Commission Regulation (EC) No 1180/20082 provides for a system of communication of information between the operators and the competent authorities of the Member States, as well as between the Members States, the Commission, represented by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the Russian authorities in relation to the exports of certain beef, veal and pigmeat products to the Russian Federation, for which a refund is applied for. The aim of that system is to trace the exports concerned and detect cases where the refund is not due and must be recovered.

As mentioned in recital 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1180/2008 the application of that Regulation will have to be evaluated after a significant period of operation. The Commission has evaluated the application of Regulation (EC) No 1180/2008 and has reached the conclusion that due to repetitive technical problems which could not be solved satisfactorily, the system of communication of information has not reached the level of performance required for being an efficient tool against undue payment of export refund. In addition, the voluntary use of the system by exporters has decreased considerably over the years.

Therefore the system of communication of information established by Regulation (EC) No 1180/2008 should be abolished and Regulation (EC) No 1180/2008 should be repealed.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,