COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2020/1658

of 6 November 2020

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Council of Members of the International Olive Council (IOC) as regards the conditions for the accession of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 207(4), in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015 (‘the Agreement’) was signed on behalf of the Union in accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2016/1892 (1) on 18 November 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, subject to its conclusion at a later date. The Agreement entered into force provisionally on 1 January 2017 in accordance with Article 31(2) thereof.

(2) The Agreement was concluded on 17 May 2019 by Council Decision (EU) 2019/848 (2).

(3) Pursuant to Article 29 of the Agreement, the Council of Members of the International Olive Council (the ‘Council of Members’) is to establish the conditions for the accession of a government to the Agreement.

(4) The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan has formally applied to accede to the Agreement. The Council of Members should therefore be invited, during a future session thereof, or within the framework of a procedure for adoption of decisions by the Council of Members by exchange of correspondence, to establish the conditions for the accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan in respect of the participation shares in the IOC and the time limit for the deposit of the instrument of accession.

(5) Given that the Republic of Uzbekistan is developing its olive sectors as regards consumption and intends to develop its production, its accession under certain conditions could reinforce the IOC, in particular as regards the achievement of uniformity in national and international law relating to the characteristics of olive products, in order to prevent any obstacle to trade.

(6) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the Council of Members, as the decisions to be adopted will have legal effects on the Union by impacting the decisional balance within the Council of Members when decisions are not adopted by consensus in accordance with Article 10(4) of the Agreement,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Council of Members of the International Olive Council during a future session thereof, or within the framework of a procedure for adoption of decisions by the Council of Members by exchange of correspondence, as regards the conditions for the accession of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Agreement, shall be to support the accession of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Agreement, provided that: (a) the participation shares of the Republic of Uzbekistan are calculated according to the formula set out in Article 11 of the Agreement; and (b) the time limit for the deposit of the instruments of accession does not exceed a year and a half following the decision of the Council of Members. If the deposit of the instrument is delayed, the Union may support, in subsequent decisions to be adopted by the Council of Members, the extension of the period for the deposit of the instrument.

Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Brussels, 6 November 2020. For the Council The President M. ROTH

(1) Council Decision (EU) 2016/1892 of 10 October 2016 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015 (OJ L 293, 28.10.2016, p. 2).

(2) Council Decision (EU) 2019/848 of 17 May 2019 on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015 (OJ L 139, 27.5.2019, p. 1).