2005/4/EC: Council Decision of 22 December 2004 on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures and the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to the EC-Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement

5.1.2005 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 2/4
COUNCIL DECISION
of 22 December 2004
on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures and the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to the EC-Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement
(2005/4/EC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 133, in conjunction with the first sentence of Article 300(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas:
(1) Article 12 of the Euro-Mediterranean Interim Association Agreement on trade and cooperation between the European Community, of the one part, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (1) (hereinafter the Palestinian Authority), of the other part, in force since 1 July 1997 and hereinafter referred to as the Interim Association Agreement, states that the Community and the Palestinian Authority shall progressively establish a greater liberalisation, inter alia, of their trade in agricultural products. Further, Article 14 provides that, from 1 January 1999, the Community and the Palestinian Authority are to examine the situation in order to determine the liberalisation measures to be applied by the Community and the Palestinian Authority from 1 January 2000, in accordance with the objective referred to in the said Article 12.
(2) The Commission has, on behalf of the Community, negotiated an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters with a view to replacing Protocols 1 and 2 to the Interim Association Agreement.
(3) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (2),