Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the World Trade Organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference on the accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the WTO
Date: 2026-02-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, European Commission
Subjects: Uzbekistan, World Trade Organisation, accession to an agreement, enlargement of an international organisation, ministerial meeting, multilateral agreement, trade cooperation, trade relations

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.2.2026  COM(2026) 83 final 2026/0051 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the World Trade Organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference on the accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the WTO  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This  proposal  concerns  the  Council  decision  establishing  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the 
Union's behalf in the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) 
in connection with the envisaged adoption of a decision on the accession of the Republic of 
Uzbekistan to the WTO. 

2. 

2.1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  Agreement  Establishing 
Agreement’) 

the  World  Trade  Organization 

(‘WTO 

The Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (‘the WTO Agreement’) aims to 
achieve the objectives mentioned in the preamble to the Agreement. The Agreement entered 
into force on 1 January 1995. 
The European Union (‘EU’) is a party to the Agreement.1 All 27 EU Member States are also 
parties to the Agreement. The WTO may take decisions in accordance with the procedures set 
out in the WTO Agreement. 

2.2. 

The Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization 

The  Ministerial  Conference  is  the  highest  decision-making  body  of  the  WTO  and  meets  at 
least once every two years. As a matter of law and practice, decisions are taken by consensus.  

The next meeting of the Ministerial Conference will take place in Yaounde, Cameroon on 26-
29 March 2026.  

2.3. 

The envisaged act during the WTO Ministerial Conference and reason for and 
objective of the proposal 

During  the  WTO’s  14th  Ministerial  Conference  (‘MC14’)  a  decision  may  be  adopted 
regarding the WTO Accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan (‘Uzbekistan’). 

Members of the WTO and Uzbekistan may soon reach the concluding stage of an agreement 
on  the  terms  for  the  accession  of  Uzbekistan  to  the  organization.  This  comes  after  several 
years  of  negotiations,  which  began  when  Uzbekistan  submitted  its  application  to  join  the 
WTO in 1994.  

Accession to the WTO is expected to make a positive and lasting contribution to the process 
of economic reform and sustainable development in Uzbekistan, and underscores the support 
for a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.  

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

3.1. 

General Notes 

The objective of this proposal is to enable the EU to join a possible consensus in the WTO on 
the  adoption  by  the  Ministerial  Conference  of  the  envisaged  act,  consisting  of  a  decision 
regarding the accession of Uzbekistan to the WTO.  

1 

Council  Decision  94/800/EC  of  22  December  1994  concerning  the  conclusion  on  behalf  of  the 
European  Community,  as  regard  matters  within  its  competence,  of  the  agreements  reached  in  the 
Uruguay Round of multilateral negotiations (1986-1994) OJ L 336 23.12.1994, p. 1. 

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While it is not yet clear if, and to what extent, WTO Members will be able to reach consensus 
on  the  envisaged  act,  the  EU  position  at  MC14  has  to  be  established  in  advance  by  the 
Council pursuant to Article 218(9) TFEU.2  

In 1994, the Government of Uzbekistan applied for accession to the WTO. A Working Party 
on  the  accession  of  Uzbekistan  was  established  on  21  December  1994.  The  11th  Working 
Party  meeting  took  place  on  5-6  November  2025.  In  October  2025,  the  Commission,  on 
behalf of the EU, finalised bilateral negotiations on a comprehensive series of market opening 
commitments on the part of Uzbekistan. The EU should support the accession of Uzbekistan 
to the WTO. 

Once  released  by  the  WTO  Secretariat,  the  draft  Accession  Package  of  the  Republic  of 
Uzbekistan (Draft Consolidated Schedule of Concessions and Commitments on Goods, Draft 
Consolidated  Schedule  of  Specific  Commitments  on  Trade  in  Services  and  Draft  Working 
Party Report) will be reviewed by WTO Members at the final Meeting of the Working Party 
on  the  Accession  of  Uzbekistan  (not  yet  scheduled)  and  may  be,  with  possibly  some  minor 
modifications, adopted at MC14 in Cameroon, taking place on 26-29 March 2026.  

Since negotiations are currently ongoing, the Commission expects that the Council will take 
its decision on the EU position on the outcome of the negotiations once the situation regarding 
the relevant texts becomes clear, either at the beginning or during the Ministerial Conference 
itself.  

The  initiative  is  fully  consistent  with  existing  policies.  Similar  decisions  were  prepared  for 
previous WTO Ministerial Conferences, including for the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference 
in 2024.3  

3.2. 

Summary of terms of WTO accession 

3.2.1. 

Schedule of commitments: goods and services 

The  final  consolidated  schedules  of  commitments  and  concessions  elaborated  by  the  WTO 
Secretariat are in the process of being finalized. The EU concluded the bilateral negotiations 
with Uzbekistan on 24 October 2025. 

