Corrigendum to Council Regulation (EC) No 1933/2006 of 21 December 2006 temporarily withdrawing access to the generalised tariff preferences from the Republic of Belarus ( OJ L 405, 30.12.2006 )
Date: 2007-02-03
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Belarus, collective bargaining, generalised preferences, labour law, trade policy, trade restriction, trade union freedom

L 29/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

3.2.2007

Corrigendum to Council Regulation (EC) No 1933/2006 of 21 December 2006 temporarily withdrawing access to
the generalised tariff preferences from the Republic of Belarus

(Official Journal of the European Union L 405 of 30 December 2006)

Regulation (EC) No 1933/2006 should read as follows:

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1933/2006

of 21 December 2006

temporarily withdrawing access to the generalised tariff preferences from the Republic of Belarus

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 133 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005 of
27 June 2005 applying a
scheme of generalised tariff
preferences (1), and in particular Article 20(4) thereof,

(5)

Whereas:

(1)

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 980/2005, the Republic of
Belarus (hereinafter referred to as Belarus) is a beneficiary
country of the Community's scheme of generalised tariff
preferences.

(2) On 29 January 2003, the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the European Trade Union
Confederation (ETUC) and the World Confederation of
Labour (WCL) made a joint request to the Commission for
an investigation to be made under Article 27 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 of 10 December 2001
applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the
period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004 (2) —
Statements on a Council Regulation applying a scheme of
generalised tariff preferences for the period from 1 January
2002 to 31 December 2004 into alleged violations of the
to collective
freedom of association and of
bargaining in Belarus.

the right

(3)

The Commission examined the request in consultation with
the Generalised Preferences Committee and decided, by
Decision of 29 December 2003 (3), to initiate an investiga-
tion. Information from interested parties was sought, by
means of a published notice (4).

(4)

The Belarussian authorities were formally notified of the
opening of the investigation. They denied any violations of

(1) OJ L 169, 30.6.2005, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 346, 31.12.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by

Regulation (EC) No 980/2005.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions
No 87 (concerning Freedom of Association and Protection
of the Right to Organise) and No 98 (concerning the
Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and
to Bargain Collectively).

The information collected by the Commission during the
course of the investigation conducted in consultation with
the Generalised Preferences Committee, however, corrobo-
rated the existence of serious and systematic violations of
the freedom of association and of the right to collective
bargaining under ILO Conventions No 87 and No 98.
Among other things, the Commission learned that ILO
examined the situation in Belarus with respect to the two
conventions and had started its own respective investiga-
tion in November 2003. The resulting ILO Commission of
Inquiry report of July 2004 contained 12 recommenda-
tions to undertake specific steps to improve the situation in
Belarus. Belarus was urged to implement these recommen-
dations by 1 June 2005, but no implementation took place.
Based on this
the
Commission considered that a temporary withdrawal of
the preferential arrangement was justified.

information and its own review,

for

(6) On 17 August 2005, the Commission decided to monitor
and evaluate the labour rights situation in Belarus (5). The
announcement of the start of the six-month period of
monitoring and evaluation (6) included a statement of the
to the
Commission's intention to submit a proposal
Council
the trade
the temporary withdrawal of
preferences, unless, before the end of the period, Belarus
had made a commitment to take the measures necessary to
conform with the principles referred to in the 1998 ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work,
as expressed in the twelve recommendations in the ILO
July 2004. The
Commission of
Inquiry report of
Belarussian authorities were notified officially of
the
decision and of the announcement.

(3) Commission Decision 2004/23/EC of 29 December 2003 providing
for the initiation of an investigation pursuant to Article 27(2) of
Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 with respect to the violation
of freedom of association in Belarus (OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 90).

(5) Commission Decision 2005/616/EC of 17 August 2005 on the
monitoring and evaluation of the labour rights situation in Belarus
for temporary withdrawal of trade preferences (OJ L 213, 18.8.2005,
p. 16).

(4) OJ C 40, 14.2.2004, p. 4.

(6) OJ C 240, 30.9.2005, p. 41.

3.2.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 29/15

(7)

(8)

(9)

Belarus did not make the requisite commitment within the
six-month period of monitoring and evaluation, nor, as
described below, during the months which followed.
Instead, on 30 March 2006, Belarussian authorities
presented to the Commission a submission on the situation
of freedom of association rights in Belarus. The Commis-
sion analysed that submission, but concluded that it did not
provide sufficient evidence of commitment.

In the meantime, the ILO Governing Body adopted the
Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) follow-up
report in March 2006, in which the CFA pointed to the
actual worsening of the situation of trade unions' rights in
Belarus and urged the Belarussian authorities to take
concrete measures immediately.

Further, the Commission received a communication, dated
16 May 2006, from the Belarussian authorities on the
situation of freedom of association rights in Belarus. Just as
with the submission of 30 March 2006, after a careful
analysis, the Commission came to the conclusion that that
submission did not provide any sign of commitment or a
convincing indication that the situation had improved. This
assessment of the situation in Belarus was shared by the
ILO Committee on the Application of Standards of the
International Labour Conference in its June 2006 report,
where it deplored the continued failure by the Belarussian
Government
the recommendations and
stressed the necessity of rapid actions so that real and
tangible progress could be noted. Also the June 2006
International Labour Conference, organised under
the
auspices of ILO, classified the lack of implementation of
the 12 recommendations, which Belarus continued to
ignore since July 2004, as a case of continued failure. This
exceptional classification is only used for very serious and
systematic cases of non compliance with a ratified
convention.

to implement

(10) The Commission has carefully analysed recent develop-
ments in Belarus,
including a letter from Belarus dated
14 October 2006 and submitted to the Commission on
Instead of producing any effective
17 October 2006.
commitment or clear evidence that
the situation has
improved, that letter, once again, puts forward possible
intentions, but contains no indication of effective imple-
mentation of the principles of ILO Conventions No 87 and
No 98. The violations of principles laid down in the ILO
Conventions No 87 and No 98 continue to exist.

(11)

In the light of the foregoing the preferential arrangement
for products originating in Belarus should be withdrawn
temporarily, until it is decided that the reasons justifying the
temporary withdrawal no longer prevail.

(12) This Regulation should enter into force six months after its
adoption, unless it is decided before then that the reasons
justifying it no longer prevail,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The preferential arrangement for products originating in Belarus
in Regulation (EC) No 980/2005 shall be
provided for
withdrawn temporarily.

Article 2

The Council, acting by qualified majority, on a proposal from the
Commission, shall re-establish the preferential arrangement for
products originating in Belarus, if the violations of the freedom
of association and of the right to collective bargaining in Belarus
no longer exist.

This Regulation shall enter into force on 21 June 2007.

Article 3

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 21 December 2006.

For the Council

The President

J. KORKEAOJA