EC/Mexico Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement: accession of Bulgaria and Romania. Protocol

PURPOSE: to sign and conclude the Second Additional Protocol to the Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Mexico to take account of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

CONTENT: under Article 6(2) of the Protocol concerning the conditions and arrangements for admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union, the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU-Mexico Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement is to be agreed by means of a Second Additional Protocol to the Agreement. The same article provides for a special procedure whereby the Protocol is to be concluded by the Council, acting unanimously on behalf of the Member States, and by the third country concerned. This procedure is without prejudice to the Community’s own competences.

On 23 October 2006, the Council approved a mandate for the Commission to negotiate such a Protocol with Mexico. These negotiations have since been completed to the satisfaction of the Commission.

The text of the Protocol is attached to this proposal. The most important aspects of the Protocol are provision for the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU-Mexico Agreement and inclusion of the new official languages of the EU.

It should be noted that the EU-Mexico free trade area was established by subsequent Decisions of the EU-Mexico Joint Council. Consequently the necessary adaptations to the trade provisions will also be made by means of Joint Council Decisions and are therefore not addressed in this Protocol.