EC/Israel Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement: accession of Bulgaria and Romania. Protocol

PURPOSE: to sign and conclude a provisional application of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement between the Community and the State of Israel, in order to take account of Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

CONTENT: the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, and entered into force on 1st June 2000 (see AVC/1995/0276) that is before the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU.

According to the Act of Accession (Article 6 (2)) any new EU Member State, in this case Romania and Bulgaria, will have their accession to the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement agreed by means of a Protocol. The Protocol should be approved through a simplified procedure.

Negotiations to modify the Protocol commenced between the Commission and State of Israel in October 2006. The negotiations have now been concluded. The purpose of this proposal, therefore, is firstly, for the Council to sign the Protocol and secondly, to conclude the Protocol.

The most important aspects of the Protocol are the provisions for the accession of the new Member States to the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the inclusion of the new official languages of the EU in order to take account of enlargement. The Protocol also sets out a series of tariff concessions on imports into the Community of goods originating in Israel in particular processed agricultural products (citrus bases for preparation of soft drinks and beverages containing by weight at least 30% of concentrated fruit juices and no more than 50% of sucrose, not containing milk or milk products).

The European Parliament will be called upon to give its assent to this Protocol.