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Whereas the Agreements in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Community and the Czech Republic signed on 22 September 1994 (1) and between the European Community and the Slovak Republic, signed on 28 October 1994 (2) concerning fish have supplemented the European Agreements with these two countries by providing inter alia for duty-free tariff quotas for live trout and carp; Whereas, following the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, the Council agreed that existing preferential exports to these countries of 150 tonnes of live trout originating in the Slovak Republic and 310 tonnes of live carp originating in the Czech Republic should be taken into account; whereas it also agreed to renew the Agreements in the form of an exchange of letters by adding the quantities arising from enlargement to those already provided for;

Whereas these tariff measures will be set out in additional protocols to the Europe Agreements with the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic; whereas these concessions should be implemented autonomously pending the entry into force of these protocols; whereas tariff quotas for the products should be opened from 1 January 1997 and apply until the entry into force of the additional protocols; Whereas all Community importers should be assured equal and uninterrupted access to the tariff quotas; whereas the rates laid down for these quotas should apply to all imports of the product in question in all the Member States until the quotas are exhausted;

Whereas a decision on the opening of autonomous tariff quotas has to be taken by the Community; whereas there is no reason why the Member States should not, in the interests of an efficient common management of the quotas, be authorized to draw on the quotas for the necessary quantities corresponding to actual imports; whereas, however, this type of management calls for close liaison between the Member States and the Commission, the latter having to be in a position to monitor the rate at which the quotas are used up and notify the Member States accordingly, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: