Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union within the Council of Members of the International Olive Council concerning the accession of new Members
Date: 2014-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: accession to an agreement, international convention, international negotiations, olive oil, third country













EUR-Lex - 52014PC0690 - EN











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52014PC0690

Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union within the Council of Members of the International Olive Council concerning the accession of new Members /* COM/2014/0690 final - 2014/0324 (NLE) */









EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.           CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
The 2005 International Agreement on Olive
Oil and Table Olives (hereinafter the Agreement) establishing the International
Olive Council (IOC) provides in its Article 40 that any State may accede to
this Agreement upon conditions established by the Council of Members of that
organisation.  
The Agreement expires on 31 December 2014
and the decision on its prolongation is expected be made before that date.
Bearing this in mind, the Council Decision (2014/664/EU) authorises the
Commission to request and vote on behalf of the European Union in favour of a
one-year extension of the current Agreement. Since 2013 the Members of the IOC
have been negotiating the revision of the Agreement. In this context, on 19 November
2013 the Council authorized the Commission to negotiate on behalf of the
European Union a new and substantially renewed agreement that takes into
account economic, technical and commercial developments in the olive sector. 
In line with the negotiating mandate of the
Council, the Union submitted a proposal for the revision of the Agreement to
the IOC. This proposal covers also provisions pertaining to the expansion of
the organisation in order to welcome new members, including both exporting and
importing countries, and provisions on the revision of the participation shares
(Article 8 of the current Agreement). 
The Council of Members of the IOC decides
on the possible accession of new members to the Agreement on the basis of
Article 40 "Accession" and Article 8 "Participation shares"
of the Agreement. The ongoing negotiations will redefine these Articles, as
well as the framework of the future IOC with new goals and new governance.
Under these conditions, it is necessary that the new agreement first enters
into force before the IOC can make decisions on the accessions to the
organisation.
2014/0324 (NLE)
Proposal for a
COUNCIL DECISION
on the position to be adopted on behalf of
the European Union within the Council of Members of the International Olive
Council concerning the accession of new Members
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207, in
conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)       Council Decision 2014/664/EU[1]  authorised the
Commission to request and vote in favour of a one-year prolongation of the
existing 2005 International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives,[2] as this Agreement will
expire on 31 December 2014.
(2)       On 19 November 2013, the
Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations on behalf of the Union for the conclusion of a new international agreement on olive oil and table olives. Those
negotiations are expected to redefine the objectives, the functioning and the
structure of the future International Olive Council, including the rules that
have impact on the rights and obligations of Members.
(3)       In that context, it is therefore
not appropriate for the current International Olive Council to decide on
applications for new membership to that organisation. This question needs to be
analysed and discussed within the framework established by a new international agreement
on olive oil and table olives,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The position to be adopted on the Union's
behalf, within the Council of Members of the International Olive Council, shall
be to request the postponement of the vote on all requests for new accessions
until a new international agreement on olive oil and table olives is in force. 
Should that request not be honoured, and
should the Council of Members of the International Olive Council be requested
to take a decision on new accessions, the position to be adopted on the Union's behalf shall be to abstain from the vote.  
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the
day of its adoption.
Done at Brussels,
                                                                       For
the Council
                                                                       The
President
[1]               Council Decision 2014/664/EU of 15 September 2014 on
the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union within the Council
of Members of the International Olive Council concerning the prolongation of
the 2005 International Agreement on olive oil and table olives (OJ L 275,
17.9.2014, p. 6).
[2]               OJ L 302, 19.11.2005, p. 47.