THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas Decision No 1/98 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 25 February 1998 on the trade regime for agricultural products establishes the system of preferences applicable to imports into the Community of agricultural products originating in Turkey; whereas provision should be made to allow the Commission to adopt special detailed rules for the application of that new import regime, without prejudice to Articles 6 and 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1981/94 of 25 July 1994 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain products originating in Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Malta, Morocco, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Tunisia and Turkey, and providing detailed rules for extending and adapting these tariff quotas1;

Whereas, in the case of products for which Community regulations require a certain import price to be observed, application of the preferential tariff system is subject to observance of that price;

Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 4115/862 lays down the arrangements applicable to imports into the Community of agricultural products originating in Turkey on the basis of Decision No 1/80 of the EC-Turkey Association Council; whereas the provisions on agriculture of that Decision were repealed by Decision No 1/98 of the EC-Turkey Association Council; whereas, as a result, Regulation (EEC) No 4115/86 should be repealed;

Whereas the tariff concessions for the three products originating in Turkey laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 3010/95 of 18 December 1995 totally or partially suspending the customs duties applicable to certain products falling within Chapters 1 to 24 and Chapter 27 of the Combined Nomenclature originating in Malta and Turkey3, should also be abolished;

Whereas the Decision of the Association Council applies from 1 January 1998; whereas, in view of the urgency, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: