EU/New Zealand Agreement: modification of concessions in the schedules of Bulgaria and Romania in the course of their accession to the EU
PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and New Zealand pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of Bulgaria and Romania in the course of their accession to the European Union.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
BACKGROUND: on 29 January 2007, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations under Article XXIV:6 of GATT 1994. The Commission has negotiated with the Members of the WTO holding negotiating rights with respect to the withdrawal of specific concessions in relation to the withdrawal of the schedules of Bulgaria and Romania, in the course of their accession to the European Union.
Negotiations with New Zealand resulted in a draft Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters that was initialled on 7 September 2010 in Brussels.
The Agreement was signed, on behalf of the European Union, subject to its conclusion at a later date.
It is now necessary to approve the Agreement on behalf of the EU, following the European Parliament’s consent.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.
LEGAL BASIS: Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a)(v) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
CONTENT: by this draft Decision, this Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and New Zealand pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of Bulgaria and Romania in the course of their accession to the European Union is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.
The text of the Agreement is attached to the proposal.
For further details of the content of the Agreement, please refer to the summary of the previous initial legislative document dated 11/02/2011.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the proposal has no implications for the Union’s budget.