2005/4/EC: Council Decision of 22 December 2004 on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures and the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to the EC-Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement
Date: 2004-12-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: CCT duties, Palestine, association agreement (EU), liberalisation of trade, ratification of an agreement, tariff exemption

L 2/4

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Official Journal of the European Union

5.1.2005

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 22 December 2004

on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European
Community and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian
Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures and
the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to the EC-Palestinian Authority Interim Association
Agreement

(2005/4/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 133,
with the first sentence of Article 300(2) thereof,

establishing the European
in conjunction

(2)

(3)

The Commission has, on behalf of
the Community,
negotiated an Agreement in the form of an Exchange
of Letters with a view to replacing Protocols 1 and 2
to the Interim Association Agreement.

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
implementing powers
the exercise of
conferred on the Commission (2),

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

(1)

the one part,

Article 12 of the Euro-Mediterranean Interim Association
Agreement on trade and cooperation between the
European Community, of
and the
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for the benefit
of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip (1) (hereinafter the Palestinian Authority), of
the other part, in force since 1 July 1997 and hereinafter
referred to as the Interim Association Agreement, states
that the Community and the Palestinian Authority shall
progressively establish a greater liberalisation, inter alia, of
their trade in agricultural products. Further, Article 14
the Community
provides that,
from 1 January 1999,
to examine
and the Palestinian Authority are
the
liberalisation
the
to determine
situation in order
measures to be applied by the Community and the Pales-
tinian Authority from 1 January 2000,
in accordance
with the objective referred to in the said Article 12.

The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between
the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organi-
sation (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip concerning reciprocal
liberal-
isation measures and the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to
the EC-Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement
Palestinian
between the
Authority is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.

European Community

and the

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

Article 2

The measures necessary for the implementation of Protocols 1
and 2 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 3.

(1) OJ L 187, 16.7.1997, p. 3.

(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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Article 3

3.

The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by the committees
established by the corresponding provisions of the regulations
on the common organisation of markets or by the Customs
Code Committee established by Article 248a of Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the
Community Customs Code (1).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at one month.

Article 4

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate
the person empowered to sign the Agreement so as to bind the
Community.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 2004.

For the Council
The President

C. VEERMAN

(1) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 60/2004 (OJ L 9, 15.1.2004, p. 8).