Establishing Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences

The European Parliament rejected by 182 votes to 409, with 32 abstentions, a motion for resolution which sought to object to the Commission’s delegated regulation of 28 August 2013 establishing Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences.

The motion for resolution had been tabled by the Greens/EFA and the GUE/NGL groups.

To recall, Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 which lays down the modalities of the Union’s Generalised System of Preferences empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts in order to establish or to amend Annex III in order to grant a requesting country the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance by adding that country to the list of GSP+ beneficiary countries.

On 28 August 2013, the Commission adopted a delegated act to establish Annex III, by adding 10 countries (Armenia, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay and Peru) as of 1 January 2014 through one single delegated act.

As they considered that this limits considerably the scrutiny powers of the co-legislators, the Members who tabled this motion for resolution sought to object to the Commission delegated regulation. They called on the Commission to immediately submit a new delegated act which takes account of the recommendation according to which, pursuant to Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 978/2012, the Commission should adopt a separate delegated act for each country it wants to add to the list of GSP+ beneficiary countries.