on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Council for Trade in Goods of the World Trade Organisation as regards the rules of procedure of the Committee on Trade Facilitation

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.Subject matter of the proposal

This proposal establishes the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in connection with the proposed adoption of the rules of procedures of the Committee on Trade Facilitation ("the Committee"), pursuant to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement ("the Agreement").

2.Context of the proposal

2.1.The Trade Facilitation Agreement

The Agreement, to which the EU is a party, was adopted at the 9th Bali Ministerial WTO Ministerial Conference in 2013 with the aim of simplifying, modernising and facilitating export and import processes among WTO members. It contains provisions on speedier, simplified, more transparent and more efficient procedures at the border, expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit and sets out measures for effective cooperation among customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance. The Agreement entered into force on 22 February 2017.

2.2.The envisaged act of the Council on Trade in Goods

Article 23.1 of the Agreement establishes the Committee on Trade Facilitation and provides that "the Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure". To that end, a proposal was made by Japan, Argentina, Norway and Paraguay which received the full support at the last meeting of the WTO Trade Facilitation Committee on 25 June 2019. The proposed rules are of an administrative nature and ensure the efficient organisation and proceedings during the meetings of the Trade Facilitation Committee.

In accordance with Article IV.6 of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO, the rules of procedure of subsidiary bodies such as the Trade Facilitation Committee need to be approved by the WTO Council on Trade in Goods in order to enter into force.

3.Position to be taken on the Union's behalf

The rules of procedure are of an administrative nature. They aim at ensuring an efficient functioning of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. It is in the interest of the EU to adopt these rules that received full support at the meeting of the Trade Facilitation Committee so that the Committee works well and monitors efficiently the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. These rules are based on the Rules of Procedure of the General Council of the WTO and adjusted only to meet the specific needs of the Trade Facilitation Committee. For example, Rule 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Council is complemented by an obligation that the Committee meets at least once a year, which is not the case for the General Council. Another illustration is that the invitation for the meetings should preferably be issued three weeks before the meetings in order to facilitate the preparation of the positions that sometimes can be complex, in particular when related to aid associated to the implementation of certain commitments. In the General Council, meetings can be convened at very short notice if there is an urgency and normally within 10 working days (Rule 2).

4.Legal basis

4.1.Procedural legal basis

4.1.1.Principles

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts having legal effects, with the exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do not have a binding effect under international law, but that are ‘capable of decisively influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’.

4.1.2.Application to the present case

The World Trade Organisation is an international organisation set up by the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO. (The WTO "Agreement"). The Trade Facilitation Committee has been established as a subsidiary body under the authority of the Council on Trade in Goods.

The act which the Council on Trade in Goods is called upon to adopt constitutes an act having legal effects. The envisaged act does not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Agreement. It only approves the rules for the functioning of the Committee on Trade Facilitation.