Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Singapore, of the other part
Date: 2018-12-04
Institutions: European Commission, European External Action Service
Subjects: Singapore, cooperation agreement (EU), cooperation policy, ratification of an agreement

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.12.2018  COM(2018) 784 final 2018/0403 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Singapore, of the other part  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

On 25 November 2004, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate a Partnership and 
Cooperation  Agreement  ('PCA'  or  'the  Agreement')  with  six  ASEAN  countries,  including 
Singapore. Negotiations with Singapore were launched in October 2005 and finalised in May 
2013. The two sides initialled the PCA in Singapore on 14 October 2013.  

Negotiations were carried out in consultation with the Working Party on Asia and the Pacific 
(COASI),  as  a  consultative  committee.  The  European  Parliament  has  been  kept  informed 
throughout the negotiations. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Council  Decision  on  the  signing  of  the  Agreement  on 
16/07/2018, the Agreement was signed on 19/10/2018 in Brussels.   

The present proposal concerns the legal instrument concluding the Agreement. 

2. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The aim and content of the Agreement 

The  PCA  with  Singapore  is  the  fifth  agreement  with  an  ASEAN  country,  following  the 
agreements  with  Indonesia,  the  Philippines,  Vietnam  and  Malaysia.  It  will  supersede  the 
current legal framework of the 1980 Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic 
Community and member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations.  

This  Agreement  with  Singapore constitutes a stepping  stone towards enhanced political and 
economic  involvement  of  the  EU  in  South-East  Asia.  It  will  provide  the  basis  for  more 
effective  bilateral  engagement  by  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  with  Singapore  by 
strengthening political dialogue and enhancing cooperation in a broad range of areas.  

The PCA covers the EU’s standard political clauses on human rights, International Criminal 
Court  (ICC),  Weapons  of  Mass  Destructions  (WMD),  Small  Arms  and  Light  Weapons 
(SALW)  and  counter-terrorism.  It  also  encompasses  cooperation  in  areas  such  as  trade  and 
investment  issues,  industrial  policy,  health,  environment,  climate  change,  energy,  tax, 
education  and  culture,  labour,  employment  and  social  affairs,  science  and  technology,  and 
transport.  The  Agreement  further  addresses  cooperation  in  the  area  of  justice,  freedom  and 
security, i.a legal cooperation, money laundering and terrorist financing, organised crime and 
corruption.  

The  PCA  contains  a  Side  Letter,  which  forms  an  integral  part  of  the  Agreement.  The  Side 
Letter confirms the parties' understanding that, at the time of signature of the Agreement, they 
are  not  aware,  based  on  objectively  available  information,  of  any  of  each  other’s  domestic 
laws,  or  their  application,  which  could  lead  to  the  invocation  of  the  non-execution 
mechanism.  

The  PCA  is  complemented  by  a  Free  Trade  Agreement  and  an  Investment  Protection 
Agreement,  which  constitute  specific  agreements  giving  effect  to  trade  and  investment 
provisions of the PCA, and which are an integral part of the overall bilateral relations and the 
common institutional framework as provided for in Article 9(2) of the PCA.  

The  Agreement  provides  for  the  possibility  of  suspending  the  application  of  the  PCA  or  of 
any specific  agreement referred to under Article 9(2) and Article 43(3) of the Agreement in 
case of a violation of essential elements of the Agreement, i.e. the human rights clause and the 
non-proliferation clause.  

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The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee with the task of ensuring the proper functioning 
and implementation of the Agreement.  

2.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

According  to  the  case-law,  if  examination  of  an  EU  measure  reveals  that  it  pursues  two 
purposes or that it comprises two components and if one of these is identifiable as the main or 
predominant purpose or component, whereas the other is merely incidental, the measure must 
be founded on a single legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant purpose 
or  component.  Exceptionally,  if  it  is  established,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  measure 
simultaneously  pursues  a  number  of  objectives,  or  has  several  components,  which  are 
inextricably linked without one being incidental to the other, so that various provisions of the 
Treaty are applicable, the measure must be founded on the various corresponding legal bases 
(see,  to  that  effect,  judgments  of  10 January  2006,  Commission  v  Parliament  and  Council, 
C-178/03,  EU:C:2006:4,  paragraphs 42  and  43;  of  11 June  2014,  Commission  v  Council, 
C-377/12,  EU:C:2014:1903,  paragraph 34;  and  of  14 June  2016,  Parliament  v  Council, 
C-263/14, EU:C:2016:435, paragraph 44). 

