Protocol No 5
on the transit of persons by land between the region of Kaliningrad and other parts of the Russian
Federation
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
CONSIDERING
the particular situation of the region of Kaliningrad of the Russian Federation in the context
of the Union's enlargement,
RECOGNISING
the obligations and commitments of Lithuania with regard to the acquis establishing an area
of freedom, security and justice,
NOTING
, in particular, that Lithuania shall fully apply and implement the EC acquis regarding the list of
countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those
whose nationals are exempt from that requirement as well the EC acquis regarding the uniform format for
a visa as from accession at the latest,
RECOGNISING
that the transit of persons by land between the region of Kaliningrad and other parts of the
Russian Federation through EU territory is a matter concerning the Union as a whole and should be
treated as such and must not entail any unfavourable consequence for Lithuania,
CONSIDERING
the decision to be taken by the Council to remove controls at internal borders after it has
verified that the necessary conditions to that effect have been met,
DETERMINED
to assist Lithuania in fulfilling the conditions for full participation in the Schengen area
without internal frontiers as soon as possible,
HAVE AGREED ON THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS:
Article 1
The Community rules and arrangements on transit of persons
by land between the region of Kaliningrad and other parts of
the Russian Federation, and in particular Council Regulation
establishing a specific Facilitated Transit Document (FTD), a
Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD) and amending the
Common Consular Instructions and the Common Manual
shall not in themselves delay or prevent the full participation
of Lithuania in the Schengen acquis, including the removal of
internal border controls.
Article 2
The Community shall assist Lithuania in implementing the
rules and arrangements for the transit of persons between
the region of Kaliningrad and the other parts of the Russian
Federation with a view to Lithuania's full participation in the
Schengen area as soon as possible.
The Community shall assist Lithuania in managing the transit
of persons between the region of Kaliningrad and the other
parts of the Russian Federation and shall, notably, bear any
additional costs incurred by implementing the specific
provisions of the acquis provided for such transit.
Article 3
Without prejudice to the sovereign rights of Lithuania, any
further decision concerning the transit of persons between
the region of Kaliningrad and other parts of the Russian
Federation will be only adopted after the accession of
Lithuania by the Council acting unanimously on a proposal
from the Commission.
EN
946
Official Journal of the European Union
23.9.2003
Protocol No 6
on the acquisition of secondary residences in Malta
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Bearing in mind the very limited number of residences in Malta and the very limited land available for
construction purposes, which can only cover the basic needs created by the demographic development of
the present residents, Malta may on a non-discriminatory basis maintain in force the rules on the
acquisition and holding of immovable property for secondary residence purposes by nationals of the
Member States who have not legally resided in Malta for at least five years laid down in the
Immovable Property (Acquisition by Non-Residents) Act (Chapter 246).
Malta shall apply authorisation procedures for the acquisition of immovable property for secondary
residence purposes in Malta, which shall be based on published, objective, stable and transparent
criteria. These criteria shall be applied in a non-discriminatory manner and shall not differentiate
between nationals of Malta and of other Member States. Malta shall ensure that in no instance shall a
national of a Member State be treated in a more restrictive way than a national of a third country.
In the event that the value of one such property bought by a national of a Member State exceeds the
thresholds provided for in Malta's legislation, namely 30 000 Maltese lira for apartments and 50 000
Maltese lira for any type of property other than apartments and property of historical importance,
authorisation shall be granted. Malta may revise the thresholds established by such legislation to reflect
changes in prices in the property market in Malta.
Protocol No 7
on abortion in Malta
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
HAVE AGREED UPON THE FOLLOWING PROVISION:
Nothing in the Treaty on European Union, or in the Treaties establishing the European Communities, or in the
Treaties or Acts modifying or supplementing those Treaties, shall affect the application in the territory of Malta
of national legislation relating to abortion.
EN
23.9.2003
Official Journal of the European Union
947
Protocol No 8
on the restructuring of the Polish steel industry
1.
