No L 320/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 15. 11. 86 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3478/86 of 10 November 1986 opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for raw silk (not thrown), falling within heading No 50.02 of the Common Customs Tariff (1987) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 28 thereof, Having regard to the draft Regulation submitted by the Commission, Whereas Community production of raw silk (not thrown), falling within heading No 50.02 of the Common Customs Tariff does not cover the needs for the user industries ; whereas the supply of the latter therefore depends to a great extent on imports from non-member countries; whereas it is in the interests of the Community to suspend totally the Common Customs Tariff duty on the product in question, within the limits of an appropriate Community tariff quota; Whereas it is desirable at the present time to avoid final measures which could lead to the halting of action taken in the sector over a number of years to increase Commu- nity production ; whereas, under such conditions, it is advisable to extend the tariff system in force in 1986; Whereas Community production does not appear to have changed considerably when compared with 1986; whereas, taking account of this production and of the - forecasts for 1987 the imports needed to satisfy consump- tion within the Community can be estimated at 7 700 tonnes ; whereas the fixing of the quota amount at this level does not preclude an adjustment within the quota period ; whereas, therefore, the tariff quota in question should be opened on 1 January 1987 and allocated among Member States ; Whereas equal and continuous access to the quota should be ensured for all Community importers and the rate laid down for the tariff quota should be applied consistently to all imports of the product in question until the quota is used up ; whereas a system of utilization of the Commu- nity tariff quota based on an allocation between the Member States concerned would in the light of the prin- ciples outlined above appear consistent with the Commu- nity nature of the quota; Whereas, in view of these factors, the initial percentage shares in the quota volume for 1987 can be expressed approximately as follows : Benelux 0,01, Denmark 0,01, Germany 2,73, Greece . 0,04, Spain 0,07, France 12,31, Ireland 0,03, Italy 82,04, Portugal 0,03, United Kingdom 2 2,73. Whereas, to take account of future trends in imports of the product in question in the various Member States the quota should be divided into two instalments, the first being distributed among the Member States of the Community of Ten and the second to form a reserve intended to cover any subsequent requirements of Member States who have used up their initial shares as well as those of the new Member States ; whereas, in order to ensure a certain degree of security for importers of each Member State, the first instalment should in this case be fixed at about 95 % of the total quota; Whereas the initial shares may be used at different rates ; whereas, therefore, to avoid disruption of supplies, any Member State which has almost used up its initial share should draw a supplementary share from the reserve; whereas this must be done by each Member State as each of its supplementary shares is almost used up, and as - many times as the reserve allows ; whereas the initial and supplementary shares must be valid until the end of the quota period; whereas this form of administration requires close collaboration between the Member States and the Commission, and the Commission must be in a position to follow the extent to which the tariff quota has been used up and inform the Member States accordingly ; Whereas, if, at a given date in the quota period, a conside- rable quantity of the initial share is left over in a Member State, it is essential that that Member State should return a significant percentage thereof to the reserve, so as to avoid a part of the Community tariff quota remaining unused in