Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION amending Council Decision 2001/822/EC on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Community
Date: 2012-02-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Saint Barthélemy, legal status, overseas countries and territories

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 17.2.2012  
COM(2012) 61 final 

2012/0024 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

amending Council Decision 2001/822/EC on the association of the overseas countries and
territories with the European Community 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In accordance with the decision by the European Council on 29 October 2010 amending the 
Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  the  French  collectivity  of  Saint-
Barthélemy,  formerly  an  outermost  region  of  the  European  Union,  became  an  overseas 
country or territory associated with the European Union on 1 January 2012. 

Pursuant  to  Article  203  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  the 
provisions  applicable  to  the  overseas  countries  or  territories  associated  with  the  European 
Union  must  be  adopted  by  the  Council  of  the  European  Union,  acting  unanimously.  In  this 
connection,  Council  Decision  2001/822/EC  of  27  November  2001  on  the  association  of  the 
overseas  countries  and  territories  with  the  European  Community  (hereinafter  the  Overseas 
Association  Decision)  came  into  force  on  2  December  2001  and  will  expire  at  the  end  of 
2013. 

This Council Decision must be amended to take account of the amendment of the Treaty on 
the Functioning of the European Union by the European Council Decision of 29 October 2010 
amending the status with regard to the European Union of the island of Saint-Barthélemy and 
providing for a change of status of this French collectivity to an overseas country or territory 
associated with the EU from 1 January 2012. 

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2012/0024 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

amending Council Decision 2001/822/EC on the association of the overseas countries and 
territories with the European Community 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 203 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, 

Acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

European Council Decision of 29 October 2010 amending the status with regard to the 
European  Union  of  the  island  of  Saint-Barthélemy1  amends  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Annex II thereof, by including 
the island of Saint-Barthélemy in the list of overseas countries or territories to which 
the fourth part of the Treaty applies. 

Council  Decision  2001/822/EC  of  27  November  2001  on  the  association  of  the 
overseas  countries  and  territories  with  the  European  Community  (the  Overseas 
Association  Decision)2  establishes  the  legal  framework  for  promoting  the  economic 
and  social  development  of  the  overseas  countries  and  territories  (OCTs)  and  for 
enhancing  economic  relations  between  them  and  the  European  Union.  Annex  I  A  of 
Decision  2001/822/EC  contains  a  list  of  the  OCTs  concerned  by  association  in 
accordance with Article 1(2) of that Decision. 

Decision  2001/822/EC  applies  until  31  December  2013.  Annex  I  A  of  that  Decision 
must therefore be amended to take account of the change of status with regard to the 
European  Union  of  the  island  of  Saint-Barthélemy,  which  becomes  an  overseas 
country or territory from 1 January 2012. 

(4) 

Decision 2010/718/EU shall apply from 1 January 2012. It is therefore appropriate to 
apply the measures in Decision 2001/822/EC to the island of Saint-Barthélemy that are 

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2 

OJ L 325, 9.12.2010, p.4. 
OJ L 314, 30.11.2001, p.1. 

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favourable to the OCTs and that do not involve obligations for them, apart from those 
relating to development cooperation financing. In this respect, France has undertaken 
not  to  apply  for  European  Development  Fund  intervention  for  the  island  of  Saint-
Barthélemy under the programming for 2007-2013, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

Annex  I  A  to  Decision  2001/822/EC  is  hereby  amended  as  follows:  an  indent  shall  be 
inserted,  between  that  relating  to  ‘Saint  Pierre  and  Miquelon’  and  that  relating  to  ‘Aruba’, 
which shall read as follows: 

" – Saint-Barthélemy,". 

Article 2 

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

Articles  1  to  9,  34,  35,  38,  39(1)  and  (7),  45(1),  (2)(a)  and  (3),  57  and  58  of  Decision 
2001/822/EC shall apply to the island of Saint-Barthélemy from 1 January 2012. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President  

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