EU/USA Agreement: modification of concessions in the schedules of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania in the course of their accession to the EU

PURPOSE: the conclusion in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the United States of America pursuant to the GATT 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of Bulgaria and Romania following their accession to the European Union.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

BACKGROUND: on 29 January 2007, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with certain other Members of the World Trade Organization under Article XXIV:6 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 in the course of the accession to the European Union of Bulgaria and Romania.

These negotiations have been concluded and the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the United States of America was initialled by a representative of the European Union on 21 December 2011 and by a representative of the United States of America on 17 February 2012.

The Agreement should now be approved on behalf of the European Union.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was undertaken.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 207(4) of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in conjunction with point (v) of Article 218(6)(a) thereof.

CONTENT: based on this proposal, the Council is called upon to adopt a decision on the conclusion of the Agreement with the United States in the form of an Exchange of Letters.

The text of the Agreement is attached to the draft decision.

For further details concerning the content of this Agreement, please refer to the summary of the initial legislative proposal dated 29/06/2012.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the proposal has no implications for the EU budget.