Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International Tropical Timber Council by decision without meeting on the extension of the International Tropical Timber Agreement 2006
Date: 2024-02-28
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, 28.2.2024  COM(2024) 83 final 2024/0043 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International Tropical Timber Council by decision without meeting on the extension of the International Tropical Timber Agreement 2006  
 
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  International  Tropical  Timber  Council  (hereafter  ITTC)  in  connection  with  the 
proposed  extension  of  the  International  Tropical  Timber  Agreement,  adopted  in  2006 
(hereafter “ITTA 2006” or “the Agreement”). 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The International Tropical Timber Agreement 2006 

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The  ITTA  2006  (adopted  in  2006)  superseded  the  ITTA  1994,  while  the  first  ITTA  was 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

ITTA 2006 entered into force on 07 December 2011 for a period of ten years. It was extended 
by  ITTC  decision  4(LVII)  and  the  respective  EU  position  established  by  Council 
decision (EU)  2021/837  of  6  May  20212  for  a  period  of  five  years  with  effect  from  7 
December 2021 until 6 December 2026. Therefore, it will expire on 6 December 2026 unless 
it is decided to extend, renegotiate or terminate it, pursuant to Article 44(1) of the ITTA 2006. 
After the initial extension period of five years ITTA 2006 can be extended for additional three 
years pursuant to Article 44(2) with effect from 7 December 2026 until 6 December 2029. No 
extension  is  possible  beyond  that  date.  Continuation  of  the  International  Tropical  Timber 
Organisation (ITTO) in whatever form would require a new Agreement to enter into force. 

The decision on extension of the Agreement is a prerogative of the ITTC, which is the highest 
authority of the  ITTO, as per  Article 6(1) of the  ITTA 2006. The  ITTO  members represent 
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 12(1) of ITTA 2006, 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.  

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 
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 (as well 

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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). 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32021D0837 

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as the highest number of consumer members) and could have a blocking minority in the case 
of special vote. 

Pursuant to Article 7(a), the ITTC can also take decisions without meeting.  
At  the  59th  session  of  ITTC  in  November  2023  (ITTC59),  ITTC  decided  to  take  a  decision 
without meeting by 1 June 2024 on whether the ITTA 2006 be extended for a period for three 
years with effect from 7 December 2026 until 6 December 2029, with this decision fulfilling 
the requirements under Rules of Procedure 35 and 36(d)(i) and requested members to refer to 
the decision without meeting, as referred to in the above paragraph, which is to be circulated 
to members at the earliest opportunity and submit their votes no later than 27 May 2024. 

2.2. 

The envisaged extension of the ITTA 2006 

There are important questions that need to be answered around the future of ITTO, including 
the financing architecture, the programmatic approach, and related resource mobilization. At 
the  same  time,  the  organisation  has  to  respond  to  new  horizontal  policies  and  new  forest 
related international agreements like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 
Therefore, ITTO has to find solutions to structural and constitutional issues. These issues need 
to  be  responded  by  members,  which  could  lead  to  a  more  fundamental  revision  of  the 
Agreement. It is expected that such a thorough discussion would not be completed within the 
current time span of ITTA 2006. Further extending the ITTA 2006 will therefore be necessary 
for preparing any subsequent agreement. 

To  this  end,  ITTC59  established  an  open-ended  Preparatory  Working  Group  (PWG)  and 
requested  the  PWG  to  advance  the  identification  of  elements  to  consider  for  future 
renegotiation. ITTC59 further requested the PWG to submit a report to the ITTC60 in 2024 
on the modalities for the ITTA 2006 review process. 

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  for an 
additional period of three years by decision without meeting. 

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 

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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 is called upon to adopt by decision without meeting constitutes an act 
having legal effects.  

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  TFEU,  in  conjunction  with 
Article 218(9) TFEU. 

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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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2024/0043 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International 
Tropical Timber Council by decision without meeting 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  (ITTC),  by  special  vote  in  accordance  with 
Article  12,  decides  to  extend,  renegotiate  or  terminate  it  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions of that Article. 

The ITTC - 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). 

ITTA  2006  was  extended  by  ITTC  decision  4(LVII)  and  the  respective  EU  position 
established  by  Council  decision (EU)  2021/837  of  6  May  20215  for  a  period  of  five 
years with effect from 7 December 2021 until 6 December 2026. 
At  the  59th  session  of  ITTC  in  November  2023  ITTC  decided  to  take  a  decision 
without meeting by 1 June 2024 on whether the ITTA 2006 be extended for a period 
for three years with effect from 7 December 2026 until 6 December 2029. 

The  additional  extension  of  the  ITTA  2006  for  the  period  of  three  years  is  in  the 
interest  of  the  European  Union,  as  the  ITTO  needs  adequate  time  and  resources  for 
preparing any subsequent agreement. 

(7) 

The Union's position in the ITTC should be established. 

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https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011D0731 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021D0837 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

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 Agreement 
2006, for an additional period of three years.  

Article 1 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission.  

Done at Brussels, 

Article 2 

For the Council 
The President 

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