COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2023/2577

οf 9 November 2023

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 Kingdom of Norway amending the Agreement of the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff-rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(5) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) On 17 December 2020, the European Union (‘the Union’) signed the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff-rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (1) (the ‘Agreement of 17 December 2020’).

(2) If the result of negotiations with other Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with rights under Article XXVIII of GATT 1994 changes the shares agreed in their bilateral negotiations, the Union should inform the Kingdom of Norway (‘Norway’) thereof.

(3) As a result of negotiations with other WTO Members, the Union has agreed to modify the shares of three tariff-rate quotas for which Norway has negotiating rights.

(4) The Union has informed Norway about those modifications, and the discussions were successfully concluded on 29 June 2023 by the initialling of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway amending the Agreement of the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff-rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (the ‘Agreement’).

(5) The objective of the Agreement is to amend the Agreement of 17 December 2020 in relation to the volume of three tariff-rate quotas, and to provide for the apportionment of the tariff-rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV of GATT 1994 following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union.

(6) The Agreement should 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 Kingdom of Norway amending the Agreement of the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff-rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (the ‘Agreement’) is hereby authorised, subject to the conclusion of the said Agreement (2).

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 Brussels, 9 November 2023.

For the Council

The President

N. CALVIÑO SANTAMARÍA

(1)

OJ L 181, 21.5.2021, p. 3

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

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2023/2577/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)