EC/Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement: accession of Croatia to the EU. Protocol

PURPOSE : to conclude the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Serbia, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Croatia to the European Union.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: on 24 September 2012, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States and Croatia, with Serbia in order to conclude a Protocol to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Serbia, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Croatia to the European Union.

The Protocol was initialled by the Commission and the Government of Serbia on 10 December 2013.

It is now necessary to conclude the protocol

LEGAL BASIS: Article 217 in conjunction with point (a)(i) of Article 218(6) and the second subparagraph of Article 218(8) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

N.B.: for the conclusion of the Protocol on behalf of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC), the Commission proposes that the Council gives its approval, pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 101 of the Treaty establishing the EAEC.

CONTENT: under this proposal, the Council is invited to adopt a decision aiming to approve, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, a Protocol to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Serbia, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Croatia to the European Union.

The text of the Protocol is attached to the proposal.

A parallel decision is proposed for the signature and provisional application of the Protocol on behalf of the European Union.