5. (a) The measures referred to in this Article shall apply to every product which is put into free circulation after their entry into force. In accordance with Article 18 they may be confined to one or more regions of the Community. (b) However, such measures shall not prevent the release for free circulation of products already on their way to the Community provided that the destination of such products cannot be changed and that those products which, pursuant to Articles 11 and 12, may be put into free circulation only in production of an import document are in fact accompanied by such a document.
6. Where intervention by the Commission has been requested by a Member State, the Commission shall take a decision within a maximum of five working days of receipt of such a request.
7. Any decision taken by the Commission pursuant to this Article shall be communicated to the Council and to the Member States. Any Member State may, within one month following the day of such communication, refer the decision to the Council.
8. If a Member State refers the Commission's decision to the Council, the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may confirm, amend or revoke that decision.
If, within three months of the referral of the matter to the Council, the Council has not taken a decision, the decision taken by the Commission shall be deemed revoked.
Article 17
Where the interests of the Community so require, the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission drawn up in accordance with the terms of Title III, may adopt appropriate measures to prevent a product being imported into the Community in such greatly increased quantities and/or on such terms or conditions as to cause, or threaten to cause, serious injury to Community producers of like or directly competing products.
Article 16
(2), (3), (4) and (5) shall apply.
Article 18
Where it emerges, primarily on the basis of the factors referred to in Article 10, that the conditions laid down for the adoption of measures pursuant to Articles 11 and 16 are met in one or more regions of the Community, the Commission, after having examined alternative solutions, may exceptionally authorize the application of surveillance or safeguard measures limited to the region(s) concerned if it considers that such measures applied at that level are more appropriate than measures applied throughout the Community.
These measures must be temporary and must disrupt the operation of the internal market as little as possible.
The measures shall be adopted in accordance with the provisions laid down in Articles 11 and 16 respectively.
Article 19
No safeguard measure may be applied to a product originating in a developing country Member of the WTO as long as that country's share of Community imports of the product concerned does not exceed 3 %, provided that developing country Members with less than a 3 % import share collectively account for not more than 9 % of total Community imports of the product concerned.
