Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and Ukraine concerning the elimination by Ukraine of export duties on trade in goods.
Date: 2008-02-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, Ukraine, exchange of information, export monitoring, international agreement, trading operation

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 11.2.2008 
COM(2008) 79 final 

2008/0031 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the 
European Community and Ukraine concerning the elimination by Ukraine of export 
duties on trade in goods.  

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In  the  context  of  its  process  of  accession  to  the  WTO,  which  is  presently  being  completed, 
Ukraine  has  committed  to  gradually  reduce  its  current  export  duties,  however,  not  reaching 
the full elimination of the duties. Nevertheless, there is an agreement between the negotiators 
of the EC and Ukraine that all export duties shall be eliminated immediately upon the entry 
into  force  of  an  EU-Ukraine  bilateral  Free  Trade  Area  (FTA)  agreement,  to  be  negotiated 
directly after the WTO accession. 

In  order  to  formalise  this  agreement,  on  23  April  2007  the  General  Affairs  and  External 
Relations  Council  adopted  negotiating  directives  authorising  the  Commission  to  negotiate  a 
binding international agreement in the context of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement 
(PCA)  in  the  form  of  an  exchange  of  letters  with  Ukraine  including  a  commitment  to 
eliminate all export duties upon the entry into force of the future free trade agreement between 
the EC and Ukraine. The agreement does not require the EC to undertake any commitments. 

Agreement has been reached on the text of the formal exchange of letters. The Commission 
should therefore adopt the attached proposal. 

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2008/0031 (ACC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the 
European Community and Ukraine concerning the elimination by Ukraine of export 
duties on trade in goods.  

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 
133(1) in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

On  14  June  1994  the  European  Communities  and  its  Member  States  and  Ukraine 
signed  in  Luxembourg  the  Partnership  and  Co-operation  Agreement  (PCA),  which 
entered into force on 1 March 1998. 

Considering the commitment of the Community and its Member States and of Ukraine 
to  strengthen  the  economic  integration  which  constitutes  an  essential  basis  of  their 
partnership. 

Since  March  2007  negotiations  have  been  opened  for  a  new  Enhanced  Agreement 
between the EU and Ukraine to replace the Partnership and Co-operation agreement.  

It  is  intended  that  the  Enhanced  Agreement  provides  for  the  creation  of  a  deep  and 
comprehensive Free Trade Area (FTA), as a core element of the Enhanced Agreement, 
following the accession of Ukraine to the WTO. 

In  the  context  of  the  WTO  accession  negotiations  of  Ukraine  the  Commission,  on 
behalf of the Community, negotiated comprehensive market opening commitments on 
the part of Ukraine which are of particular importance to the Community, as set out in 
a memorandum agreed between the negotiators of Ukraine and the Commission on 17 
March 2003. 

These commitments will be embodied in the Protocol of Accession of Ukraine to the 
WTO. 

During  the  WTO  accession  process  of  Ukraine  the  Commission  has  negotiated  on 
behalf of the Community an agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between 
the  European  Community  and  Ukraine  concerning  the  elimination  by  Ukraine  of  all 
export  duties  on  trade  in  goods  upon  the  entry  into  force  of  the  future  EU-Ukraine 
FTA. 

(8) 

The proposed agreement should be approved on behalf of the Community, 

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HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

The Agreement, in the framework of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement and in the 
form  of  an  Exchange  of  Letters  between  the  European  Community  and  Ukraine  concerning 
the elimination by Ukraine of all export duties on trade in goods upon the entry into force of 
the future EU-Ukraine free-trade agreement is hereby approved on behalf of the Community. 

The text of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of letters is attached hereto. 

The  President  of  the  Council  is  hereby  authorised  to  designate  the  person(s)  empowered  to 
sign the Agreement on behalf of the Community.1 

Article 2 

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels,  

Article 3 

For the Council 
The President 

1 

The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European 
Union. 

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ANNEX  

EXCHANGE OF LETTERS 

between the European Community and Ukraine in relation to export duties 

A. Letter from Government of Ukraine 

Kyiv, _________________ 

Your Excellency, 

In  the  context  of  the  Partnership  and  Co-operation  Agreement  between  the  European 
Communities  and  their  Member  States,  and  Ukraine  of  14  June  1994,  and  pursuant  to 
negotiations on the accession of Ukraine to the World Trade Organisation, the purpose of this 
letter is to confirm that duties applied by Ukraine to goods originating therein and exported to 
the European Community shall be eliminated upon the entry into force of an EU-Ukraine Free 
Trade  Area  agreement,  to  be  negotiated  after  finalization  of  Ukraine's  WTO  accession 
process, in the framework of a new Enhanced Agreement. 

I propose that this letter and your reply to it will establish a formal agreement between us. 

This  agreement  will  enter  into  force  as  from  the  date  on  which  the  European  Community 
receives a written notification from Ukraine to the effect that it has completed the necessary 
internal procedures.  

I confirm that this letter and your reply establish a formal agreement between us. 

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration. 

On behalf of Ukraine 

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B. Letter from the European Community 

Your Excellency, 

Brussels, _________________ 

I confirm the receipt of the letter from the Government of Ukraine dated 11 December 2007 
for which I thank you, and which reads as follows: 

'Your Excellency, 

In  the  context  of  the  Partnership  and  Co-operation  Agreement  between  the  European 
Communities  and  their  Member  States,  and  Ukraine  of  14  June  1994,  and  pursuant  to 
negotiations on the accession of Ukraine to the World Trade Organisation, the purpose of this 
letter is to confirm that duties applied by Ukraine to goods originating therein and exported to 
the European Community shall be eliminated upon the entry into force of an EU-Ukraine Free 
Trade  Area  agreement,  to  be  negotiated  after  finalization  of  Ukraine's  WTO  accession 
process, in the framework of a new Enhanced Agreement. 

I propose that this letter and your reply to it will establish a formal agreement between us. 

This  agreement  will  enter  into  force  as  from  the  date  on  which  the  European  Community 
receives a written notification from Ukraine to the effect that it has completed the necessary 
internal procedures.  

I confirm that this letter and your reply establish a formal agreement between us. 

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration'.  

I confirm that the above-quoted letter and my reply will establish a formal agreement between 
us. 

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration. 

On behalf of the European Community 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR PROPOSALS HAVING A 
BUDGETARY IMPACT EXCLUSIVELY LIMITED TO THE REVENUE SIDE 

ANNEX  

1. 

NAME OF THE PROPOSAL :  

Proposal for Council Decision on the conclusion of a bilateral Agreement in the form 
of  an  Exchange  of  Letters  between  the  European  Community  and  Ukraine 
concerning the elimination by Ukraine of export duties on trade in goods 

2. 

BUDGET LINES : 

Chapter and Article : 120 

Amount budgeted for the year concerned (2008): 16.431.900.000 euro 

3. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT:  

(cid:59) 

(cid:133) 

Proposal has no financial implications 

Proposal has no financial impact on expenditure but has a financial impact on 
revenue – the effect is as follows: 

(€ million to one decimal place) 

Budget 
line 

Revenue2 

12 month period, 
starting 
dd/mm/aaaa 

[Year n] 

Article … 

Impact on own resources 

Article … 

Impact on own resources 

Situation following action 

[n+1] 

[n+2] 

[n+3] 

[n+4] 

[n+5] 

Article…  

Article… 

2 

Regarding  traditional  own  resources  (agricultural  duties,  sugar  levies,  customs  duties)  the  amounts 
indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25 % of collection costs 

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4. 

5. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES 

OTHER REMARKS  

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