CELEX: 52017PC0396
Language: en
Date: 2017-07-27
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, as regards the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I: Overseas countries and territories

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
            Brussels, 27.7.2017
            COM(2017) 396 final
            2017/0172(NLE)
            Proposal for a
            COUNCIL DECISION
            on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, as regards the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I: Overseas countries and territories
            
               
         
         
            
               EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
            
            
               1.Subject-matter of the proposal
            
            
               The present proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union in the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, in connection with the envisaged adoption of a Decision amending Annex IX to Protocol I of that Agreement on Overseas Countries and Territories.
            
            
               2.Context of the proposal
            
            
               2.1.The Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part
            
            
               The Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part (‘the Agreement’) aims to contribute to the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty through the establishment of a trade partnership consistent with the objective of sustainable development, the Millennium Development Goals and the Cotonou Agreement.
            
            
               The Agreement was signed on 15 October 2008, and is provisionally applied as of 29 December 2008.
            
            
               2.2.The Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council 
            
            
               The Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council shall generally be responsible for the operation and implementation of the Agreement and shall monitor the fulfilment of its objectives. It meets at ministerial level at regular intervals not exceeding a period of two years. In order to attain the objectives of this Agreement, it shall have the power to take decisions in respect of all matters covered by the Agreement. These decisions taken shall be binding on the Parties and the Signatory CARIFORUM States, which shall take all the measures necessary to implement them in accordance with each Party's and Signatory CARIFORUM State's internal rules.
            
            
               2.3.The envisaged act of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council 
            
            
               On 17 November 2017 during its fourth meeting, the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council is to adopt a Decision regarding the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I that includes the list of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) (‘the envisaged act’).
            
            
               The purpose of the envisaged act is to ensure that the list of OCTs in Annex IX to Protocol I of the Agreement is updated and harmonised with Annex II TFEU, considering the change of status of three territories in the list.
            
            
               Saint Barthélemy (FR) became an OCT associated with the European Union on 1 January 2012. Mayotte (FR) became an Outermost Region (OR) of the European Union on 1 January 2014. Council Decision 2013/755/EU on the association of the OCTs with the European Union, which applies to all the OCTs listed in Annex II to the TFEU, also entered into force on 1 January 2014. The list of OCTs in Annex IX to Protocol I of the Agreement should therefore be updated accordingly.
            
            
               The envisaged act shall become binding on the parties in accordance with Article 229 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Agreement.
            
            
               3.Position to be adopted on behalf of the Union
            
            
               The Agreement was signed on 15 October 2008, and it is being provisionally applied as of 29 December 2008.
            
            
               The proposed position to be adopted on behalf of the Union aims at making the envisaged act binding.
            
            
               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.’
            
            
               4.1.2.Application to the present case
            
            
               The Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council is a body set up by the Agreement.
            
            
               The act which the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council is called upon to adopt constitutes an act having legal effects. The envisaged act will be binding under international law in accordance with Article 229 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Agreement.
            
            
               The envisaged act does not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Agreement.
            
            
               The procedural legal basis for the proposed decision, therefore, 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 adopted on behalf of the Union.
            
            
               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 in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU.
            
            
               2017/0172 (NLE)
            
            
               Proposal for a
            
            
               COUNCIL DECISION
            
            
               on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, as regards the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I: Overseas countries and territories
            
            
               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)The Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part
                  1
                (‘the Agreement’), was signed on 15 October 2008, and is provisionally applied as of 29 December 2008.
            
            
               (2)Pursuant to Article 229 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Agreement, the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council may adopt decisions that shall be binding on the Parties and the Signatory CARIFORUM States, which shall take all the measures necessary to implement them in accordance with each Party's and Signatory CARIFORUM State's internal rules.
            
            
               (3)The Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council during its fourth meeting on 17 November 2017 is to adopt a decision on the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I that include the list of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).
            
            
               (4)It is appropriate to establish the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union in the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council, as the decision will be binding upon the Union.
            
            
               (5)The attached proposal for a Council Decision constitutes the legal instrument for the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I of the Agreement. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure a harmonised and updated presentation of the list of OCTs of Annex IX to Protocol I of the Agreement with Annex II TFEU, considering the change of status of three territories.
            
            
               (6)As the act of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council will amend Annex IX to Protocol I of the Agreement, it is appropriate to publish it in the Official Journal of the European Union after its adoption.
            
