COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2020/2061

of 7 December 2020

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Trade Committee established under the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, as regards the establishment of the Rules of Procedure of the Trade Committee and the Rules of Procedure of the Special Committees

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 207(4) in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) On 30 July 2009 the Union signed an Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part (1), (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Agreement’), which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement. The Agreement has been provisionally applied by Papua New Guinea since 20 December 2009, Fiji since 28 July 2014, Samoa since 31 December 2018 and Solomon Islands since 17 May 2020.

(2) Article 68 of the Agreement establishes a Trade Committee (hereinafter referred to as the ‘EU-Pacific Trade Committee’) which is to deal with all matters necessary for the implementation of the Agreement.

(3) Pursuant to Article 68 of the Agreement, the EU-Pacific Trade Committee is to establish its rules of procedure and it may set up Special Committees to which it will delegate specific implementing decision-making powers as provided for in the relevant provisions of the Agreement.

(4) The EU-Pacific Trade Committee, during its eighth meeting, will adopt its rules of procedure and those of the Special Committees.

(5) The Union should determine the position to be taken within the EU Pacific Trade Committee with regard to the adoption of such rules of procedure,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The position to be taken on behalf of the Union in the eighth meeting of the Trade Committee established under the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, as regards the establishment of the the Rules of Procedure of the EU-Pacific Trade Committee and of the Special Committees shall be based on the draft Decision of the EU-Pacific Trade Committee (2).

Article 2

After its adoption, the Decision of the EU-Pacific Trade Committee shall be published in the

Official Journal of the European Union

.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Brussels, 7 December 2020.

For the Council

The President

J. BORRELL FONTELLES

(1)  

OJ L 272, 16.10.2009, p. 2

.

(2)  See doc ST 11960/20 on http://register.consilium.europa.eu