The appropriate bodies in which to gather the opinions required are the STECF, set up by Article 16 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 and the Advisory Committee on Fisheries (hereinafter referred to as the ACF), set up by Commission Decision (EEC) No 128/71(12).

Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the programmes referred to in Article 5 shall be adopted after the STECF and the ACF have been consulted.

Each year, as a function of the financial resources available and in proportion to entitlements within the plenary committee of the ACFA, each trade organisation which is a member of the ACFA plenary will be allocated drawing rights under a financing agreement with the Commission.

Costs incurred by the European trade organisations in arranging preparatory meetings for meetings of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA).

The travelling and accommodation costs of members of the European trade organisations required to travel in order to prepare meetings of the ACFA will be eligible.

The Commission, in association with the STECF and the ACF, shall annually examine the progress of the national programmes in the Management Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

The costs relating to meetings of the European trade organisations unconnected with meetings of the ACFA and costs other than those referred to in the first subparagraph will not be eligible.

Whereas, in order to encourage the formulation of analyses and of joint positions on the CFP, it is useful to invite the members of ACF to deal first of all with questions of concern to them;

Whereas an advisory committee (ACF) was created in the fisheries sector by Commission Decision 71/128/EEC(1) the text of which as last replaced by Decision 89/4/EEC (2), as amended by Decision 97/246/EC (3);

In view of the tasks of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA) renewed under Commission Decision 1999/478/EC (l), these objectives of closer dialogue and transparency could be made easier by the introduction of new measures to improve the organisation of meetings of the ACFA, on the one hand, and the communication to the groups concerned of information concerning the issues at stake and the results achieved, on the other.

Whereas it appears opportune to widen, within the framework of the ACF, the dialogue on the development and management of the CFP to all parties concerned, in particular to the aquaculture sector and non-professionnal organisations;

The appropriate bodies in which to gather the opinions required are the STECF, set up by Article 16 of Regulation (EEC) No 3760/92 and the Advisory Committee on Fisheries (hereinafter referred to as the ACF), set up by Commission Decision (EEC) No 128/ 71 0.

To that end, the European trade organisations should be given help in preparing meetings of the ACFA with a view to stimulating comprehensive study of the issues involved in the CFP and the impact of its measures, fostering initiatives from the industry and seeking, if possible, common positions on Commission draft proposals.

Self-inflicted injury through a preference to produce ACF

In the same period, the production of ACF increased by 18 %.

It was alleged that since equipment can be used to produce either AHF or ACF, the Community industry preferred to produce the higher value added ACF.

Secondly, the production of ACF has not increased in the same proportion as the decrease in the production of AHF but has followed the increase in consumption of ACF.

In conclusion, AHF and ACF are considered as two different products for the purpose of this investigation.

In view of the above it was concluded that the injury suffered by the Community industry was not self-inflicted by a switch to ACF products.

Costs incurred by the European trade organisations in arranging preparatory meetings for meetings of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA)

It was alleged that the Community industry is unwilling to supply AHF to users and prefers to concentrate its production on higher value-added products such as ACF.

The investigation has shown that a clear dividing line exists between AHF and aluminium converter foil ("ACF"), given the differences in the basic physical characteristics and basic use of the products.

It has been argued that the decrease in the production and sales volume of AHF has been self inflicted by the Community industry's preference to produce ACF which was alleged to generate higher profits than AHF.

In view of the tasks of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA) renewed under Commission Decision 1999/478/EC(1), these objectives of closer dialogue and transparency could be made easier by the introduction of new measures to improve the organisation of meetings of the ACFA, on the one hand, and the communication to the groups concerned of information concerning the issues at stake and the results achieved, on the other.

the volume and prices of imports originating in other third countries, the evolution of prices of raw materials and whether the Community industry might have suffered self-inflicted injury through a switch to ACF production.

The prices of those imports, at customer-delivered level, remained above those of the PRC, Russia and the Community industry throughout the period, although it cannot be excluded that products other than AHF (i.e. ACF) are also included.

ACF will be further transformed (converted) and then cut into the desired sizes and shapes for use in long term conservation of liquid (milk, UHT, fruit juices) and long-term packing (food, cosmetics, chocolate, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, etc.).

Furthermore, AHF is presented in reels of a width not exceeding 650 mm whereas ACF is presented in reels of 700-1200 mm. The information provided by the interested parties shows that the width of the reels cannot be altered once the foil has been annealed.

Firstly, although generally both AHF and ACF can technically be manufactured on the same equipment, in practice producers dedicate equipment to one or another foil product in order to gain efficiency and minimise the costs of changing set-up of the equipment.

It was been found that a profit margin of 5 % constitutes an appropriate minimum, account being taken of the profitability achieved in ACF, a neighbouring product not subject to injurious dumping, and the need for long-term investments by the Community industry.

Even though the same production facilities can technically be used to produce both AHF and ACF, due to the costs incurred when switching from one product to another, in practice Community producers dedicate equipment to the production of one or the other product.

AHF will be rewound onto smaller end-rolls of the same width as the reels, whereas ACF will be subsequently converted (i.e. printed, laminated, folded, etc.) and cut to the required size, in which case a larger size of the reel will allow a more efficient use of the product.

Regarding the basic physical characteristics, it should be noted that AHF is generally produced in a thickness between 0,009 mm to 0,018 mm, whereas ACF is generally produced in thickness below 0,009 (standard 0,0065 mm) and above 0,018 mm (standard 0,020 mm to 0,040 mm), the thickness of the foil being a crucial element in the use of the product in terms of its convertibility.

In the absence of domestic sales by the exporting Russian producer in question or any other producer in Russia, the Commission envisaged establishing SG& A costs and profit on the basis of the production and sales of the same general category of products, i.e. plain foil and more specifically, ACF, for the company concerned in the domestic market, as required by Article 2(6)(b) of the basic Regulation.