5. Any special problems raised by the application of the preceding paragraphs shall be settled by directives issued by the Council acting by means of a qualified majority vote on a proposal of the Commission.
6. Member States shall report to the Commission as to the manner in which the preceding rules for the reduction of duties are applied. They shall endeavour to ensure that the reduction applied to the duties on each product shall amount :
- -at the end of the first stage to at least 25 per cent of the basic duty ; and
- -at the end of the second stage to at least 50 per cent of the basic duty.
If the Commission finds that there is a danger that the objectives laid down in Article 13 and the percentages fixed in this paragraph may not be achieved, it shall make any appropriate recommendations to the Member States.
7. The provisions of this Article may be amended by the Council acting by means of a unanimous vote on a proposal of the Commission and after the Assembly has been consulted.
Article 15
1. Independently of the provisions of Article 14, any Member State may, in the course of the transitional period, suspend in whole or in part the collection of the duties applied by it to products imported from other Member States. It shall inform the other Member States and the Commission thereof.
2. Member States hereby declare their willingness to reduce their customs duties in regard to other Member States more rapidly than provided for in Article 14 if their general economic situation and the situation of the sector concerned so permit. The Commission shall make recommendations for this purpose to the Member States concerned.
Article 16
Member States shall abolish as between themselves, not later than at the end of the first stage, the customs duties on exportation and charges with equivalent effect.
Article 17
1. The provisions of Articles 9 to 15, paragraph 1, shall also apply to customs duties of a fiscal nature. Such duties shall not, however, be taken into consideration for the purpose of calculating either total customs receipts or the reduction in total duties referred to in Article 14, paragraphs 3 and 4.
Such duties shall, at each reduction, be lowered by not less than 10 per cent of the basic duty. Member States may reduce their duties more rapidly than is provided for in Article 14.