            
               (7)In the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council, the Union is to be represented by the Commission in accordance with Article 17(1) TEU. The Member States are to support the position of the Union in accordance with Article 4(3) TEU,
            
            
               HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
            
            
               Article 1
            
            
               The position to be adopted, on behalf of the Union, in the fourth meeting of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council on 17 November 2017 shall be based on the draft Decision of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council attached to this Decision.
            
            
               Article 2
            
            
               This Decision is addressed to the Commission and the Member States.
            
            
               Done at Brussels,
            
            
               
                     For the Council
               
               
                     The President
               
            
         
         
            
                  
                     (1)
                  OJ L 289, 30.10.2008, p. 3.
               
            
      
    ---documentbreak--- 
      
         
               EUROPEAN COMMISSION
            Brussels, 27.7.2017
            COM(2017) 396 final
            ANNEX
            to the
            Proposal for a Council Decision
            on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, as regards the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I: Overseas countries and territories
            
               
         
         
            
               ATTACHMENT
            
            
               DRAFT
            
            
               DECISION No…/2017 OF THE JOINT CARIFORUM–EU COUNCIL 
            
            
               of …
            
            
               established by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, concerning the amendment of Annex IX to Protocol I:Overseas countries and territories
            
            
               THE JOINT CARIFORUM-EU COUNCIL
            
            
               Having regard to the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part (“the Agreement”), and in particular Article 41 of Protocol I thereof,
            
            
               Whereas:
            
            
               (1)Protocol I of the Agreement – Concerning the Definition of the Concept of “Originating Products” and Methods of Administrative Cooperation – defines Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) to mean the Overseas Countries and Territories set out in Annex IX thereto;
            
            
               (2)Following the change of status of Mayotte
                  1
                and Saint-Barthélemy
                  2
               , and the entry into force of Council Decision 2013/755/EU on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union
                  3
               , the list of overseas countries and territories in Annex IX to Protocol I of the Agreement should be updated,
            
            
               HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
            
            
               Article 1
            
            
               Annex IX to Protocol I is replaced by the Annex which is annexed to this Decision.
            
            
               Article 2
            
            
               This Decision shall enter into force on […]
            
            
               Done at [……] on [….…] 2017.
            
            
                     
                        For the CARIFORUM States
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        For the EU Party
                     
                  
               
               ANNEX IX to Protocol I
            
            
               Overseas countries and territories
            
         
         
            
               For the purposes of this Protocol “overseas countries and territories” means the following countries and territories referred to in Annex II to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union listed below:
            
            
               (This list is without prejudice to the status of these countries and territories, or future changes in their status.)
            
            
               1.Overseas countries and territories that have special relations with the Kingdom of Denmark:
            
            
               –Greenland.
            
            
               2.Overseas countries and territories that have special relations with the French Republic:
            
            
               –New Caledonia and Dependencies,
            
            
               –French Polynesia,
            
            
               –Saint Pierre and Miquelon,
            
            
               –Saint Barthélemy,
            
            
               –French Southern and Antarctic Territories,
            
            
               –Wallis and Futuna.
            
            
               3.Overseas countries and territories that have special relations with the Kingdom of the Netherlands:
            
            
               –Aruba,
            
            
               –Bonaire,
            
            
               –Curaçao,
            
            
               –Saba,
            
            
               –Sint Eustatius,
            
            
               –Sint Maarten.
            
            
               4.Overseas countries and territories that have special relations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
            
            
               –Anguilla,
            
         
         
            
               –Bermuda,
            
            
               –Cayman Islands,
            
            
               –Falkland Islands,
            
            
               –South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands,
            
            
               –Montserrat,
            
            
               –Pitcairn,
            
            
               –Saint Helena and Dependencies,
            
            
               –British Antarctic Territory,
            
            
               –British Indian Ocean Territory,
            
            
               –Turks and Caicos Islands,
            
            
               –British Virgin Islands.
            
         
         
            
                  
                     (1)
                  Council Decision 2012/419/EU of 11 July 2012 amending the status of Mayotte with regard to the European Union (OJ L 204, 31.7.2012, p. 131.)
               
               
                  
                     (2)
                  Council Decision 2010/718/EU of 29 October 2010 amending the status with regard to the European Union of the island of Saint-Barthélemy (OJ L 325, 9.12.2010, p. 4.)
               
               
                  
                     (3)
                  Council Decision 2013/755/EU on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union (OJ L 76,15.3.2014, p. 56).