Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2010)619 - EU position within the ACP-EU Council of Ministers concerning the status of Equatorial Guinea in relation to the revised ACP-EC Partnership Agreement - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2010)619 - EU position within the ACP-EU Council of Ministers concerning the status of Equatorial Guinea in relation to the revised ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2010)619  |
| date | 05-11-2010 |
On 25 June 2005 in Luxembourg, Equatorial Guinea joined with other ACP countries in signing the agreement amending the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the 'revised ACP-EC Partnership Agreement').
In accordance with Article 93(3) thereof, the revised ACP-EC Partnership Agreement entered into force on 1 July 2008 following ratification of the revision by the EU and its Member States and by two thirds of the ACP States. Article 93(4) of the Agreement stipulates that an ACP signatory State that has not completed the ratification procedures by the date of entry into force of the Agreement may do so only within the 12 months following that date. Subsequently, such a signatory State is to follow the accession procedure provided for in Article 94.
On 12 September 2008, Equatorial Guinea deposited the instrument of ratification for the revised Cotonou Agreement with a reservation regarding Article 11(6), which refers to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a letter dated 19 December 2008, the European Union and its Member States rejected this ratification with a reservation. As a result, the ratification was not accepted as being valid.
Obiang Nguema, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, announced his intention to deposit the instruments of ratification for the revised Cotonou Agreement without a reservation before the ratification deadline of 30 June 2009, but the Parliament has since then made it known that legal impediments prevent it from granting the authorisation requested by the Executive for ratifying the Agreement without a reservation. Since then, the matter has not been re-examined by the Parliament.
In a letter dated 21 May 2010 sent to the Secretariat General of the Council of the European Union, Equatorial Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pastor Micha Ondo Bile, informed the EU that his country intended to adhere to the revised ACP-EC Partnership Agreement in accordance with the provisions of Article 94 of the Agreement. Equatorial Guinea asked that it in the meantime be granted observer status, enabling it to participate in the joint institutions set up by the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement until the accession procedure was completed. This status should be granted until the authorities of Equatorial Guinea are in a position to present their accession instruments, that is to say until 30 April 2011.
The European Union should, then, respond favourably to this request, which will be approved in a formal decision by the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers.
In accordance with Article 218(10) TFEU, the European Parliament will be informed.
The Commission therefore proposes that the Council adopt the attached proposal for a decision.