Council Regulation (EC) No 125/2008 of 12 February 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 laying down Community procedures in the field of the common commercial policy in order to ensure the exercise of the Community’s rights under international trade rules, in particular those established under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation
Date: 2008-02-12
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: World Trade Organisation, application of EU law, common commercial policy, international law

14.2.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 40/1

(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory)

I

REGULATIONS

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 125/2008

of 12 February 2008

amending Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 laying down Community procedures in the field of the
common commercial policy in order to ensure the exercise of the Community’s rights under
international trade rules, in particular those established under the auspices of the World Trade
Organisation

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

nisation (WTO). Furthermore these agreements include
efficient and binding dispute settlement mechanisms to
adjudicate disputes on those ‘WTO plus’ obligations.

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

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Council Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 (1) provides to any
Community enterprise procedural means to request that
the Commission investigates obstacles to trade adopted
or maintained by a third country, when those obstacles
have an effect on the market of that third country and
adverse trade effects on the Community enterprise.

However, pursuant to Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No
3286/94, a complaint by a Community enterprise is
admissible only if the alleged obstacle to trade is the
subject of a right of action established under interna-
tional trade rules laid down in a multilateral or pluri-
that complaints
lateral
alleging violations of bilateral obligations by a third
country need to refer also to violations of multilateral
or plurilateral rules in order to be admissible.

trade agreement. This means

Since the enactment of Regulation (EC) No 3286/94, the
Community has
concluded a number of bilateral
agreements which contain substantive rules on trade
between the Community and third countries that go
significantly beyond the rules of the World Trade Orga-

(1) OJ L 349, 31.12.1994, p. 71. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 356/95 (OJ L 41, 23.2.1995, p. 3).

(4)

(5)

on

enterprises

by Community

Reliance
bilateral
agreements to bring complaints under Regulation (EC)
No 3286/94 would contribute
to monitoring the
respect of the obligations contained in those agreements
and to tackling barriers to trade, thus improving market
access
in the
for exporters and growth and jobs
Community.

those enterprises

In light of these developments, and in order to reduce
the administrative burden on Community enterprises, the
right of
to bring complaints on
obstacles to trade should be extended to include alleged
obstacles to trade, which are solely the subject of a right
of action established under international trade rules laid
down in a bilateral trade agreement.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 should therefore be
amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 shall be replaced by
the following:

‘1.
Any Community enterprise, or any association, having
or not legal personality, acting on behalf of one or more
Community
such
Community enterprises have suffered adverse trade effects
as a result of obstacles to trade that have an effect on the
market of a third country may lodge a written complaint.’

enterprises, which

considers

that

L 40/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

14.2.2008

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

Article 2

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

Done at Brussels, 12 February 2008.

For the Council
The President

A. BAJUK