Notwithstanding Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty,
State aid granted by Poland for restructuring purposes to
specified parts of the Polish steel industry shall be deemed to
be compatible with the common market provided that:
— the period provided for in Article 8(4) of Protocol 2 on
ECSC products to the Europe Agreement establishing an
association between the European Communities and their
Member States, of the one part, and Poland, of the other
part (
1
), has been extended until the date of accession,
— the terms set out in the restructuring plan on the basis of
which, the abovementioned Protocol was extended, are
adhered to throughout the period 2002-2006,
— the conditions set out in this Protocol are met, and
— no State aid for restructuring is to be paid to the Polish
steel industry after the date of accession.
2.
Restructuring of the Polish steel sector, as described in
the individual business plans of the companies listed in Annex
1, and in line with the conditions set out in this Protocol, shall
be completed no later than 31 December 2006 (hereinafter
referred to as ‘the end of the restructuring period’).
3.
Only companies listed in Annex 1 (hereinafter referred to
as ‘benefiting companies’) shall be eligible for State aid in the
framework of the Polish steel restructuring programme.
4.
A benefiting company may not:
(a) in the case of a merger with a company not included in
Annex 1, pass on the benefit of the aid granted to the
benefiting company;
(b) take over the assets of any company not included in Annex
1 which is declared bankrupt in the period up to 31
December 2006.
5.
Any subsequent privatisation of any of the benefiting
companies shall take place on a basis that respects the need
for transparency and shall respect the conditions and principles
regarding viability, state aids and capacity reduction defined in
this Protocol. No further State aid shall be granted as part of
the sale of any company or individual assets.
6.
The restructuring aid granted to the benefiting companies
shall be determined by the justifications set out in the approved
Polish steel restructuring plan and individual business plans as
approved by the Council. But in any case the aid paid out in
the period of 1997-2003 and in its total amount shall not
exceed PLN 3 387 070 000.
Of this total figure,
— as regards Polskie Huty Stali (hereinafter referred to as
‘PHS’), the restructuring aid already granted or to be
granted since 1997 until the end of 2003 shall not
exceed PLN 3 140 360 000. PHS has already received
PLN 62 360 000 of restructuring aid in the period
1997-2001; it shall receive further restructuring aid of no
more than PLN 3 078 000 000 in 2002 and 2003
depending on the requirements set out in the approved
restructuring plan (to be entirely paid out in 2002 if the
extension of the grace period under Protocol 2 of the
Europe Agreement is granted by the end of 2002, or
otherwise in 2003);
— as regards Huta Andrzej S.A., Huta Bankowa Sp. z o.o.,
Huta Batory S.A., Huta Buczek S.A., Huta L.W. Sp. z o.o.,
Huta Łabe˛dy S.A., and Huta Pokój S.A. (hereinafter referred
to as ‘other benefiting companies’), the steel restructuring
aid already granted or to be granted from 1997 until the
end of 2003 shall not exceed PLN 246 710 000. These
firms have already received PLN 37 160 000 of restruc-
turing aid in the period 1997-2001; they will receive
further
restructuring
aid
of
no
more
than
PLN 210 210 000 depending on the requirements set out
in
the
approved
restructuring
plan
(of
which
PLN 182 170 000 in 2002 and PLN 27 380 000 in
2003 if the extension of the grace period under Protocol
2 of the Europe Agreement is granted by the end of 2002,
or otherwise PLN 210 210 000 in 2003).
No further State aid shall be granted by Poland for restruc-
turing purposes to the Polish steel industry.
7.
The net capacity reduction to be achieved by Poland for
finished products during the period 1997-2006 shall be a
minimum of 1 231 000 tonnes. This overall amount includes
net capacity reductions of at least 715 000 tpy in hot rolled
products and 716 000 tpy in cold rolled products, as well as
an increase of at most 200 000 tpy of other finished products.
Capacity reduction shall be measured only on the basis of
permanent closure of production facilities by physical
destruction such that the facilities cannot be restored to
service. A declaration of bankruptcy of a steel company shall
not qualify as capacity reduction.
EN
948
Official Journal of the European Union
23.9.2003
(
1
) OJ L 348, 31.12.1993, p. 2.