2000/399/EC: Council Decision of 16 June 2000 on the procedure concerning derogations from the rules of origin set out in Protocol No 1 to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement
Date: 2000-06-16
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: ACP countries, agreement (EU), customs regulations, derogation from EU law, originating product

L 151/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

24.6.2000

COUNCIL DECISION

of 16 June 2000

on the procedure concerning derogations from the rules of origin set out in Protocol No 1 to the
ACP-EC Partnership Agreement

(2000/399/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 133,

(8)

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

origin laid down in Protocol No 1 to the ACP-EC
Partnership Agreement.

Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 (4) lays
down the rules applicable to periods, dates and time
limits,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

The Fourth ACP-EC Convention expired on 29 February
2000.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

The new ACP-EC Partnership Agreement could not enter
into force on that date.

Article 3 of Decision No 1/2000 of
the ACP-EC
Committee of Ambassadors of 28 February 2000 on
transitional measures valid from 1 March 2000 (1)
provides that the trade provisions of the ACP-EC Part-
nership Agreement, including Protocol No 1 concerning
the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’
and methods of administrative cooperation to the
Convention applies from 1 March 2000.

Article 38(9) of the said Protocol provides that requests
by the ACP States for derogations from the rules of
origin of the same Protocol shall be deemed to have
been accepted if the Community does not inform the
ACP States of its position on the requests within 75
working days of their receipt by the EC Co-Chairman of
the ACP-EC Customs Cooperation Committee, set up by
Article 37 of Protocol No 1.

It is therefore necessary to adopt a procedure ensuring
that
the Community position can be adopted and
communicated to the ACP States within the period of
75 working days.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down
the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers
conferred on the Commission (2).

Council Decision 90/523/EEC (3) provided for the dele-
gation of powers to the Commission with regard to the
adoption of a common position of
the Community
following a request by the ACP States for derogation
from the rules of origin laid down in Protocol No 1 to
the Fourth ACP-EC Convention. A similar delegation of
powers to the Commission should now be provided for
with regard to requests for derogations from the rules of

Article 1

The common position of the Community with regard to a
request presented by the ACP States for derogation from the
rules of origin laid down in Protocol No 1 to the ACP-EC
Partnership Agreement shall be adopted by the Commission in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 2.

Article 2

The Commission shall be assisted by the Customs Code
Committee instituted by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92
of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs
Code (5), hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee’.

the Commission shall submit

The representative of
to the
Committee a draft common position within 25 working days
from the receipt of a request for derogation by the EC Co-
Chairman of the EC-ACP Customs Cooperation Committee.
The Committee shall deliver an opinion on the draft within a
time limit determined by its Chairman according to the
urgency of the matter concerned. The opinion shall be deliv-
ered by the majority laid down in Article 205(2) of the Treaty
in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt
on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the repre-
sentatives of
the Member States shall be weighted in the
manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.

the common position and
The Commission shall adopt
transmit it immediately to the ACP States. However,
if the
common position is not in accordance with the opinion of the
Committee, it shall be submitted by the Commission to the
Council forthwith. In that event, the Commission shall defer its
transmission to the ACP States for a period of 25 working days
from the date of the vote in the Committee.

The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may adopt a
different common position within the period provided for in
the third paragraph.

(1) OJ L 56, 1.3.2000, p. 47.
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(3) OJ L 290, 23.10.1990, p. 33.

(4) OJ L 124, 8.6.1971, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.

24.6.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 151/17

The definition of working days for the purposes of this Decision shall be that laid down in Regulation (EEC,
Euratom) No 1182/71.

Article 3

Article 4

This Decision shall take effect on the date of
Communities.

It shall apply until 31 December 2007.

Done at Luxembourg, 16 June 2000.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

the European

For the Council

The President

L. CAPOULAS SANTOS