3.2.2.  Goods  

Uzbekistan is binding 100% of the tariffs in its Schedule of Concessions and Commitments 
on Goods. Regarding its committments for the EU, Uzbekistan will implement the final bound 
rates as from the date of accession, with a minority of bindings being implemented within 3 or 
5 years. Uzbekistan has also met EU requests by reducing bound rates, in particular for tariff 
lines with larger EU exports and of agricultural interest (the total trade-weighted average final 
bound rate of Uzebkistan’s offer to the EU is approximately 4.5%), and through the granting 
of Initial Negotiating Rights. 

When it comes to export duties, Uzbekistan  has  agreed on  a positive list, as per EU request 
with rates most of which similar to those set out in the Uzbek Presidential Decree 47 of March 
2025. For metals and metal scrap the rates include a percentage ad valorem in the range of 5% 
to 80% coupled with specific limit values. For agricultural products, the rates are ad valorem 

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To the extent that, contrary to the current expectations, the consensus was formalised in an international 
agreement  amending  the  WTO  Agreement  or  in  a  plurilateral  international  agreement  among  some 
WTO  Members,  the  Commission  would  make  the  necessary  proposals  in  accordance  with  Article 
218(6) TFEU following the adoption of the texts and their opening for acceptance by the MC14 or by 
the WTO Members concerned during MC14.  
Proposal for a Council Decision on the accession of Timor-Leste to the WTO. 

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in  the  range  of  20%  and  30%  for  live  animals,  meat  products  and  cereals,  whereas 
for rice, cotton and  cotton  products the  export  duty  rates  are  ad  valorem  with  specific 
limit values and with an implementation period of 10 years. 

3.2.3. 

Services 

Uzbekistan will undertake market access commitments in a broad range of services, including 
in professional services (legal, accounting and auditing, bookkeeping, taxation, architectural, 
engineering,  integrated  engineering,  veterinary),  business  services  (computer  services,  real 
estate services, other business services), communication services (courier, telecommunication, 
including  telecommunications  Reference  Paper),  construction  and  relating  engineering, 
distribution  services  (both  wholesale  and  retail),  educational  services  (higher  education), 
environmental services, financial services (insurance and banking), tourism and travel-related 
services, recreational, cultural and sporting services and transport services (air, rail, road and 
auxiliary). Such commitments are in line with the EU-Uzbekistan Enhanced Partnership and 
Cooperation Agreement  (EPCA).  Uzbekistan has removed all audiovisual  commitments and 
has taken over the proposed list of Most Favoured Nation exceptions for audiovisual services 
in full. 

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  WTO  Ministerial  Conference  is  a  body  set  up  by  an  agreement,  namely  the  WTO 
Agreement, which according to Article IV:1 of the WTO Agreement has the authority to take 
decisions  on  all  matters  covered  under  any  of  the  multilateral  trade  agreements,  including 
decisions having legal effects. 

The envisaged act mentioned above constitutes an act having legal effects, as it may affect the 
rights and obligations of the Union by virtue of international law. 

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 

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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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. 

The substantive legal basis of the proposed decision, therefore, 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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2026/0051 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the World 
Trade Organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference on the accession of the Republic of 
Uzbekistan to the WTO 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
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) 

The  Marrakesh  Agreement  Establishing  the  World  Trade  Organization  (‘the  WTO 
Agreement’)  was  concluded  by  the  Union  by  Council  Decision  94/800/EC  of  22 
December 19945 and entered into force on 1 January 1995.  

Pursuant to Articles IV:1 and IX:1 of the WTO Agreement, the Ministerial Conference 
of the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) may adopt decisions by consensus. 

The WTO Ministerial Conference, during its 14th meeting on 26-29 March 2026, may 
adopt a decision on the accession of Uzbekistan to the WTO. 

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the WTO 
Ministerial Conference, as the decisions are binding on the Union. 

Negotiations  for  the  WTO  accession  of  Uzbekistan  started  in  1995.  The  Working 
Party on the accession of Uzbekistan was established on 21 December 1994. The 11th 
Working  Party  meeting  took  place  on  5-6  November  2025.  In  October  2025,  the 
Commission, on behalf of the EU, finalised bilateral negotiations on a comprehensive 
series  of  market  opening  commitments  on  the  part  of  Uzbekistan.  Accession  to  the 
WTO  is  expected  to  make  a  positive  and  lasting  contribution  to  the  process  of 
economic  reform  and  sustainable  development  in  Uzbekistan.  A  possible  accession 
also  underscores  the  support  for  a  rules-based  multilateral  trading  system  with  the 
WTO at its core. The EU should support the accession of Uzbekistan, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 
The position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference or in 
any posterior meeting of the General Council shall be: 

To  join  the  consensus  reached  among  WTO  Members  with  a  view  to  adopting  a  decision 
regarding the accession of Uzbekistan to the WTO. 

5 

OJ L 336, 23.12.1994, p. 1. 

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This Decision is addressed to the Commission. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 2 

For the Council 
The President 

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