on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Singapore, of the other part

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

On 25 November 2004, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement ('PCA' or 'the Agreement') with six ASEAN countries, including Singapore. Negotiations with Singapore were launched in October 2005 and finalised in May 2013. The two sides initialled the PCA in Singapore on 14 October 2013.

Negotiations were carried out in consultation with the Working Party on Asia and the Pacific (COASI), as a consultative committee. The European Parliament has been kept informed throughout the negotiations.

Following the adoption of the Council Decision on the signing of the Agreement on 16/07/2018, the Agreement was signed on 19/10/2018 in Brussels.

The present proposal concerns the legal instrument concluding the Agreement.

2.LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

2.1.The aim and content of the Agreement

The PCA with Singapore is the fifth agreement with an ASEAN country, following the agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. It will supersede the current legal framework of the 1980 Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

This Agreement with Singapore constitutes a stepping stone towards enhanced political and economic involvement of the EU in South-East Asia. It will provide the basis for more effective bilateral engagement by the EU and its Member States with Singapore by strengthening political dialogue and enhancing cooperation in a broad range of areas.

The PCA covers the EU’s standard political clauses on human rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMD), Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and counter-terrorism. It also encompasses cooperation in areas such as trade and investment issues, industrial policy, health, environment, climate change, energy, tax, education and culture, labour, employment and social affairs, science and technology, and transport. The Agreement further addresses cooperation in the area of justice, freedom and security, i.a legal cooperation, money laundering and terrorist financing, organised crime and corruption.

The PCA contains a Side Letter, which forms an integral part of the Agreement. The Side Letter confirms the parties' understanding that, at the time of signature of the Agreement, they are not aware, based on objectively available information, of any of each other’s domestic laws, or their application, which could lead to the invocation of the non-execution mechanism.

The PCA is complemented by a Free Trade Agreement and an Investment Protection Agreement, which constitute specific agreements giving effect to trade and investment provisions of the PCA, and which are an integral part of the overall bilateral relations and the common institutional framework as provided for in Article 9(2) of the PCA.

The Agreement provides for the possibility of suspending the application of the PCA or of any specific agreement referred to under Article 9(2) and Article 43(3) of the Agreement in case of a violation of essential elements of the Agreement, i.e. the human rights clause and the non-proliferation clause.

The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee with the task of ensuring the proper functioning and implementation of the Agreement.

2.2.Substantive legal basis

According to the case-law, if examination of an EU measure reveals that it pursues two purposes or that it comprises two components and if one of these is identifiable as the main or predominant purpose or component, whereas the other is merely incidental, the measure must be founded on a single legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant purpose or component. Exceptionally, if it is established, on the other hand, that the measure simultaneously pursues a number of objectives, or has several components, which are inextricably linked without one being incidental to the other, so that various provisions of the Treaty are applicable, the measure must be founded on the various corresponding legal bases (see, to that effect, judgments of 10 January 2006, Commission v Parliament and Council, C178/03, EU:C:2006:4, paragraphs 42 and 43; of 11 June 2014, Commission v Council, C377/12, EU:C:2014:1903, paragraph 34; and of 14 June 2016, Parliament v Council, C263/14, EU:C:2016:435, paragraph 44).

In this particular case, the predominant purpose or component is cooperation with a third country. That is why the proposed Decision should be based on Article 212 TFEU.

2.3.Procedural legal basis