences to developing countries in the framework of its Generalised Scheme of Preferences (‘GSP’). The GSP has been implemented through successive Regulations applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences (‘the scheme’) with periods of application usually of three years at a time.

(2) The current scheme was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 (2) and applies until 31 December 2011. This Regulation should ensure that the operation of the scheme continues to apply after that date.

(3) Future improvements to the scheme should be based on a Commission proposal for a new regulation (‘the next Regulation’) which should take into account relevant considerations relating to the effectiveness of Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 in achieving the objectives of the scheme. The next Regulation should include the necessary amendments to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the scheme. It is also essential that the Commission’s proposal take into account statistical trade data, which only became available in July 2010, on imports covered by the scheme for the period including 2009, a year marked by a sharp fall in global trade including that of developing countries. It is equally important to ensure that economic operators and beneficiary countries be given adequate notice of the changes to be brought about by the next Regulation. For those reasons, the remaining period of application of Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 is insufficient to allow for the Commission to draw up a proposal and the subsequent adoption of the next Regulation in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure. It is however desirable to ensure continuity in the operation of the scheme beyond 31 December 2011 until such time as the next Regulation is adopted and applies.

(4) The period of extension of Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 should not be open-ended. Consequently, and in order to provide the time needed for the legislative procedure for the adoption of the new scheme, the period of application of that Regulation should be extended until 31 December 2013. In case the next Regulation becomes applicable before that date, the period of extension should be correspondingly shortened.

(5) Some

...