Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2024)5 - EU position in the EPA Committee established under the interim agreement with a view to an Economic Partnership Agreement with the Central Africa Party as regards the adoption of the Protocol concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2024)5 - EU position in the EPA Committee established under the interim agreement with a view to an Economic Partnership Agreement with ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2024)5  |
| date | 12-01-2024 |
1. Subject matter of the proposal
This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the Union in the EPA Committee established under the interim agreement with a view to an Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Central Africa Party, of the other part, as regards the envisaged adoption of the Protocol to the Agreement concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation.
2. Context of the proposal
2.1. The interim agreement with a view to an Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Central Africa Party, of the other part
The interim agreement with a view to an Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Central Africa Party, of the other part (‘the Agreement’), was signed by Cameroon in Yaoundé on 15 January 2009 and by the European Union (‘the EU’) in Brussels on 22 January 20091 and it has been provisionally applied by Cameroon since 4 August 2014. The Republic of Cameroon is the only signatory country from the Central Africa Party. The Agreement is open to other countries in the Central African region interested in joining.
The Agreement aims to: (a) enable the Central Africa Party to benefit from the enhanced market access offered by the EU; (b) promote sustainable economic development in the Central Africa Party and enhance its progressive integration into the world economy; (c) establish a free trade area between the European Union and the Central Africa Party based on common interest, through the progressive liberalisation of trade in a manner compliant with applicable World Trade Organization rules and the principle of asymmetry, taking account of the specific needs and capacity constraints of the Central Africa Party, in terms of levels and timing for commitments; (d) set up the appropriate dispute settlement arrangements; and (e) set up the appropriate institutional arrangements.
2.2. The EPA Committee
The EPA Committee is a body set up in accordance with Article 92 of the Agreement. It is composed of representatives of the EU and of the Central Africa Party (‘the Parties’). It is co-chaired by a representative of each of the Parties. The EPA Committee adopts its rules of procedure.
The EPA Committee is responsible for the administration of all areas covered by this Agreement and for the completion of all tasks referred to in this Agreement.
The EPA Committee deals with all matters necessary for the implementation of the Agreement, including development cooperation. In the performance of its duties, the EPA Committee may (a) set up and oversee any special committees or bodies necessary for the implementation of the Agreement; (b) meet at any time agreed by the Parties; (c) consider any issues under the Agreement and take appropriate action in the exercise of its duties; (d) take decisions or make recommendations in cases provided for in the Agreement; and (e) adopt amendments to this Agreement.
2.3. The envisaged act of the EPA Committee
At the next meeting to be held in 2024 or by written procedure, the EPA Committee is to adopt a decision regarding the adoption of the Protocol to the Agreement concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation, as agreed by the Parties in July 2023 (‘the envisaged act’).
The purpose of the envisaged act is to establish a common and reciprocal regime governing the rules of origin.
The Agreement entered into force without a common and reciprocal regime governing the rules of origin. Article 13(2) of the Agreement requires the Parties to establish ‘a reciprocal common regime governing the rules of origin [which] shall be annexed to this Agreement by the EPA Committee’. This new regime will be annexed to the Agreement by the EPA Committee.
In the absence of such a regime, the provisions concerning rules of origin contained in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/10762 of 8 June 2016 applying the arrangements for products originating in certain states which are part of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States provided for in agreements establishing, or leading to the establishment of, economic partnership agreements (‘the Market Access Regulation’) are applicable to exports from Cameroon to the EU. For exports from the EU to Cameroon, the rules of origin defined in Decree No 2016/367 of 3 August 2016 adopted by Cameroon are applicable.
The Protocol will replace the applicable rules of origin as indicated in the previous paragraph by a more favourable and reciprocal regime. In accordance with Article 13(2) and Article 108 of the Agreement, the Protocol will be annexed to the Agreement and will form an integral part thereof.
3. Position to be taken on the Union’s behalf
The Parties concluded negotiations on the Protocol concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation in June 2022 at the 6th meeting of the EPA Committee and confirmed the final text of the Protocol in July 2023 at the 7th meeting of the EPA Committee. The agreed Protocol incorporates the latest developments on rules of origin, including those agreed in the most recent protocols on rules of origin under EPAs with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The rules of origin applied since the entry into force of the Agreement do not reflect the most recent developments on rules of origin, resulting in obstacles to benefiting from the preferential and reciprocal treatment provided for in the Agreement. The new, more favourable and reciprocal regime will lead to simplification and provide for a degree of flexibility for complying with the rules of origin requirements and procedures. This simplification will facilitate trade and optimise the use of preferential treatment for economic operators. In addition, the new rules of origin contained in the Protocol will promote regional integration and economic development in the Central African States by facilitating operators’ compliance with the rules of origin.
It is necessary to adopt the Protocol to the Agreement, which contains, in Annex II, headings and descriptions of goods that are aligned with the HS Nomenclature and consistent with the Harmonized System (HS) of the World Customs Organization (WCO).
The proposed decision will fulfil the EU’s obligations under the provisions of the Agreement. It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the EPA Committee, as that decision will be binding on the Union.
4. Legal basis
4.1. Procedural legal basis
4.1.1. Principles
Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts having legal effects, with the exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement’.
The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do not have a binding effect under international law, but that are ‘capable of decisively influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’3.
4.1.2. Application to the present case
The EPA Committee is a body set up by an agreement, namely the interim agreement with a view to an Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Central Africa Party, of the other part.
The act which the EPA Committee is called upon to adopt constitutes an act having legal effects. The envisaged act will be binding under international law in accordance with Article 13(2) of the Agreement.
The envisaged act does not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Agreement.
Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU.
4.2. Substantive legal basis
4.2.1. Principles
The substantive legal basis for a decision under Article 218(9) TFEU depends primarily on the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the Union’s behalf. If the envisaged act pursues two aims or has two components and if one of those aims or components is identifiable as the main one, whereas the other is merely incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component.
4.2.2. Application to the present case
The main objective and content of the envisaged act relate to the common commercial policy.
Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is Article 207(3) and 207 i, first paragraph, of the TFEU.
4.3. Conclusion
The legal basis of the proposed decision should be Article 207(3) and 207 i, first paragraph, of the TFEU, in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU.
5. Publication of the envisaged act
As the act of the EPA Committee will adopt a Protocol concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods for administrative cooperation to the interim agreement with a view to an Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Central Africa Party, of the other part, it is appropriate to publish it in the Official Journal of the European Union after its adoption.