THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 133, in conjunction with Article 300(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas:
(1) The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States and the Russian Federation (1), hereinafter referred to as ‘the PCA’, entered into force on 1 December 1997.
(2) Article 21(1) of the PCA provides that trade in certain steel products is governed by Title III of that Agreement with the exception of Article 15 thereof, and by the provisions of an agreement on quantitative arrangements.
(3) For the years 1995-2006, trade in certain steel products was the subject of agreements between the Parties to the PCA. It is therefore appropriate to conclude a new agreement which takes account of the developments in the relationship between the Parties.
(4) The Agreement should be approved,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

1. The Agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation on trade in certain steel products is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.

2. The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement in order to bind the Community.

The competent authorities of the Community undertake to inform Russia of any changes in the Combined Nomenclature (CN) with complete description of products covered by this Agreement at least one month before the date of their entry into force in the Community.

1. Products covered by this Agreement originating in Russia (origin as defined by the relevant Community Regulations) to be exported to the Community in accordance with the arrangements established by this Agreement shall be accompanied by a certificate of Russian origin conforming to the model annexed to this Protocol.

2. The certificate of origin shall be certified by the competent Russian organisations authorised under Russian legislation as to whether the products in question can be considered products originating in that country.

The certificate of origin shall be issued only on application in writing by the exporter or, under the exporter’s responsibility, by his authorised representative. The competent Russian organisations authorised under Russian legislation shall ensure that the certificate of origin is properly completed and for this purpose they shall request any necessary documentary evidence or carry out any checking which they consider appropriate.

The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in the certificate of origin and those made in the documents produced to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the necessary formalities for importing the products shall not ipso facto cast doubt upon the statements in the certificate.

The appropriate Russian governmental authorities shall issue an export licence in respect of all consignments from Russia of steel products covered by the Agreement up to the relevant quantitative limits set out in Annex II to the Agreement.

1. The export licence shall conform to the model annexed to this Protocol and it shall be valid for exports throughout the customs territory of the Community.

2. Each export licence must certify, inter alia, that the quantity of the product in question has been set off against the relevant quantitative limit established for the product concerned in Annex II to the Agreement.

The competent authorities of the Community must be informed immediately of the withdrawal or modification of any export licence already issued.

1. Exports shall be set off against the quantitative limits established for the year in which the shipment of goods has been effected even if the export licence is issued after such shipment.

2. For the purposes of applying paragraph 1, shipment of goods is considered to have taken place on the date of their loading onto the exporting transport as evidenced by their bill of lading or other transport document.

The release for free circulation into the Community of the products covered by the Agreement shall be subject to the presentation of an import authorisation.

1. The presentation by the importer of an export licence shall be made not later than 31 March of the year following that in which the goods covered by the licence have been shipped.

2. The competent authorities of the Community shall issue the import authorisation referred to in Article 9, within 10 working days of the presentation by the importer of the original of the corresponding export licence.

3. The import authorisations shall be valid for four months from the date of their issue for importation throughout the customs territory of the Community.

4. The competent authorities of the Community shall cancel the import authorisation already issued whenever the corresponding export licence has been withdrawn.
However, if the competent authorities of the Community are notified of the withdrawal or the cancellation of the export licence only after the release for free circulation of the products into the Community, the relevant quantities shall be set off against the limits established for the product.

If the competent authorities of the Community find that the total quantity of the products covered by export licences issued by the competent authorities of Russia exceeds the limits set out in Annex II to the Agreement, the Community authorities shall suspend the further issue of import authorisations. In this event, the competent authorities of the Community shall immediately inform the competent authorities of Russia and immediate consultations pursuant to Article 9(2) of the Agreement shall be initiated.

1. The export licence and the certificate of origin may comprise additional copies duly indicated as such. They shall be made out in English. If they are completed by hand, entries must be in ink and in printed script.
These documents shall measure 210 × 297 mm. The paper used shall be white writing paper, sized, not containing mechanical pulp, and weighing not less than 25 g/m2. If the documents have several copies only the top copy, which is the original, shall be printed with the guilloche pattern background. This copy shall be clearly marked ‘original’ and the other copies ‘copies’. Only the original shall be accepted by the competent authorities of the Community as being valid for the purpose of export to the Community in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement.

