Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Joint Committee established by the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin as regards the amendment of Decision 1/2023 of that Joint Committee to include transitional provisions to the amendments of the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin applicable as of 1 January 2025
Date: 2024-10-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission
Subjects: Mediterranean region (EU), Union for the Mediterranean, administrative cooperation, international convention, joint committee (EU), originating product, regional cooperation, revision of an agreement

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.10.2024  COM(2024) 443 final/2 2024/0255 (NLE)  CORRIGENDUM This document corrects COM(2024)443 final of 8.10.2024 Insertion of the interinstitutional reference. Concerns all language versions  The text shall read as follows: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Joint Committee established by the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin as regards the amendment of Decision 1/2023 of that Joint Committee to include transitional provisions to the amendments of the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin applicable as of 1 January 2025  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  European  Union  is  a  signatory  to  the  Regional  Convention  on  pan-Euro-Mediterranean 
preferential  rules  of  origin  and  is  represented  on  the  Joint  Committee  established  by  that 
Convention. This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the 
Union’s behalf in the Joint Committee in connection with the envisaged adoption of adecision 
on transitory provisions concerning the application of the Convention as of 1 January 2025. 

2. 

2.1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  Regional  Convention  on  pan-Euro-Mediterranean  preferential  rules  of 
origin 

The  Regional  Convention  on  pan-Euro-Mediterranean1  preferential  rules  of  origin  (the 
Convention)  lays  down  provisions  on  the  origin  of  goods  traded  under  relevant  agreements 
concluded between its Contracting Parties. 

The Convention lays down a multilateral framework of rules of origin for a network of free 
trade  agreements  and  applies  without  prejudice  to  the  principles  laid  down  in  those 
agreements. The Convention provides for the application of diagonal cumulation between the 
Convention’s  25  Contracting  Parties:  the  European  Union,  Iceland,  Liechtenstein,  Norway, 
Switzerland,  Algeria,  Egypt,  Israel,  Jordan,  Lebanon,  Morocco,  Palestine2,  Syria,  Tunisia, 
Türkiye, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo*, 
the Faroe  Islands, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and  Ukraine  (the  Contracting Parties). 
The Convention entered into force in relation to the Union on 1 May 2012. 

The Convention was amended by Decision No 1/2023 of the Joint Committee of the Regional 
Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean Preferential Rules of Origin of 7 December 2023 on 
the amendment of the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of 
origin. This decision will enter into force on 1 January 20253. 

2.2. 

The Joint Committee 

The Joint Committee established by Article 3(1) of the Convention adopts amendments to the 
Convention,  administers  it  and  ensures  its  proper  implementation  in  accordance  with  its 
Article 4.  In  accordance  with  Article 12  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  Joint  Committee, 
decisions  of  the  Joint  Committee  are  adopted  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  Contracting  Parties 
for which the Convention has entered into force, present or represented at the meeting of the 
Joint Committee. 

The Contracting Parties for which the Convention has entered into force have voting rights. 
Each Contracting Party has one vote. 

2.3. 

The envisaged act of the Joint Committee 

During  its  16th  meeting,  the  Joint  Committee  is  to  adopt  a  decision  regarding  transitory 
provisions concerning the Convention’s application as of 1 January 2025 (the envisaged act). 

1 
2 

* 

3 

OJ L 54, 26.2.2013, p. 4. 
This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to 
the individual positions of the Member States on this issue. 
This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence. 
OJ L, 2024/390, 19.2.2024. 

EN 

1 

  EN 

 
 
The purpose of the envisaged act is  to put in place transitory provisions for a period of one 
year. The transitory provisions will ensure the continuous application of diagonal cumulation 
and the granting of preferential treatment under the Convention. 

The  envisaged  act  will  become  binding  on  the  Contracting  Parties  in  accordance  with 
Article 4(3)(a),  which  states:  ‘The  Joint  Committee  shall  adopt  by  decision  amendments  to 
this Convention’. Furthermore, Article 4(3), last sentence, states: ‘Decisions referred to in this 
paragraph  shall  be  put  into  effect  by  the  Contracting  Parties  in  accordance  with  their  own 
legislation.’ 

