WT/REG106/N/1  
 
23 October 2017  
(17-5718) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  OF CHANGES AFFECTING  THE IMPLEMENTATION  
OF A REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENT  
The following communication, dated 10 October 2017 , has been received from the 
Delegation of the European Union . 
 
_______________  
 
 Notification of amendm ents to the Association of the O verseas Countries and Territories with 
the European Union (WT/REG106) . 
 
1. Member(s) notifying:  European Union  
2. Date of notification:  10 October 2017  
3. Notification pursuant to:  
[X] Paragraph 14 of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade  
Agreements (WT/L/671)  
[  ] Article XXIV:7( c) of GATT 1994  
[  ] Article V:7(a) of GATS  
[  ] Paragraph 4(a) of the Enabling Clause  
4. Parties to the Agreement:   
The EU and the Overseas Countries and Territories of the EU  
5. Date of signature : n.a. 
6. Date(s) of entry into Force:  See below under point 7.  
7. Brief description of the Decision:  Three changes to the Association of the Overseas 
Countries and Territories (OCT) with the European Union (original notification L/3467  of 
14 December 1970 and subsequent reports)  have taken place in these last years.  
First, the current legal basi s of the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories 
(OCTs) with the European Union  is the European Council Decision 2013/755/EU on the 
association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union  (OJ L 344, 
19.12.2013: 
http://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -content/EN/TXT/?qid=1504794329050&uri=CELEX:32013
D0755 ). It has replaced the C ouncil Decision 2001/822/EC of 27 November 2001 on the  
association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Community (OJ L 
314, 30.11.2001, p. 1)  as of 1 January 2014 . 
 
Second, some changes occurred also in the territorial scope of this Association, as a 
consequence of the amendments to the list of the OCT s contained in Annex II of the 
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  (TFEU).  
1. On 1 January 2014 Mayotte ceased to be an overseas country and became an 
outermost region of the Union within the meaning of Article 349 T FEU. Therefo re, WT/REG106/N/1  
 
- 2 - 
 
  Mayotte is not anymore listed in Annex II of TFEU and it is not covered by th e legal 
provisions of Council Decision 2013/755/EU applicable to OCTs. This means that 
Mayotte falls outside the territorial scope of this Association agreement and it is 
part of the EU internal market.  
 
The legal basis of this amendment is the European Council Decision 2012/419/EU 
of 11 July 2012 amending the status of Mayotte with regard to the 
European  Union  (OJ L 204, 31.7.2012, p. 131 : http://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012D0419&rid=1 / 
 
2. On 1 January 2012 Saint -Bartélemy  ceased to be an outermost region and became 
an overseas country listed in Annex II of the TFEU. Therefore, Saint -Bartélemy is 
now subject to the legal provisions of Council Decision 2013/755/EU.  This means 
that Saint -Bartélemy is covered by this Associati on agreement and it is not 
anymore part of the EU internal market.  
 
The legal basis of this amendment is the European Council Decision 2010/718/EU 
of 29 October 2010 amending the status with regard to the European Union of the 
island of Saint -Barthélemy (O J L 325, 9.12.2010, p. 4.).  
 
Third, o n 1 January 2014, Bermuda started being covered by the provision of the 
Association Agreement, on the basis of the legal provisions of the European Council 
Decision 2013/755/EU . To be recalled, Bermuda was already listed as an OCT in Annex II 
of TFEU , but it was not covered by the 2001 EU -OCT decision . 
8. Text and related schedules, annexes and protocols are:  
[  ] submitted to the WTO Secretariat (electronic format)  
[X] available from the following official Internet link(s):  
Please refer to the links mentioned under point 7.  
 
 
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