2. Each document shall bear a standardised serial number, whether or not printed, by which it can be identified.
This number shall be composed of the following elements:
—
two letters identifying the exporting country as follows: RU,
—
two letters identifying the intended Member State of customs clearance as follows:
BE
=
Belgium
BG
=
Bulgaria
CZ
=
Czech Republic
DK
=
Denmark
DE
=
Germany
EE
=
Estonia
EL
=
Greece
ES
=
Spain
FR
=
France
IE
=
Ireland
IT
=
Italy
CY
=
Cyprus
LV
=
Latvia
LT
=
Lithuania
LU
=
Luxembourg
HU
=
Hungary
MT
=
Malta
NL
=
Netherlands
AT
=
Austria
PL
=
Poland
PT
=
Portugal
RO
=
Romania
SI
=
Slovenia
SK
=
Slovakia
FI
=
Finland
SE
=
Sweden
GB
=
United Kingdom,
—
a one-digit number identifying the year in question corresponding to the last figure in the year, e.g. ‘7’ for year 2007,
—
a two-digit number from 01 to 99, identifying the particular issuing office concerned in exporting country,
—
a five-digit number running consecutively from 00001 to 99999 allocated to the intended Member State of customs clearance.

The export licence and the certificate of origin may be issued after the shipment of the products to which they relate. In such cases, they must bear the endorsement ‘issued retrospectively’.

1. In the event of the theft, loss or destruction of an export licence or a certificate of origin, the exporter may apply to the competent Russian authorities which issued the document for a duplicate to be made out on the basis of the export documents in his possession. The duplicate of any such certificate or licence so issued shall bear the endorsement ‘duplicate’.

2. The duplicate shall bear the date of the original export licence or certificate of origin.

The Community and Russia shall cooperate closely in the implementation of the provisions of this Protocol. To this end, contacts and exchanges of views, including on technical matters, shall be facilitated by both Parties.

In order to ensure the correct application of this Protocol, the Community and Russia offer mutual assistance for the checking of the authenticity and the accuracy of export licences issued and certificates of origin issued or of any declarations made within the terms of this Protocol.

Russia shall send the Community (European Commission) the names and addresses of the competent Russian governmental authorities which are authorised to issue and to verify export licences and the competent Russian organisations authorised under Russian legislation to issue certificates of origin together with specimens of the stamps and signatures they use. Russia shall also notify the Community (European Commission) of any change in these particulars.

1. Subsequent verification of certificates of origin or export licences shall be carried out at random, or whenever the competent Community authorities have reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the certificate or licence or as to the accuracy of the information regarding the true origin of the products in question.

2. In such cases, the competent authorities in the Community shall return the certificate of origin or the export licence or a copy thereof to the appropriate Russian authorities giving, where appropriate, the reasons of form or substance which justify an enquiry. If the invoice has been submitted, such invoice or a copy thereof shall be attached to the certificate or to the licence or their copies. The authorities shall also forward any information that has been obtained suggesting that the particulars given on the said certificate or licence are inaccurate.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to subsequent verifications of the certificates of origin provided for in Article 2 of this Protocol.

4. The results of the subsequent verifications carried out in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be communicated to the competent authorities of the Community within three months at the latest. The information communicated shall indicate whether the disputed certificate or licence applies to the goods actually exported and whether these goods are eligible for export under the arrangements established by the Agreement. The information shall also include, at the request of the Community, copies of all the documentation necessary to fully determine the facts, and in particular the true origin of the goods.

5. For the purpose of subsequent verification of certificates of origin, copies of the certificates as well as any export documents referring to them shall be kept by the competent Russian organisations for at least one year following the end of the Agreement.

6. Recourse to the random verification procedure specified in this Article must not constitute an obstacle to the release for free circulation of the products in question.

1. Where the verification procedure referred to in Article 18 or where information available to the competent authorities of the Community or of Russia indicates or appears to indicate that the provisions of this Agreement are being circumvented or infringed, the two Parties shall cooperate closely and with the appropriate urgency in order to prevent any such circumvention or infringement.

