Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Assembly of the Lisbon Union
Date: 2020-04-06
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: EU expenditure, World Intellectual Property Organisation, consumer information, designation of origin, general budget (EU), intellectual property, international agreement, labelling, product designation

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 6.4.2020  COM(2020) 136 final 2020/0052 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Assembly of the Lisbon Union  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf 
in the annual Assembly of the Lisbon Union of the World Intellectual Property Organization 
(WIPO),  in  particular  in  connection  with  the  envisaged  adoption  of  a  decision  on  special 
contributions of the Contracting Parties pursuant to Article 24(2)(v) of the Geneva Act of the 
Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications. 

2. 

2.1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on  Appellations  of  Origin  and 
Geographical Indications 

The  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on  Appellations  of  Origin  and  Geographical 
Indications of 2015 (‘the Agreement’) aims to offer comprehensive and effective international 
protection for the names of origin-based quality products. It updates and enhances the existing 
international  registration  system  protecting  names  that  identify  the  geographic  origin  of 
products:  the  Lisbon  Agreement  for  the  Protection  of  Appellations  of  Origin  and  their 
International Registration of 1958. The Agreement entered into force on 26 February 2020. 
The European Union is a party to the Agreement1. 

2.2. 

The Assembly of the Lisbon Union 

The  Lisbon  Union  is  a  Special  Union  administrated  by  WIPO.  It  is  composed  of  the 
Contracting Parties to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and 
Geographical Indications (the “Geneva Act”) and the States party to the Lisbon Agreement of 
1958 for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration or to the 
1967 Act (the Lisbon Agreement as revised at Stockholm on July 14, 1967). The Assembly of 
the Lisbon Union meets annually in the context of the WIPO General Assembly. Its tasks are 
set out in Article 22 (2) of the Geneva Act.  In particular, it has the following tasks:  It deals 
with  all matters  concerning the maintenance and  development  of the Special Union and the 
implementation  of  the  Geneva  Act.  It  amends  the  Regulations  establishing  the  details  for 
carrying  out  the  Geneva  Act.  It  adopts  the  financial  Regulations  of  the  Special  Union  and 
amendments of the Articles of the Geneva Act on the Assembly of the Special Union (Article 
22), the International Bureau of WIPO (Article 23), and on Finances (Article 24) as well as on 
the  amendment  procedure  for  these  Articles  (Article  27).  Regarding  finances  more 
specifically,  it  may  decide  on  whether  and  to  which  extent  receipts  from  the  sources  of 
income of the Special Union do not suffice to cover the expenses, entailing the obligation of 
Contracting Parties to pay special contributions pursuant to Article 24 (2) (v) of the Geneva 
Act. The present Commission proposal only concerns decisions pursuant to Article 24 (2) (v) 
of the Geneva Act. The Assembly shall endeavour to take its decisions by consensus. Where a 
decision cannot be arrived at by consensus, the matter at issue shall be decided by voting.  In 
such a case, each Contracting Party that is a State shall have one vote and shall vote only in its 
own name; and any Contracting Party that is an intergovernmental organization may vote, in 
place of its member States, with a number of votes equal to the number of its member States 
which are party to this Act. Article 4 paragraph 2 of Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 of 7 
October 2019 on the accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act stipulates that the 

1 

Council  Decision  (EU)  2019/1754 of  7  October  2019  on  the  accession  of  the  European  Union  to  the 
Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on  Appellations  of  Origin  and  Geographical  Indications,  OJ  L 
271/2019, p. 12-14. 

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Union  shall  vote  in  the  Assembly  of  the  Special  Union  and  the  Member  States  which  have 
ratified or acceded to the Geneva Act shall not exercise their right to vote.  

2.3. 

The envisaged act of the Assembly of the Lisbon Union   

During its annual meetings in the framework of the WIPO General Assembly, the Assembly 
of  the  Lisbon  Union  may  adopt  decisions  regarding  the  extent  to  which  receipts  from  the 
sources  of  income  of  the  Special  Union  do  not  suffice  to  cover  the  expenses,  entailing  the 
obligation of Contracting Parties to pay special contributions pursuant to Article 24 (2) (v) of 
the Geneva Act (‘the envisaged act’). 

