2023/2190

13.10.2023

COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2023/2190

of 28 September 2023

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee established by the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs as regards the adoption of its rules of procedure

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(9) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs (1) (the ‘Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by Council Decision (EU) 2017/1912 (2) and entered into force on 1 May 2018.

(2) Article 10(1) of the Agreement establishes a Joint Committee.

(3) Pursuant to Article 10(2) of the Agreement, the Joint Committee is to determine its own rules of procedure.

(4) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the Joint Committee, as regards its rules of procedure, as those rules will be binding on the Union.

(5) The position of the Union within the Joint Committee should therefore be based on the attached draft Decision,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Joint Committee as regards the adoption of its rules of procedure shall be based on the draft decision of the Joint Committee attached to this Decision.

Article 2

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

Done at Brussels, 28 September 2023.

For the Council

The President

F. GRANDE-MARLASKA GÓMEZ

(1)

OJ L 274, 24.10.2017, p. 3

(2) Council Decision (EU) 2017/1912 of 9 October 2017 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs (

OJ L 274, 24.10.2017, p. 1

DRAFT

DECISION No 1/… OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE

of …

on the adoption of its rules of procedure

THE JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs (1) (the ‘Agreement’), and in particular Article 10(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to Article 10(2) of the Agreement, the Joint Committee is to determine its own rules of procedure.

(2) The rules of procedure of the Joint Committee should be adopted,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The rules of procedure of the Joint Committee, as set out in the Annex, are hereby adopted.

Article 2

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

Done at …,

For the Joint Committee

The Chair

Head of Delegation

(1)

OJ L 274, 24.10.2017, p. 3

ANNEX

Rules of procedure of the Joint Committee

Article 1

Heads of Delegation

1. The European Union and Iceland (the ‘Parties’) shall each appoint a Head of Delegation who shall be the contact person for all matters relating to the Joint Committee. The Parties shall also nominate a deputy of the Head of Delegation.

2. Each Head of Delegation may delegate all or any of the functions of Head of Delegation to the deputy, in which case all references hereafter to the Head of Delegation apply equally to the deputy.

Article 2

Chair

The office of Chair of the Joint Committee shall be held alternately, for a period of one calendar year, by the Head of Delegation of each Party.

Article 3

Meetings

1. Save as otherwise agreed by the Parties, the Joint Committee shall meet at the request of either Party, alternately in the Union and in Iceland, no later than 90 days after the request has been made.

2. Each meeting of the Joint Committee shall be convened by the Chair on a date and in a place agreed by the Parties. The notice regarding the convening of the meeting shall be issued by the Chair no later than 28 calendar days prior to the start of the meeting, unless the Parties agree otherwise.

3. Where both Parties agree, Joint Committee meetings can be attended by experts that are able to provide the requested specific information.

4. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, the meetings of the Joint Committee shall not be public.

5. By way of exception, the meetings of the Joint Committee may be held by any technological means agreed by the Parties, including via video conference.

Article 4

Delegations

Before each meeting, each Party shall inform the other, through the Secretariat of the Joint Committee, as provided for in Article 5, of the intended composition of its delegation.

Article 5

Secretariat

A representative of the European Commission and a representative of Iceland shall be appointed by the respective Head of Delegation to act jointly as Secretaries of the Joint Committee and shall execute secretarial tasks in a joint manner and in a spirit of mutual trust and cooperation.

Article 6

Correspondence

1. Correspondence addressed to the Joint Committee shall be directed to the Secretaries.

2. The Secretariat shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Joint Committee is forwarded to the Chair and circulated, where appropriate.

3. Correspondence between the Parties may be by any written means, including electronic mail.

Article 7

Agendas for the meetings

1. A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat on the basis of proposals made by the Parties. The provisional agenda shall include items in respect of which the Secretariat has received a request for inclusion in the agenda by a Party, supported by relevant documents, no later than 21 calendar days before the meeting date.

2. The provisional agenda, together with the relevant documents, shall be circulated no later than 15 calendar days before the beginning of the meeting.

3. The agenda shall be adopted by the Chair and the other Head of Delegation at the beginning of each meeting. Items other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the Parties so agree.

4. The Chair may, in consultation with the Parties, reduce the time periods specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of special circumstances.

Article 8

Adoption of instruments

1. The decisions of the Joint Committee within the meaning of Article 10 (2) and (3) of the Agreement shall be adopted by consensus and addressed to the Parties. The decisions shall bear the signatures of the Chair and of the other Head of Delegation.

2. Each decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption unless the decision provides otherwise.

3. Either Party may decide to publish any decision adopted by the Joint Committee.

Article 9

Written procedure

If the Parties so agree, the Joint Committee may adopt decisions by written procedure. The written procedure shall consist of an exchange of notes between the two Secretaries, acting in agreement with the Parties. The Party proposing the use of the written procedure shall submit the draft decision to the other Party who shall reply, indicating whether it accepts or does not accept the draft, proposes any amendments, or requests further time for reflection. If the draft is agreed, it shall be adopted in accordance with Article 8(1).

Article 10

Minutes

1. The Chair shall draw up draft minutes of each meeting and submit them to the other Head of Delegation within 20 working days of the meeting. The draft minutes shall state the recommendations and may also note any other conclusions reached. The other Head of Delegation shall agree to the draft, or submit proposed amendments. Once there is agreement on the draft minutes, two original copies shall be signed by the Chair and by the other Head of Delegation. An original copy of the minutes shall be kept by the Chair and one by the other Head of Delegation.

2. In the event that no agreement on the minutes is reached before the subsequent meeting is convened, the amendments submitted by the other Head of Delegation shall be annexed to the draft minutes.

Article 11

Expenses

1. Each Party shall meet any expenses that it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Joint Committee.

2. Expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and the reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.

Article 12

Confidentiality

The deliberations of the Joint Committee shall be confidential.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2023/2190/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)