This  amendment  to  the  Decision  1/2023  of  the  Joint  Committee  should  enter  into  force  on 
1 January 2025. 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION’S BEHALF 

The Convention is applicable by way of a reference to it included in the protocols on rules of 
origin to the relevant bilateral agreements of the Contracting Parties. 

Currently, the cumulation possibilities in the  pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) area are based 
on a network of agreements between the Contracting Parties providing for the application of 
identical  rules  of  origin.  These  include  the  current  rules  of  the  Convention  as  well  as  the 
bilateral  Protocols  concerning  the  definition  of  the  concept  of  ‘originating  products’  and 
methods of administrative cooperation preceding the Convention (the Protocols preceding the 
Convention). 

In  parallel,  a  set  of  rules  that  apply  on  an  optional  basis  to  the  Convention  pending  the 
conclusion and entry into force of the amendment of the Convention (the Transitional rules) 
entered into force as of 1 September 2021 on a bilateral basis. 

The Convention was amended by Decision No 1/2023 of the Joint Committee of the Regional 
Convention  on  Pan-Euro-Mediterranean  Preferential  Rules  of  Origin  of  7 December 
2023 which will enter into force on 1 January 2025. The legal consequence is that the current 
rules of the Convention and the Transitional rules will stop being applicable as of that date. 

Several Contracting Parties informed the Secretariat of the Joint Committee that they will not 
be  in  a  position  to  update  their  protocols  on  rules  of  origin  with  a  reference  to  the  revised 
rules of the Convention before 1 January 2025, due to the length of their internal procedures. 

This  outcome  could  lead  to  some  Contracting  Parties  applying  the  revised  rules  of  the 
Convention  while  others  still  applying  the  current  rules  of  the  Convention  or  the  Protocols 
preceding  the  Convention.  This  would  potentially  disrupt  the  current  diagonal  cumulation 
possibilities, impacting trade flows in the PEM area. 

Where the transition towards the revised rules of the Convention is not simultaneous for all 
Contracting Parties, it should not lead to any less favourable situation than currently possible 
under the existing legal framework. 

Transitory  provisions  concerning  the  application  of  the  Regional  Convention  on  pan-euro-
Mediterranean rules of origin should be put in place for a period of one year. This will ensure 
the continuous application of diagonal  cumulation and the granting of preferential treatment 
under the Convention until the process of aligning all bilateral protocols to the revised rules of 
the Convention is finalised. 

The transitory provisions should cover the following: 

• 

The  possibility  to  claim  preferential  treatment  upon  submission  of  proofs  of 
origin issued before 1 January 2025 according to the applicable rules of origin 

EN 

2 

  EN 

 
at the time of issuance, presented within their validity period or afterwards, as 
allowed. 

• 

Administrative  cooperation  to  verify  proofs  of  origin  issued  according  to  the 
different sets of rules. 

•  Maintaining into application for one year the current rules of the Convention in 

parallel with the revised rules of the Convention. 

• 

• 

• 

Ensuring the traceability of proofs of origin issued according to the two sets of 
rules applicable in parallel by introducing a statement in the proofs of origin. 

The  application  of  diagonal  cumulation  without  disruptions  between  the 
Contracting  Parties  during  the  transition  from  the  different  sets  of  rules  of 
origin applicable before 1 January 2025 to the revised rules of the Convention,  

The  assurance  that  the  revised  rules  of  the  Convention  will  apply  as  of 
1 January  2026  between  all  Contracting  Parties.  To  this  end,  the  Contracting 
Parties  shall  notify  periodically  the  state  of  play  of  updating  their  bilateral 
protocols. 

To  ensure  that  trade  flows  continue  based  on  the  current  cumulation  possibilities  until  the 
process of aligning all PEM bilateral protocols  with the revised rules of the Convention has 
been  finalised,  the  current  rules  of  the  Convention  should  remain  applicable  between  the 
Contracting Parties for which the revised rules of the Convention are entering into force. 

The  current  rules  of  the  Convention  would  be  applicable  in  parallel  with  the  revised  rules, 
giving economic operators the possibility of choosing between the two sets of rules of origin 
depending on the existing supply chains. 

The  revised  rules  of  the  Convention  together  with  the  current  rules  of  the  Convention  will 
create two distinctive zones of cumulation. 