2. To this end, the appropriate Russian authorities shall, on their own initiative or at the request of the Community, carry out appropriate inquiries, or arrange for such inquiries to be carried out, concerning operations which are, or appear to the Community to be, in circumvention or infringement of this Protocol. Russia shall communicate the results of these inquiries to the Community, including any other pertinent information enabling the cause of the circumvention or infringement, including the true origin of the goods, to be determined.

3. By agreement between the Community and Russia, officials designated by the Community may be present at the inquiries referred to in paragraph 2.
4. In pursuance of the cooperation referred to in paragraph 1, the competent authorities of the Community and Russia shall exchange any information considered by either Party to be of use in preventing circumvention or infringement of the provisions of this Agreement. These exchanges may include information on the trade in the type of products covered by this Agreement between Russia and third countries, particularly where the Community has reasonable grounds to consider that the products in question may be in transit across the territory of Russia prior to their importation into the Community. This information may include, at the request of the Community, copies of all relevant documentation, where available.

5. Where sufficient evidence shows that the provisions of this Protocol have been circumvented or infringed, the competent authorities of Russia and the Community may agree to take any measures necessary to prevent a recurrence of such circumvention or infringement.
Text of image
EXPORT LICENCE 1. Exporter (name, full address, country)
ORIGINAL 2. No 3. Year 4. Product group 5. Consignee (name, full address, country)
EXPORT LICENCE
(for certain steel products) 6. Country of origin 7. Country of destination 8. Place and date of shipment — means of transport 9. Supplementary details 10. Description of goods — manufacturer 11. TARIC code 12. Quantity (1) 13. Fob value (2) 14. CERTIFICATION BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY
I, the undersigned, certify that the goods described above have been charged against the quantitative limit established for the year shown in box No 3 in respect of the Product group shown in box No 4 by the provisions regulating trade in certain steel products with the European Community. 15. Competent authority (name, full address, country)
At
on
(Signature)
(Stamp)
(1) Show net weight (kg) and also quantity in the unit prescribed where other than net weight.
(2) In the currency of the sale contract.
Text of image
EXPORT LICENCE 1. Exporter (name, full address, country)
COPY 2. No 3. Year 4. Product group 5. Consignee (name, full address, country)
EXPORT LICENCE
(for certain steel products) 6. Country of origin 7. Country of destination 8. Place and date of shipment — means of transport 9. Supplementary details 10. Description of goods — manufacturer 11. TARIC code 12. Quantity (1) 13. Fob value (2) 14. CERTIFICATION BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY
I, the undersigned, certify that the goods described above have been charged against the quantitative limit established for the year shown in box No 3 in respect of the Product group shown in box No 4 by the provisions regulating trade in certain steel products with the European Community. 15. Competent authority (name, full address, country)
At
on
(Signature)
(Stamp)
(1) Show net weight (kg) and also quantity in the unit prescribed where other than net weight.
(2) In the currency of the sale contract.
Text of image
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN 1. Exporter (name, full address, country)
ORIGINAL 2. No 3. Year 4. Product group 5. Consignee (name, full address, country)
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN
(for certain steel products) 6. Country of origin 7. Country of destination 8. Place and date of shipment — means of transport 9. Supplementary details 10. Description of goods — manufacturer 11. CN code 12. Quantity (1) 13. Fob value (2) 14. CERTIFICATION BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY
I, the undersigned, certify that the goods described above originated in the country shown in box No 6, in accordance with the provisions in force in the European Community. 15. Competent authority (name, full address, country)
At
on
(Signature)
(Stamp)
(1) Show net weight (kg) and also quantity in the unit prescribed where other than net weight.
(2) In the currency of the sale contract.
Text of image
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN 1. Exporter (name, full address, country)
COPY 2. No 3. Year 4. Product group 5. Consignee (name, full address, country)
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN
(for certain steel products) 6. Country of origin 7. Country of destination 8. Place and date of shipment — means of transport 9. Supplementary details 10. Description of goods — manufacturer 11. CN code 12. Quantity (1) 13. Fob value (2) 14. CERTIFICATION BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY
I, the undersigned, certify that the goods described above originated in the country shown in box No 6, in accordance with the provisions in force in the European Community. 15. Competent authority (name, full address, country)
At
on
(Signature)
(Stamp)
(1) Show net weight (kg) and also quantity in the unit prescribed where other than net weight.
(2) In the currency of the sale contract.