1. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, Regulation (EC) No 788/96 is hereby repealed.
2. References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation.
3. By way of derogation from the second paragraph of Article 13 of this Regulation, a Member State having been granted a transitional period in accordance with Article 7 of this Regulation shall continue to apply the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 788/96 for the duration of the transitional period granted.