The  purpose  of  the  envisaged  act  is  to  constitute  a  basis  for  the  payment  of  special 
contributions by the Contracting Parties of the Geneva Act to be able to cover the expenses of 
the Special Union. 

The envisaged act will become binding on the parties in accordance with Article 24 (2) (v) of 
the Agreement, which provides: ‘(2) [Sources of Financing of the Budget] The income of the 
Special Union shall be derived from the following sources:[...] (v) special contributions of the 
Contracting  Parties  or  any  alternative  source  derived  from  the  Contracting  Parties  or 
beneficiaries,  or  both,  if  and  to  the  extent  to  which  receipts  from  the  sources  indicated  in 
items (i) to (iv) do not suffice to cover the expenses, as decided by the Assembly.’.  

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

The proposed position is to join a potential consensus on a decision of the Assembly of the 
Lisbon Union regarding the extent to which receipts from the sources of income indicated in 
items (i) to (iv) of Article 24 (2) of the Geneva Act do not suffice to cover the expenses. In 
that  case,  the  income  of  the  Lisbon  Union  shall  be  derived  to  that  extent  by  special 
contributions of the Contracting Parties or any alternative source derived from the Contracting 
Parties or beneficiaries, or both. 

The  proposed  Council  decision  would  enable  the  EU,  within  the  means  available  for  that 
purpose from the annual budget of the Union, to join the consensus  regarding a decision by 
the Assembly pursuant to Article 24 (2) (v) of the Geneva Act. 

The  EU  budget  for  2020  provides  for  1  million  €  under  budget  line  05.06.01  as  EU 
contribution to the functioning of the Lisbon Union in WIPO (the World Intellectual property 
Organisation)  on  the  basis  of  the  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on  Appellations  of 
Origin and Geographical Indications. The EU should be able to join a consensus on a decision 
of the Assembly of the Lisbon Union pursuant to Article 24 (2) (v) of the Geneva Act. Such a 
decision is needed for the Union to be able to make the payment in accordance with the basic 
act providing the legal basis for the implementation of the expenditure entered in the budget2. 
This  basic  act  provides  as  follows:    “If  the  income  from  the  Special  Union  is  derived  in 
accordance with point (v) of Article 24(2) of the Geneva Act, the Union may make a special 
contribution  within  the  means  available  for  that  purpose  from  the  annual  budget  of  the 
Union.” 

2 

Article  14  (Special  financial  contribution)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1753 of  the  European  Parliament 
and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the action of the Union following its accession to the Geneva 
Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications 

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4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 
not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’3. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The Assembly of the Lisbon Union is a body set up by an agreement, namely the Geneva Act. 

The  act  that  the  Assembly  of  the  Lisbon  Union  is  called  upon  to  adopt  constitutes  an  act 
having legal effects. The envisaged act will be binding under international law in accordance 
with Article 24 (2) (v) of the Geneva Act.  

The  envisaged  act  does  not  supplement  or  amend  the  institutional  framework  of  the 
Agreement. 

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the 
Union's behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

4.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The main objective and content of the envisaged act relate to the common commercial policy. 

Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is Article 207 TFUE. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  should  be  Article  207  TFUE,  in  conjunction  with 
Article 218(9) TFEU. 

3 

Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64.  

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

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2020/0052 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Assembly of the 
Lisbon Union 

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) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

The  European  Union  acceded  to  the  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on 
Appellations  of  Origin  and  Geographical  Indications  (‘the  Agreement’)  by  Council 
Decision  (EU)  2019/1754  of  7  October  20191.  The  Agreement  entered  into  force  on 
26 February 2020.  

Pursuant to Article 22 (2) (a) (i) of the Agreement, the Assembly of the Lisbon Union 
may  adopt  decisions  concerning  the  maintenance  and  development  of  the  Special 
Union and the implementation of the Agreement.  

