COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2019/1864

of 24 October 2019

on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation in the context of negotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 on the modification of Switzerland’s WTO concessions with regard to seasoned meat

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(5) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) On 6 December 2018, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (‘GATT’) 1994 on an adequate compensation following Switzerland’s decision to modify the tariff concession in Schedule LIX — Switzerland-Liechtenstein for meat not further prepared than seasoned.

(2) The negotiations have been concluded and an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation in the context of negotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 on the modification of Switzerland’s WTO concessions with regard to seasoned meat (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’) was initialled on 17 July 2019.

(3) This Decision relates exclusively to Union trade policy and implements an agreement following negotiations in the framework of the Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994, a Union right under the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO).

(4) The Agreement should therefore be signed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation in the context of negotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 on the modification of Switzerland’s WTO concessions with regard to seasoned meat is hereby authorised, subject to the conclusion of the said Agreement (1).

Article 2

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement on behalf of the Union.

Article 3

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

Done at Luxembourg, 24 October 2019.

For the Council

The President

A.-K. PEKONEN

(1)  The text of the Agreement will be published together with the decision on its conclusion.