Considerations on COM(2024)20 - Accession of Niue to the Interim Partnership Agreement with the Pacific States

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dossier COM(2024)20 - Accession of Niue to the Interim Partnership Agreement with the Pacific States.
document COM(2024)20
date January 24, 2024
 
(1) On 12 June 2002, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States0.

(2) The Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part0 (the ‘Interim Partnership Agreement’), which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement, was signed in London on 30 July 2009. The Interim Partnership Agreement has been provisionally applied by Papua New Guinea and the Republic of the Fiji since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014, respectively.

(3) Article 80 of the Agreement lays down the provisions regarding the accession of other Pacific Islands States. Accordingly, the Independent State of Samoa and Solomon Islands have acceded to the Agreement and have been provisionally applying it since 31 December 2018 and 17 May 2020, respectively.

(4) On 26 May 2023, Niue has submitted a request for accession together with a market access offer to the Union.

(5) The Commission has assessed Niue’s offer and found it acceptable. Accordingly, the Commission has concluded negotiations with Niue on 12 June 2023.

(6) In accordance with Article 76(3) of the Agreement, the Union and Niue are to provisionally apply the Agreement 10 days after notifying each other in writing of the completion of the procedures necessary for this purpose.

(7) The accession of Niue to the Interim Partnership Agreement should be approved on behalf of the Union, subject to Niue’s deposit of the act of accession pursuant to Article 80(2) thereof.