In  this  particular  case,  the  predominant  purpose  or  component  is  cooperation  with  a  third 
country. That is why the proposed Decision should be based on Article 212 TFEU. 

2.3. 

Procedural legal basis 

Article 218(6) TFEU provides for the adoption of a decision to authorise the conclusion of an 
agreement.  Article  218(8)  TFEU  provides  that  the  Council  is  to  act  by  qualified  majority 
except for the circumstances listed in the second subparagraph of Article 218(8) TFEU where 
the  Council  is  to  act  unanimously.  The  voting  rule  for  this  particular  case  is  therefore 
qualified majority.  

2.4. 

Conclusion 

The legal basis of the proposed decision should therefore be Article 212 TFEU, in conjunction 
with Articles 218(6)(a) TFEU. No additional provisions are required as legal basis1. 

3. 

OTHER ELEMENTS: NECESSITY OF PROPOSED DECISION 

Article 216 TFEU provides that the Union may conclude an agreement with one or more other 
countries where the Treaties so provide or where this is necessary in order to achieve, in the 
framework  of  the  Union’s  policies,  one  of  the  objectives  referred  to  in  the  Treaties,  is 
provided for in a legally binding Union act or is likely to affect common rules or alter their 
scope. 

The Treaties provide for the conclusion of agreements such as the PCA, namely in Article 212 
TFEU. Moreover, the conclusion of the PCA is necessary for the purpose of achieving, in the 
framework  of  the  Union’s  policies,  objectives  referred  to  in  the  Treaties,  including  in  the 
areas  of  human  rights,  the  non-proliferation  of  weapons  of  mass  destruction,  counter-
terrorism,  combating  organised  crime,  combating  money  laundering  and  terrorist  financing, 
trade,  migration,  environment,  energy,  climate  change,  transport,  employment  and  social 
affairs, health etc. 

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Case  C-377/12  Commission  v  Council,  ECLI:  EU:  C:  2014: 1903  and  Case  C-244/17  Commission  v 
Council, ECLI:EU:C:2018:662.  

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2018/0403 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Partnership and Cooperation 
Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the 
Republic of Singapore, of the other part 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 212, in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

In  accordance  with  Council  Decision  2018/10472,  the  Partnership  and  Cooperation 
Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and 
the  Republic  of  Singapore,  of  the  other  part  ('the  Agreement')  was  signed  on  19 
October 2018, subject to its conclusion at a later date. 

The  objective  of  the  Agreement  is  to  provide  the  basis  for  more  effective  bilateral 
engagement  by  the  Union  and  its  Member  States  with  Singapore  by  strengthening 
cooperation  and  dialogue  across  a  broad  range  of  bilateral,  regional  and  multilateral 
issues  and  constitutes  a  stepping  stone  towards  enhanced  political  and  economic 
involvement of the Union in South-East Asia.  

(3) 

The Agreement should be approved on behalf of the Union, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The  Partnership  and  Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  its  Member 
States, of the one part, and the Republic of Singapore, of the other part, the Joint Declarations 
and  the  Side  Letter  which  are  an  integral  part  of  the  Agreement,  are  hereby  approved  on 
behalf of the Union.  

The text of the Agreement, of the Joint Declarations and of the Side Letter, are attached to this 
Decision. 

Article 2 

The President of the Council shall designate the person(s) empowered to proceed, on behalf of 
the  Union,  to  the  notification  provided  for  in  Article  49(1)  of  the  Agreement,  in  order  to 
express the consent of the Union to be bound by the Agreement.  

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Council  Decision  (EU)  2018/1047  of  16  July  2018  on  the  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  Union,  of  the 
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one 
part, and the Republic of Singapore, of the other part (OJ L  189, 26.7.2018, p. 2).  

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This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption3. 

Article 3 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European 
Union by the General Secretariat of the Council. 

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