COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2021/1050

of 21 June 2021

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Tunisia, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 217, in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a) thereof,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Republic of Croatia, and in particular Article 6(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,

Whereas:

(1) The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Tunisia, of the other part (1) (‘the Agreement’), was signed on 17 July 1995. The Agreement entered into force on 1 March 1998.

(2) The Republic of Croatia became a Member State of the European Union on 1 July 2013.

(3) In accordance with Article 6(2) of the Act of Accession of the Republic of Croatia, the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the Agreement is to be agreed by means of a protocol to the Agreement (‘the Protocol’). Under a simplified procedure, a protocol is to be concluded between the Council, acting unanimously on behalf of the Member States, and the third country concerned.

(4) On 14 September 2012, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with the third countries concerned in view of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the Union. The negotiations with the Republic of Tunisia were concluded successfully on 11 May 2018.

(5) In accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2020/1420 (2) the Protocol was signed on behalf of the Union and its Member States in Brussels on 27 July 2020, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

(6) The Protocol should be approved on behalf of the Union and its Member States,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 The Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Tunisia, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, is hereby approved on behalf of the Union and its Member States (3).

Article 2 The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the Union and its Member States, give the notification provided for in Article 7(1) of the Protocol.

Article 3 This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Luxembourg, 21 June 2021. For the Council The President J. BORRELL FONTELLES

(1) OJ L 97, 30.3.1998, p. 2.

(2) Council Decision (EU) 2020/1420 of 15 October 2018 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, and provisional application of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Tunisia, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union (OJ L 330, 9.10.2020, p. 1).

(3) The text of the Protocol has been published in OJ L 330 of 9.10.2020, together with the decision on signature.