Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken by the European Union in the International Tropical Timber Council on the extension of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006
Date: 2021-03-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: commodity agreement, international organisation, multilateral agreement, renewal of an agreement, tropical wood

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.3.2021  COM(2021) 112 final 2021/0057 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken by the European Union in the International Tropical Timber Council on the extension of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns the decision by the Council establishing the position to be taken by the 
European Union in the International Tropical Timber Council (hereafter ITTC), in connection 
with the proposed extension of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (hereafter 
ITTA, 2006 or “the Agreement”). 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 

The  ITTA, 2006 aims to  promote the expansion and diversification of international  trade in 
tropical  timber  from  sustainably  managed  and  legally  harvested  forests  and  to  promote  the 
sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests. The European Union is party to 
ITTA, 20061.  

The  ITTA,  2006  superseded  the  ITTA,  1994,  while  the  first  ITTA  was  adopted  in  1983 
(ITTA, 1983).  

ITTA,  2006  (adopted  in  2006)  entered  into  force  on  7  December  2011  for  a  period  of  ten 
years. Therefore, it will expire on 6 December 2021 unless the  ITTC decides to,  by special 
vote, to extend, renegotiate or terminate it, pursuant to Article 44(1) of the ITTA, 2006. ITTA, 
2006 can be extended for an initial period of five years and an additional one of three years, 
pursuant to Article 44(2). 

2.2. 

The International Tropical Timber Council 

As per Article 6(1) of the ITTA, 2006, the ITTC is the highest authority of the International 
Tropical  Timber  Organisation2  (ITTO).  The  ITTO  represents  about  80%  of  the  world’s 
tropical forests and over 90% of trade in timber and timber products. The ITTC consists of all 
the members of the ITTO. ITTO has two categories of membership: producer and consumer. 
Pursuant  to  Article  44(1)  the  ITTC  may  decide,  by  special  vote,  to  extend,  renegotiate  or 
terminate the ITTA, 2006, while -pursuant to Article 44(2) - the Agreement can be extended 
for  an  initial  period  of  five  years  and  an  additional  one  of  three  years.  Pursuant  to  Article 
12(1),  the  ITTC  shall  endeavour  to  take  all  decisions  and  to  make  all  recommendations  by 
consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, then the ITTC shall take a decision on ITTA, 2006 
by  special  vote,  pursuant  to  Article  44(1).  Pursuant  to  Article  2(8),  “Special  vote”  means  a 
vote requiring at  least  two thirds of the votes cast  by producer members present  and voting 
and  at  least  60  %  of  the  votes  cast  by  consumer  members  present  and  voting,  counted 
separately,  on  condition  that  these  votes  are  cast  by  at  least  half  of  the  producer  members 
present and voting and at least half of the consumer members present and voting. Pursuant to 
Article 7(a), the ITTC can also take decisions without meeting. 

Members  to  the  ITTC  hold  2000  votes  in  total  (producers  and  consumers  hold  1000  votes 
each).  Annual  contributions  and  votes  are  distributed  equally  between  these  two  caucuses. 
Within  each  caucus,  the  dues  and  votes  of  individual  members  are  calculated  based  on 

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2007/648/EC :  Council  Decision  of  26  September  2007  on  the  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community,  and  provisional  application  of  the  International  Tropical  Timber  Agreement,  2006  (OJ 
L262 of 09/10/2007, p.6-7) 
ITTO was established with ITTA, 1983 

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tropical timber trade and, in the case of producers on the extent of tropical forests within the 
country. The EU pays the biggest assessed share of contributions (paid by the Commission for 
all MS) to the administrative budget of the ITTO; and has the highest number of votes (and 
the highest number of consumer members) and could have a blocking minority in the case of 
special vote. 

2.3. 

The envisaged extension of the ITTA, 2006 

The  ITTO  experienced  serious  financial  problems,  linked  to  bad  investments  of  funds  by  a 
former management team of the Secretariat, which resulted in the loss of $ 18 million, during 
the period 2012-2015.  

ITTO is in financial recovery even though still in the early stages, addressing the financial and 
managerial  shortfall  of  projects  and  activities  and  has  started  a  reform  of  its  financial 
architecture. The pilot phase of the new financial architecture will run until 2022. 

Extending  the  ITTA,  2006  will  give  the  appropriate  time  to  the  ITTO  and  its  Members  to 
continue  work  on  reforming  the  organisation’s  financial  architecture  and  for  ITTO  to  fully 
stabilise  financially  and  to  determine  whether  the  ITTA,  2006  would  need  to  undergo  a 
substantial revision in the future. 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION’S BEHALF 

The  envisaged  act  is  a  Council  Decision  regarding  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union’s 
behalf,  based  on  Article  218(9)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union 
(TFEU).  

The purpose of this proposal is to seek the Council’s authorisation to the Commission to give 
consent or vote, on behalf of the Union, in favour of the extension of the ITTA, 2006 within 
the ITTC. 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the 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 act which the ITTC may decide to adopt constitutes an act having legal effects. 

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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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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 TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

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

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2021/0057 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken by the European Union in the International Tropical Timber 
Council on the extension of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 

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) 

(6) 

The International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (ITTA, 2006)  was  concluded  by 
the Union by Council Decision 2011/731/EU4 and entered into force on 7 December 
2011. 

Pursuant  to  Article  44(1)  of  ITTA,  2006,  the  Agreement  will  remain  in  force  for  a 
period  of  ten  years,  after  its  entry  into  force  -  until  6  December  2021  -  unless  the 
International Tropical Timber Council, by special vote in accordance with Article 12, 
decides to extend, renegotiate or terminate it in accordance with the provisions of that 
Article. 

The  International  Tropical  Timber  Council  -  as  the  highest  authority  of  the 
International  Tropical  Timber  Organisation  (ITTO)  -  pursuant  to  Article  6  of  ITTA, 
2006, consisting of  all members of  ITTO- may decide to  extend the  ITTA, 2006 for 
two periods, an initial period of five years and an additional one of three, pursuant to 
Article 44(2).  

The International Tropical Timber Council will take a decision on the extension of the 
ITTA, 2006 either at its 57th Session to be held in November 2021 or intersessionally 
through a process for taking a decision without meeting. 

The extension of the ITTA, 2006 for an initial period of five years is in the interest of 
the European Union, as the ITTO is still in the early stages of a financial recovery and 
in the process of reforming its financial architecture. 

The  Union’s  position  in  the  International  Tropical  Timber  Council  should  be 
established. 

4 

Council  Decision  2011/731/EU  of  8  November  2011  on  the  conclusion  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Union, of the 2006 International Tropical Timber Agreement 2007 (OJ L 294, 12.11.2011, p. 1) 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The European Union’s position within the International Tropical Timber Council shall be to 
give consent or vote in favour of extending the International Tropical Timber Agreemement 
2006, for an initial period of five years. 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission.  

Done at Brussels, 

Article 2 

For the Council 
The President 

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