Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on a position to be taken by the European Union within the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development set up by the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, as regards the operation of the Civil Society Forum and the establishment of the Panel of Experts to examine the matters in the areas falling within the scope of the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development
Date: 2012-05-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: South Korea, civil society, free-trade agreement, trade agreement (EU)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 4.5.2012  
COM(2012) 205 final 

2012/0100 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a position to be taken by the European Union within the Committee on Trade and 
Sustainable Development set up by the Free Trade Agreement between the European 
Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other 
part, as regards the operation of the Civil Society Forum and the establishment of the 
Panel of Experts to examine the matters in the areas falling within the scope of the 
Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development  

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and its Member States, of the 
one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (hereinafter referred to as "Agreement") 
was signed on 6 October 2010, and it has been provisionally applied since 1 July 2011. 

Article  13.13(1)  of  the  Agreement  stipulates  that  the  parties  shall  agree  by  decision  of  the 
Committee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable  Development  (TSD)  on  the  operation  of  the  Civil 
Society Forum no later than one year after the entry into force of the FTA.  

Article 13.15 foresees the establishment of a list of persons who could be called to serve in a 
Panel of Experts to examine matters in the areas of any matter arising under the TSD chapter 
that could not be satisfactorily addressed through consultations.  

The  attached  constitutes  the  proposal  for  a  legal  instrument  approving  the  position  that  the 
Union  will  take  in  the  Committee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable  Development  on  the  above 
mentioned issues. 

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2012/0100 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a position to be taken by the European Union within the Committee on Trade and 
Sustainable Development set up by the Free Trade Agreement between the European 
Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other 
part, as regards the operation of the Civil Society Forum and the establishment of the 
Panel of Experts to examine the matters in the areas falling within the scope of the 
Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development  

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

On  23  April  2007  the  Council  authorised  the  Commission  to  negotiate  a  free  trade 
agreement  with  the  Republic  of  Korea  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union  and  its 
Member States. 

A Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States and the 
Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) was signed on 6 October 
2010. 

Pursuant  to  Article  15.10(5),  the  Agreement  has  been  provisionally  applied  since  1 
July 2011 subject to its conclusion at a later date. 

Article 13.13(1) of the Agreement provides that the parties shall agree by decision of 
the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) on the operation of the 
Civil Society Forum no later than one year after the entry into force of the Agreement. 

Article 13.15(3) foresees the establishment of a list of persons who could be called to 
serve in a Panel of Experts to examine any matter arising under the TSD chapter that 
could not be satisfactorily addressed through consultations.  

The Union should determine the position to be taken with regard to the operation of 
the Civil Society Forum and the list of persons who could be called to serve as experts, 

1 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The  position  to  be  taken  by  the  Union  in  the  Committee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable 
Development  set  up  by  the  Free  Trade  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  its 
Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, as regards:  

(i) 

(ii) 

the  operation  of  the  Civil  Society  Forum  foreseen  in  Article  13.13(1)  of  the 
Agreement and  

the  establishment  of  a  list  of  qualified  individuals  to  serve  as  panellists,  in 
accordance with Article 13.15(3) of the Agreement,  

shall  be  based  on  the  draft  decisions  of  the  Commmittee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable 
Development attached to this Decision.  

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption. 

Article 2 

Once  adopted,  these  Decisions  of  the  EU-Korea  Committee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable 
Development shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.  

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX I 

Draft DECISION No […] OF THE EU-KOREA COMMITTEE ON 
TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 

of [date] 

on the adoption of the rules of operation of the Civil Society Forum as required by 
Article 13.13 of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its 
Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part 

THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, 

Having  regard  to  the  Free  Trade  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  its  Member 
States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 6 
October  2010  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  "Agreement"),  and  in  particular  Article  13.13 
thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Article  13.13  of  the  Agreement  provides  that  members  of  the  Domestic  Advisory 
Group(s) from each Party shall meet at a Civil Society Forum.  

The composition of the Civil Society Forum shall ensure a balanced representation of 
members of the Domestic Advisory Group.  

The  Parties  shall  agree  by  decision  of  the  Committee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable 
Development on the operation of the Civil Society Forum no later than one year after 
the entry into force of this Agreement, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

The rules of operation of the Civil Society Forum, as set out in the Annex to this Decision, are 
hereby established. 

Article 1 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption 

Done at… 

on … 

For the Trade and Sustainable Development Committee 

Co-chair  of  the  Committee  on  Trade  and 
Sustainable  Development  of  the  Republic  of 
Korea  
X 

Co-chair  of  the  Committee  on  Trade  and 
Sustainable  Development  of  the  European 
Union 
X 

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Annex 

RULES OF OPERATION OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM 

Article 1 

The  Civil  Society  Forum  will  be  composed  of  12  members  of  the  EU  Domestic  Advisory 
Group  and  12  members  of  the  Domestic  Advisory  Groups  of  Korea  designated  by  the 
Domestic  Advisory  Groups  themselves.  Members  may  be  accompanied  by  expert  advisors. 
Representatives  of  the  Civil  Society  Forum  from  each  Party  shall  include  at  least  3 
representatives of business organisations, trade unions and environmental non governmental 
organisations respectively.  