The revised rules of the Convention should provide for permeability between the two sets of 
rules of origin, by allowing the cumulation provided for in Article 7 to apply provided that the 
products in question meet the requirements of both sets of rules. 

The Contracting Parties  applying the revised rules of the Convention agreed that  a proof of 
origin issued under the current rules of the Convention should be automatically considered as 
valid under the revised rules of the Convention. As the revised rules of the Convention are in 
general  less  stringent  than  the  current  rules  of  the  Convention,  goods  fulfilling  the  current 
rules  could  also  qualify  as  originating  under  the  revised  rules  of  the  Convention,  with  the 
exception  of  some  agricultural  products  classified  under  Chapters  2,  4  to  15,  16  (with  the 
exception of processed fishery products) and Chapters 17 to 24. 

Permeability  should  be  limited  to  only  those  products  for  which  the  revised  rules  of  the 
Convention are more relaxed than the current rules Convention,  

Only  products  complying  with  the  current  rules  of  the  Convention  could  be  considered  as 
originating under the revised rules of the Convention.  

Thus, in essence, the proposed amendment would imply replicating the existing system in the 
PEM area, based on the application in parallel of the Transitional rules and the current rules of 
the Convention. 

EN 

3 

  EN 

 
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’4. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The Joint Committee is a body set up by an agreement, namely the Regional Convention on 
pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin. 

The  act  which  the  Joint  Committee  is  called  upon  to  adopt  constitutes  an  act  having  legal 
effects.  The  envisaged  act  will  be  binding  under  international  law  in  accordance  with 
Article 4(3)  of  the  Regional  Convention  on  pan-Euro-Mediterranean  preferential  rules  of 
origin. 

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

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. 

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  the  first  subparagraph  of 
Article 207(4) TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The legal basis of the proposed decision should be the first subparagraph of Article 207(4) in 
conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU. 

5. 

PUBLICATION OF THE ENVISAGED ACT 

As the act of the Joint Committee will amend the Convention, it is appropriate to publish it in 
the Official Journal of the European Union after its adoption. 

4 

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, 

EN 

4 

  EN 

 
 
2024/0255 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Joint Committee 
established by the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules 
of origin as regards the amendment of Decision 1/2023 of that Joint Committee to 
include transitional provisions to the amendments of the Regional Convention on pan-
Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin applicable as of 1 January 2025 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning  of the European Union, and in particular of 
Article 207(4), first subparagraph in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

1 
2 

The Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin (the 
Convention)  was  concluded  by  the  Union  by  Council  Decision  2013/94/EU1  and 
entered into force in relation to the Union on 1 May 2012. 

Pursuant  to  Article 4(1)  and  Article  4(3),  point  (a),  of  the  Convention,  the  Joint 
Committee established by the Convention (Joint Committee) may adopt by decisions 
amendments to the Convention. 

The  Joint  Committee,  during  its  16th  meeting,  is  to  adopt  a  decision  on  transitory 
provisions concerning the application of the Convention as of 1 January 2025. 
The Convention was amended by Decision No 1/2023 of the Joint Committee2 which 
will  enter  into  force  on  1  January  2025.  The  Contracting  Parties  to  the  Convention 
agree  that  transitory  provisions  are  needed  to  preserve  trade  flows  based  on  current 
cumulation  possibilities,  until  the  process  of  aligning  all  bilateral  protocols  with  the 
revised rules of the Convention is finalised. 

The  Contracting  Parties  to  the  Convention  agree  that  the  transitory  provisions  are 
applicable  for  a  period  of  one  year,  running  from  when  the  amendment  of  the 
Convention enters into force until 31 December 2025. 

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the Joint 
Committee, as the Decision of the Joint Committee will be binding on the Union, 

OJ L 54, 26.2.2013. 
Decision  No  1/2023  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  Regional  Convention  on  pan-Euro-Mediterranean 
Preferential  Rules  of  Origin  of  7  December  2023  on  the  amendment  of  the  Regional  Convention  on 
pan-Euro-Mediterranean  preferential 
(OJ  L,  2024/390,  19.2.2024,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2024/390/oj). 

rules  of  origin 

EN 

5 

  EN 

 
 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the 16th meeting of the Joint Committee 
shall be based on the draft act of the Joint Committee attached to this Decision. 

Article 1 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 2 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

6 

  EN