The President of the Council shall designate the person empowered to proceed, on behalf of the European Union, to the deposit of the instrument of approval provided for in the Agreement, in order to express the consent of the European Union to be bound by the Agreement.

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

The Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.

(3)The Agreement should be approved on behalf of the European Union,

(2)In accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2017/… the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products (‘The Agreement’) was signed on […], subject to its conclusion.

(1)Article 19 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area provides that the contracting Parties undertake to continue their efforts to achieve progressive liberalisation of trade in agricultural products.

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

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 point (a)(v) of Article 218(6) thereof,

on the conclusion of the agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products

This agreement will have no impact on the expenditure side of the EU budget. The new concessions granted on imports from Norway will likely result in a reduction of own resources through a lower collection of customs duties.

In November 2014 the Council authorised the Commission to launch a new round of negotiations with Norway to achieve additional preferences for trade in agricultural goods under Article 19 of the EEA Agreement.

The deepening of trade relations with Norway fits into the overall context of EU trade policy and is beneficial for the EU since the EU is a net exporter of basic agricultural products to Norway. The 2016 trade balance was vastly in favour of the EU, with the EU exports reaching EUR 2.495 million against EUR 307 million EUR imports from Norway. The main products exported by the EU are wines and vinegar, animal feed, soya and colza oil, live plants and cheese. Imports into the EU from Norway are mainly soybean, animal and vegetable oils and their residues, fur skins and undenatured ethyl alcohol.

The 2011 EU-Norway bilateral agricultural trade agreement increased the duty-free access of EU agricultural products to the Norwegian market to around 60 % of trade. These figures demonstrate that there was ample room for further trade concessions. Therefore, the latest round of negotiations aimed at:

The previous agreement took the form of an exchange of letters liberalising trade in agricultural products between Norway and the European Union, based on Article 19 of the EEA Agreement. The previous agreement was signed on 15 April 2011. It provided for mutual tariff rate quotas and reductions in duty. It also included an undertaking by the Parties to resume bilateral negotiations under Article 19 of the EEA Agreement in two years’ time.

The intention of both Parties is that this Agreement enters into force on the third month following the date of the deposit of the last instrument of approval.

The negotiations were conducted from 3 February 2015 to 5 April 2017. The agreement was initialled by the Parties on 5 April 2017 and provides for further trade preferences for trade in agricultural products, including additional fully liberalised tariff lines. For more sensitive products such as meat, dairy, vegetables and ornamental plants, additional or new tariff quotas have been agreed upon.

The EU and Norway are signatories to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA Agreement) which provides for the free movement of goods, with the exception of agricultural and fisheries products. As regards agriculture, Article 19 of the EEA Agreement provides that the Parties will carry out, every two years, review of the conditions of trade in agricultural products and decide on a reciprocal and mutually beneficial basis on the further reduction of any type of barriers to trade in the agricultural sector.

on the conclusion of the agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 17.10.2017 COM(2017) 595 final ANNEX to the Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of an agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products



Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products, reached on the basis of Article 19 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area



Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products, A. Letter from the European Union Sir, I have the honour to refer to the negotiations between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway (ʽthe Partiesʼ) on bilateral trade in agricultural products, concluded on 5 April 2017. A new round of agricultural trade negotiations between the European Commission and the Norwegian Government was undertaken on the basis of Article 19 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (ʽthe EEA Agreementʼ) with a view to furthering the progressive liberalisation of agricultural trade between the Parties on a preferential, reciprocal and mutually beneficial basis. The negotiations were carried out on an orderly basis, with due consideration given to developments in the Parties’ respective agricultural policies and circumstances, including developments in bilateral trade and trade conditions with other trading partners. I hereby confirm that the results of the negotiations were as follows: 1.Norway undertakes to grant duty-free access to products originating in the European Union, listed in Annex I to this Agreement. 2.Norway undertakes to establish tariff quotas for products originating in the European Union, listed in Annex II to this Agreement. 3.The European Union undertakes to grant duty-free access to products originating in Norway, listed in Annex III to this Agreement. 4.The European Union undertakes to establish tariff quotas for products originating in Norway, listed in Annex IV to this Agreement. 5.The tariff codes set out in Annexes I to IV to this Agreement are the tariff codes that apply to the Parties as of 1 January 2017. 6.The existing tariff quotas for imports into Norway of 600 tonnes of swine meat, 800 tonnes of poultry meat and 900 tonnes of bovine meat, as listed in Annex II to the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway signed on 15 April 2011 (ʽthe 2011 Agreementʼ), will not be affected by the implementation of a possible future WTO agreement on agriculture. Point 7 of the 2011 Agreement is therefore deleted. 7.As regards the additional tariff quota for imports into Norway of 1 200 tonnes of cheese and curd, the Parties agree that 700 tonnes will be administered by auction and 500 tonnes by the licensing system. 8.The Parties will continue efforts to consolidate all bilateral concessions (those already in force and those set out in this Agreement) in a new exchange of letters, which should replace their existing bilateral agricultural agreements. 9.The rules of origin for the purpose of implementing the concessions referred to in Annexes I to IV to this Agreement are set out in Annex IV to the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters of 2 May 1992 (ʽthe 1992 Agreementʼ). However, Annex II to Protocol 4 to the EEA Agreement shall be applied instead of the Appendix to Annex IV to the 1992 Agreement. 10.The Parties will ensure that the concessions that they grant to each other will not be undermined. 11.The Parties agree to ensure that tariff quotas will be managed in such a way that imports can take place regularly and that the agreed quantities can actually be imported. 12.The Parties agree to exchange at regular intervals information on traded products, tariff quota management, price quotations and any useful information concerning their respective domestic markets and the implementation of the results of these negotiations.

13.Consultations will be held at the request of either Party on any question relating to the implementation of the results of these negotiations. If difficulties with implementation arise, such consultations will be held as promptly as possible, with a view to adopting appropriate corrective measures. 14.The Parties reaffirm their commitment, in accordance with Article 19 of the EEA Agreement, to continue their efforts with a view to achieving progressive liberalisation of agricultural trade. To this end, the Parties agree to carry out, in two years’ time, a new review of the conditions of trade in agricultural products, with a view to exploring possible concessions. 15.In the event of further enlargement of the European Union, the Parties will assess the impact on bilateral trade, with a view to adapting bilateral preferences so that pre-existing preferential trade flows between Norway and acceding countries can continue. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the date of the deposit of the last instrument of approval. I would be grateful if you could confirm the agreement of your Government with the above. Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration. Done at Brussels, For the European Union,



B. Letter from the Kingdom of Norway Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of [insert the date of the letter], which reads as follows: "I have the honour to refer to the negotiations between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway ('the Parties') on bilateral trade in agricultural products, concluded on 5 April 2017. A new round of agricultural trade negotiations between the European Commission and the Norwegian Government was undertaken on the basis of Article 19 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area ('the EEA Agreement') with a view to furthering the progressive liberalisation of agricultural trade between the Parties on a preferential, reciprocal and mutually beneficial basis. The negotiations were carried out on an orderly basis, with due consideration given to developments in the Parties’ respective agricultural policies and circumstances, including developments in bilateral trade and trade conditions with other trading partners. I hereby confirm that the results of the negotiations were as follows: 1.Norway undertakes to grant duty free access to products originating in the European Union, listed in Annex I to this Agreement. 2.Norway undertakes to establish tariff quotas for products originating in the European Union, listed in Annex II to this Agreement.