The Assembly of the  Lisbon Union,  in  its  annual  meeting during the WIPO General 
Assembly on 21-29 September 2020, may adopt a decision  on whether and to which 
extent receipts from the sources of income of the Special Union do not suffice to cover 
the  expenses,  entailing  the  obligation  of  Contracting  Parties  to  pay  special 
contributions pursuant to Article 24 (2) (v) of the Agreement. 

It  is  appropriate  to  establish  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  in  the 
Assembly of the Lisbon Union in that meeting, as the decision will be binding on the 
Union. 

The  Union  should  be  able  to  join  a  consensus  on  a  decision  of  the  Assembly  of  the 
Lisbon  Union  pursuant  to  Article  24  (2)  (v)  of  the  Agreement  within  the  budgetary 
resources  available.  Such  a  decision  is  needed  for  the  Union  to  be  able  to  make  the 
payment in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council2.   

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

The position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the meeting of the Assembly of the Lisbon 
Union  during  the  WIPO  General  Assembly  on  21-29  September  2020  as  regards  a  special 

Article 1 

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OJ L 271, 24.10.2019, p. 12. 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the 
action of the Union following its accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations 
of Origin and Geographical Indications (OJ L 271, 24.10. 2019, p. 1). 

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contribution  pursuant  to  Article  24  (2)  (v)  of  the  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on 
Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications shall be the following: 

The  Union  may  join  a  consensus  regarding  a  decision  as  to  which  extent  receipts  from  the 
sources  of  income  of  the  Special  Union  do  not  suffice  to  cover  the  expenses,  entailing  the 
obligation of Contracting Parties to pay special contributions pursuant to Article 24 (2) (v) of 
the  Geneva  Act.  The  maximum  Union    special  contribution  for  2020  shall  not  exceed  the 
appropriations provided for in the general budget. 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 2 

For the Council 
The President 

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

Fin Stat/2020/LK/GH/pl/1406340 

agri.ddg3.a.2(2020)1398840 
6.22.2020 

DATE: 24/02/2020 
APPROPRIATIONS: 

BUDGET HEADING: 
Chapter 05 06 INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF ‘AGRICULTURE 
AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT’ POLICY AREA 
05 06 01 International agricultural agreements  
TITLE: 
Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European 
Union in the annual Assembly of the Lisbon Union of the World Intellectual Property 
Organization 

B2020:EUR 6.300.000  

LEGAL  BASIS:  The  legal  basis  for  this  proposal  is  Article  207,  in  conjunction  with 
Article 218(9), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 

AIMS: 
To constitute a basis for the payment of special contributions to be able to cover the 
expenses of the Special Union. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

12 MONTH 
PERIOD 

(EUR) 
1 million 

CURRENT 
FINANCIAL 
YEAR 2020 
(EUR) 
1 million 

FOLLOWING 
FINANCIAL 
YEAR 2021  
(EUR) 
1 million 

5. 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 

5.0 

5.1 

CHARGED TO THE EU BUDGET 

NATIONAL AUTHORITIES 
OTHER 

EXPENDITURE 
- 
(REFUNDS/INTERVENTIONS) 
- 
- 
REVENUE 
- 
(LEVIES/CUSTOMS DUTIES) 
NATIONAL 
- 

OWN RESOURCES OF THE EU  

5.0.1  ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE 
5.1.1  ESTIMATED REVENUE 
5.2  METHOD OF CALCULATION:  
6.0 

CAN THE PROJECT BE FINANCED FROM APPROPRIATIONS ENTERED IN THE 
RELEVANT CHAPTER OF THE CURRENT BUDGET? 

6.1 

CAN THE PROJECT BE FINANCED BY TRANSFER BETWEEN CHAPTERS OF 
THE CURRENT BUDGET? 

YES 

YES NO 

6.2  WILL A SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET BE NECESSARY? 
6.3  WILL APPROPRIATIONS NEED TO BE ENTERED IN FUTURE BUDGETS? 

        NO 

YES 

The Union may make a special contribution pursuant to Article 24(2)(v) of the Geneva Act 
within the means available for this purpose in  the annual  budget  of the  Union.  In 2020, an 
amount of EUR 1 million is allocated to budget line 05 06 01 for this purpose. 

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