EU/Euratom/Moldova Association Agreement: implementing the safeguard clause and anti-circumvention mechanism

The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by Helmut SCHOLZ (GUE/NGL, DE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council implementing the safeguard clause and the anti-circumvention mechanism providing for the temporary suspension of tariff preferences of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position, adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal.

The proposed amendments seek to:

• spell-out the obligation of the EU to hold consultations with the Moldovan authorities before the imposition of a definitive safeguard measure in accordance with Article 160 of the Association Agreement between the EU and Moldovia. Where no satisfactory solution has been reached within 30 days, the Commission may adopt definitive safeguard measures;
• spell-out the reporting obligation of the Commission in more detail, so as to expressly mention the application of provisional and definitive safeguard measures and the application of the anti-circumvention mechanism.