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Vol. 1984/0241 
  
 
Disclaimer  
Conformém ent au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983 
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique 
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, 
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003 
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents 
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit 
règlem ent. 
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 
concerning the open ing to the public of the historical archives of the European Econom ic 
Communit y and the European Atom ic Energy Communit y (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as 
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243, 
27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this 
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.  
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom  1. 
Februar 19 83 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen  
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgem einschaft (ABI. L 43 vom  15.2.1983,  
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. Septem ber 2003  
(ABI. L 243 vom 2 7.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit  
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5  
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COMMISSION O F  TH E EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C0M 184) 651 fin a l 
Brussels, 26 November 1984
C O M M U N IC A T IO N  B Y  T H E  C O M M IS S IO N  T O  T H E  C O U N C IL '
Request tor Consultation on b ila te ra l agreements 
between M em ber States and Third countries
C0M(84) 651 fin a l

Request for Consultation on bilateral agreements 
between Member States and Third countries
In accordance with the procedure established under Article 
1 of Council Decision 77/587/EEC of 13.9.1977 the 
Commission requests consultation to take place in the 
framework of the Council not later than (one month from 
date of request).
The Member States are asked to be prepared to examine the 
implications of the following bilateral shipping agreements 
in the framework of the Council :
Ivory Coast
Morocco (initialled, not signed)
Tanzania
Gabon
Senegal
ZaireGermany Brazil 
Ivory Coast
Belgium Algeria
Denmark Republic of Korea
France Algeria 
Ivory Coast
Morocco
Senegal
Tunisia
Greece Egypt

Italy - Ivory Coast 
Egypt 
Forocco 
Senegal
Luxembourg - nil 
Ireland - nil 
Netherlands - nil 
United Kingdom - nil
1. Tliis request by the Commission is prompted by the spread 
of bilateral agreements in shipping - concluded and 
under negotiation - between Member States and Third 
Countries.
2. In early 1984 concern was voiced by the delegates of the 
Federal Pepublic and of the United Kingdom as regards 
the Belgium-Morocco agreement in shipping and this was 
echoed at the last meeting of the Working Group of the 
Maritime Transport Committee of the OECD, where several 
Members expressed grave concern about the increasing 
reports of negotiations and conclusion of bilateral 
agreements between Member and non-Member countries.
3. This document will not attempt to examine in detail the 
agreements listed above. In any case they do not 
constitute an exhaustive list. Such an examination is 
rather the purpose of the Consultation. The Commission 
limits this note to a general review of some of the most 
striking and worrying questions raised by a first 
reading of such agreements.
Leaving aside questions arising under OECD commitments, 
these agreements also raise questions for the European 
Community. The major one is that some typical provisions 
in these agreements appear to form an intergovernmental 
cargo sharing agreement designed to cover all bilateral 
liner trade.

- 3 -
Such provisions must be analysed in relation to the Code 
of Conduct, Regulation 954/79 and all relevant articles 
of the Treaty. To do so all concerned must be provided 
with all necessary elements to be able to form a correct 
understanding of the situation. In order to help the 
Member States in forming this understanding, the 
Commission tables the following questions in direct 
regard to the relevant articles of the bilateral 
agreements listed above :
(a) Will the agreements permit the members of
Conferences to negotiate commercially on the sharing 
of cargo within the Conference, or will the cargo be 
allocated between conference members by one of the 
governments concerned ?
(:' Tn particular will they permit Community
cross-trading Members of the Conference to negotiate 
commercially with the other Members of the 
Conference about their share of the cargo on an 
equal footing with the national lines of the two 
countries parties to the agreement ? In this 
respect it would also be important to know whether 
there are any non-commercial provisions prejudicing 
the position of such cross-traders vis-à-vis 
national lines.
(c) will they permit non-conference lines unfettered 
access to the trade, un-restrained by cargo-sharing 
arrangements ?
(d) will they permit non-conference lines (whether 
cross-trading or national lines) to negotiate their 
way into the conference by commercial means ?
The answers to these 4 questions are fundamental to the 
understanding of the situation even prior to the 
adoption of the UN Code for Liner Conferences by the 
Member States concerned. The principle of 
non-discrimination on grounds of nationality is one of 
the basic elements of European Economic Integration. 
Consequently, the further development of the common 
transport policy in shipping should not be hampered by 
any agreement incompatible with this principle.
The answers to the above questions will still be 
relevant when the trade concerned becomes subject to the 
Code if these agreements remain in force.
With this in mind it is important to analyse further 
questions :
(e) Do the Member States concerned intend to maintain 
these agreements in force after ratification of the 
Code ?

- 4 -
(f) Can the Member States concerned confirm whether - 
after ratification of the Code - the cargo-sharing 
within the Conference will take place between 
Community and reciprocating OECD lines on the basis 
of the principles set out in Reg. 954/79 ?
(g) and will they confirm that no non-commercial 
arrangments such as an intergovernmental 
cargo-sharing agreement, will be allowed to 
interfere with commercial negotiations within the 
conference ?
As an example to illustrate the importance of what is at 
stake, the Commission draws attention to the fact that a 
negative answer to f) and g) would mean that these 
agreements would be incompatible with the directly 
applicable requirements of Regulation 954/79.
Another important matter that the Commission wishes to see 
satisfactorily clarified concerns one of the criteria for 
assessing cargo-distribution :  it seems that in a number of 
bilateral agreements the critical factor used for this 
purpose will be the "port of loading". This would mean 
that the national line of the Port State concerned would be 
regarded as the only national line involved. Thus, the 
country of origin of the shipper or of the cargo would not 
be taken into account.
Such an interpretation of the 
examined as a problem of land 
fact, far reaching consequenc 
see them clarified unequivoca 
Council.Code, which in the OECD was 
locked countries, has, in 
es :  the Commission wishes to 
lly in the framework of the
4. The questions formulated under 3 are certainely not 
exhaustive. They are intended to provide a basis for 
discussions and are likely to be complemented by other 
questions of concern to the Member States.
In the light of the results of this consultation the 
Commission and the Member States will then examine how 
best to proceed to ensure that the present trend will 
not jeopardise the difficult balance that the EEC is 
trying to achieve in order to maintain the principle of 
"free and fair competition on a commercial basis" that 
is one of the fundamental elements of Community Shipping 
Policy.