Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the signing and conclusion of a Protocol amending the agreement on maritime transport between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union
Date: 2008-06-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, China, Romania, accession to the European Union, agreement (EU), maritime transport, protocol to an agreement

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 27.6.2008 
COM(2008) 405 final 

2008/0133 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

concerning the signing and conclusion of a Protocol amending the Agreement on 
Maritime Transport between the European Community and its Member States, of the 
one part, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, of the other part, to 
take account of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European 
Union 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The Republic of Bulgaria  and Romania acceded to the European Union on 1 January 2007. 
Under  Article  6(2)  of  the  Act  concerning  the  Accession  of  the  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and 
Romania  and  the  adjustment  of  the  Treaties  on  which  the  European  Union  is  founded 
(hereinafter  the  ‘Act  of  Accession’),  the  accession  of  the  two  new  Member  States  to  the 
Agreement on Maritime Transport between the European Community and its Member States 
and  the  Government  of  the  People’s  Republic  of  China  signed  in  Brussels  on  6  December 
2002 and entered into force on 1 March 2008 shall be agreed by the conclusion of a Protocol 
to this Agreement. Article 6(2) provides for a simplified procedure, as this Protocol is to be 
concluded  by  the  Council  of  the  European  Union,  acting  unanimously  on  behalf  of  the 
Member States, and China.  

Consequently,  the  Commission  has  negotiated  this  Protocol  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community  and  its  Member  States  on  the  basis  of  negotiating  directives  adopted  by  the 
Council on 23 October 2006, and in consultation with a committee of the representatives of 
the  Member  States.  The  draft  Protocol  was  initialled  by  the  Commission  and  the  Chinese 
representatives in Beijing on 28 February 2008.  

The Protocol provides for the necessary technical and linguistic adaptations of the Agreement 
that ensue from the accession of the two new Member States. 

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2008/0133 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

concerning the signing and conclusion of a Protocol amending the Agreement on 
Maritime Transport between the European Community and its Member States, of the 
one part, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, of the other part, to 
take account of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European 
Union 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 80(2)  in  conjunction  with  Article  300(2),  first  subparagraph,  first  sentence  and 
Article 300(3), first subparagraph, 

Having regard to the 2005 Act of Accession, and in particular Article 6(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament 1, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  Agreement  on  Maritime  Transport  between  the  European  Community  and  its 
Member  States,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  Government  of  the  People's  Republic  of 
China,  of  the  other  part,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  "Agreement",  was  signed  in 
Brussels on 6 December 2002 and entered into force on 1 March 20082. 

The  Commission  was  authorised  by  the  Council  on  23  October  2006  to  negotiate  a 
Protocol amending the Agreement with China in order to take account of the accession 
of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania. 

(3) 

The Protocol was initialled by both sides on 28 February 2008. 

(4) 

The Protocol should therefore be approved, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

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Opinion delivered on … (not yet published in the Official Journal). 
OJ L 46, 21.2.2008, p. 25. 

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Article 1 

The  Protocol  amending  the  Agreement  on  Maritime  Transport  between  the  European 
Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  Government  of  the  People's 
Republic  of  China,  of  the  other  part,  to  take  account  of  the  accession  of  the  Republic  of 
Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union is hereby adopted on behalf of the Community 
and its Member States. 

The text of the Protocol is attached to this Decision.  

Article 2 

The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the Community and the Member States, give 
the notification provided for in Article 3 of the Protocol. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 

The President 

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ANNEX  

DRAFT 

28.02.2008 

PROTOCOL  

AMENDING THE AGREEMENT 

ON MARITIME TRANSPORT 

BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 

AND ITS MEMBER STATES, OF THE ONE PART, 

AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 

OF THE OTHER PART 

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THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM, 

THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA, 

THE CZECH REPUBLIC, 

THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK, 

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, 

THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA, 

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC, 

THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN, 

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, 

IRELAND, 

THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC, 

THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS, 

THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA, 

THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA, 

THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG, 

THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY, 

THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA, 

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, 

THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA, 

THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND, 

THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC, 

ROMANIA 

THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA, 

THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, 

THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND, 

THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN, 

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND 

hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  "Member  States",  represented  by  the  Council  of  the  European 
Union, and 

THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITY,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  "the  Community",  represented 
by the Council of the European Union,  

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 

of the other part, 

of the one part, and 

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HAVING  REGARD  TO  the  accession  of  the  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania  to  the 
European Union and thereby to the Community on 1 January 2007, 

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 

ARTICLE 1 

The  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania  shall  be  Parties  to  the  Agreement  on  Maritime 
Transport between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the 
Government  of  the  People's  Republic  of  China,  of  the  other  part,  signed  in  Brussels  on 
6 December 2002  and  entered  into  force  on  1  March  2008,  (hereinafter  called  "the 
Agreement"). 

ARTICLE 2 

The texts of the Agreement in the Bulgarian and Romanian languages, which are attached to 
this Protocol, shall become authentic under the same conditions as the other language versions 
drawn up in accordance with Article 14 of the Agreement. 

ARTICLE 3 

The  Contracting  Parties  shall  notify  each  other  on  the  accomplishment  of  the  internal  legal 
procedures for the entry into force of this Protocol. This Protocol shall enter into force on the 
date of receipt of the last written notification. 

ARTICLE 4 

This Protocol is drawn up at xxxx, on this xx day of yy in the year two thousand and zz, in 
duplicate,  in  the  Bulgarian,  Czech,  Danish,  Dutch,  English,  Estonian,  Finnish,  French, 
German,  Greek,  Hungarian,  Italian,  Latvian,  Lithuanian,  Maltese,  Polish,  Portuguese, 
Romanian, Slovak,  Slovenian,  Spanish,  Swedish  and  Chinese languages, each of  these texts 
being equally authentic. 

FOR THE MEMBER STATES 

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S 

FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 

REPUBLIC OF CHINA 

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