7. 4. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 91/5 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 862/92 of 30 March 1992 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for prepared or preserved sardines, originating in Morocco, for the period 1 March to 30 April 1992 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas Article 4 of Protocol 1 to the Agreement on relations in the sea-fisheries sector between the European Economic Community and the Kingdom of Morocco (') states that prepared or preserved sardines falling within CN codes ex 1604 13 10 or ex 1604 20 50 and originating in Morocco shall be imported duty-free into the Commu- nity within the limits of a Community tariff quota of 17 500 tonnes (net weight) ; whereas, in order to ensure a regular flow to the Community market under this quota, the quantities destined for that market may not exceed 35 % of the total volume of the quota in the first quarter of the year ; whereas at the end of this period, the unused quantities of the products in question should automati- cally be transferred to the quantities provided for the second quarter; Whereas the said Agreement on fisheries was due to expire at the end of February 1992 and whereas, pursuant to Article 12 of the Agreement, the Contracting Parties have begun negotiations with a view to the possible conclusion of a new Agreement; whereas, pending the conclusion of these negotiations, an initial quota was opened by the Council under Regulation (EEC) No 3732/91 (3, to cover the period from 1 January to 29 February 1992, for a quantity of the abovementioned products which amounts to 4 083 tonnes, calculated pro rata temporis; Whereas, in order to avoid hindering the progress of the said negotiations, which are not yet at the final stage and, also, to avoid interrupting the supply of the goods in question to the Community market, the Council, by Decision 92/211/EEC (%), approved the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters extending until 30 April 1992 the Agreement between the Community and the Kingdom of Morocco on relations in the sea-fisheries sector ; whereas, the provisions of this Decision introduce the opening of a second Community tariff quota for the period from 1 March to 30 April 1992, with the principles () OJ No L 99, 16. 4. 1988, p. 49. () OJ No L 352, 21. 12. 1991, p. 1. () See page 27 of this Official Journal. of regular flow and the volume as established by the prin- ciples laid down in the abovementioned Agreement, but taking accountg of the quantities covered by the initial quota ; whereas, as a result, the quota volume to be opened amounts to 3 500 tonnes (net weight), of which only 2 042 tonnes may be discharged to the Community market up to 31 March 1992; Whereas, within the limits of the tariff quota, Spain and Portugal shall apply customs duties calculated according to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3189/88 of 14 October 1988 laying down the arrangements to be applied by Spain and Portugal to trade with Morocco and Syria (4) ; Whereas equal and continuous access to the quota should be ensured for all Community importers and the rate laid down for the quota should be applied consistently to all imports of the products in question into all the Member States until the quota is exhausted; Whereas the prepared and preserved sardines sector is encountering, in certain regions of the Community, economic constraints of a particular nature, bearing in mind notably the importance which sardine production. may have in the fisheries production structure as a whole, thus making it legitimate to expect that the traditional commercial outlets for producers on external markets and, as a matter of priority, on the Community market, should not be adversely affected ; whereas these specific economic circumstances make it necessary to maintain the allocation between the Member States of the quota concerned for the period of application of this Regulation ; Whereas, bearing in mind the way in which trade has developed traditionally, the allocation maintained among Member States should, in order to correspond as closely as possible to the real trend of the market for the products in question, be carried out on a pro rata basis according to the needs of the Member States, calculated on the basis of statistics of imports of the said products from Morocco during a representative reference period and on the economic outlook for the quota period in question ; Whereas in the last three years the products in question have been imported regularly only by certain Member States and not at all or only occasionally by the other Member States ; whereas, in these circumstances, in the () OJ No L 287, 20. 10. 1988, p. 1.