Article 2 

The  Civil  Society  Forum  shall  have  an  EU  and  a  Korean  co-chair.  The  co-chairs  will  be 
appointed by the EU Domestic Advisory Group and the Korean Domestic Advisory Group(s), 
respectively, among their participants in the Civil Society Forum. 

The co-chairs will draw up the agenda of the Civil Society Forum meetings, based on requests 
by  their  respective  Domestic  Advisory  Groups.  In  addition,  the  agenda  shall  include  the 
following regular items:  

(a) 

(b) 

Information  by  the  Parties  on  the  implementation  of  the  Chapter  on  Trade  and 
Sustainable Development;  

Reports of consultations undertaken under Article 13.14 and about work undertaken 
by Panel of experts under Article 13.15. 

The  Civil  Society  Forum  shall  meet  at  least  once  a  year,  alternating  between  Brussels  and 
Seoul,  unless  otherwise  agreed  by  the  Parties.  An  extraordinary  meeting  may  be  held  upon 
request of one of the Domestic Advisory Groups. 

Article 3 

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ANNEX II 

Draft DECISION No […] OF THE EU-KOREA COMMITTEE ON 
TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT  

of [date] 

on the establishment of a Panel of Experts referred to in Article 13.15 of the Free Trade 
Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the 
Republic of Korea, of the other part  

THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, 

Having  regard  to  the  Free  Trade  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  its  Member 
States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 6 
October 2010 ("the Parties" and "the Agreement"), and in particular Article 13.15 thereof,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

A  Party  may  request  that  a  Panel  of  Experts  be  convened  to  examine  a  matter  that 
has not been satisfactorily addressed through government consultations.  

The  implementation  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Panel  of  Experts  shall  be 
monitored by the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development. 

(3) 

The Parties have developed a list of 18 names, as specified in Annex 2. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

The  list  of  experts  who  may  serve  as  panellists  for  the  purposes  of  Article  13.15  of  the 
Agreement is set out in the Annex to this Decision, and is hereby agreed. 

Article 1 

Article 2 

This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  date  of  its  adoption  and  shall  be  reported  to  the 
Korea-EU Trade Committee. 

Done at … 

on … 

For the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development 

Co-chair  of  the  Committee  on  Trade  and 
Sustainable Development  
of the Republic of Korea  
X 

Co-chair  of  the  Committee  on  Trade  and 
Sustainable Development  
of the European Union 
X 

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Annex 

List of experts 

Experts proposed by Korea 

Kee-whahn CHAH 
Young Gil CHO 
Weon Jung KIM 
Suh-Yong CHUNG 
Taek-Whan HAN 
Won-Mog CHOI 

Experts proposed by the EU 

Eddy LAURIJSSEN  
Jorge CARDONA  
Karin LUKAS  
Hélène RUIZ FABRI  
Laurence BOISSON DE CHAZOURNES  
Geert VAN CALSTER  

Chairpersons 

Thomas P. PINANSKY 
Nguyen Van TAI 
Le HA THANH 
Jill MURRAY  
Ricardo MELÉNDEZ-ORTIZ  
Nathalie BERNASCONI-OSTERWALDER  

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR PROPOSALS HAVING A 
BUDGETARY IMPACT 

1. 

NAME OF THE PROPOSAL: 

Council  Decision  on  a  position  to  be  taken  by  the  European  Union  within  the 
Committee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable  Development  set  up  by  the  Free  Trade 
Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and 
the Republic of Korea, of the other part, as regards the operation of the Civil Society 
Forum  and  the  establishment  of  the  Panel  of  Experts  to  examine  the  matters  in  the 
areas  falling  within  the  scope  of  the  Committee  on  Trade  and  Sustainable 
Development. 

2. 

BUDGET LINES: 

Chapter  and  Article:  Administrative  resources  of  the  Commission  to  cover 
interpretation and venue costs. Amount budgeted for the year concerned: In case of 
unforeseen needs, resources could be drawn from the following budget lines: 

20.02.01  –  External  trade  relations,  including  access  to  the  markets  of  non-
Community countries 

20.01.02.11.00.02.40 – Meetings including Commission staff only 

3. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT  

(cid:133) 

(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/yyyy

[Year n] 

Article … 

Impact on own resources 

Situation following action 

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. 

EN 

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[n+1] 

[n+2] 

[n+3] 

[n+4] 

[n+5] 

Article … 

Article … 

4. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES 

EN 

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