EC/Turkmenistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement: accession of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia to the EU. Protocol

PURPOSE: to conclude the Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia 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: the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and its Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, was signed in Brussels on 25 May 1998 (the Agreement is currently undergoing ratification and has not yet entered into force).

According to their Acts of Accession, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia shall accede to the international agreements signed or concluded by the European Union and its Member States by means of a protocol to those agreements.

The protocol is to be concluded by the Council, acting unanimously on behalf of the Member States, and by the third countries concerned.

With the negotiations being successfully concluded, the Commission requested the Council to conclude, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, the Protocol. The European Parliament will be called upon to give its consent to the Protocol.

CONTENT: under this draft Decision, the Council is called upon to approve on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, the Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.

The proposed Protocol incorporates the Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic as contracting party to the Agreement and commits the EU to providing the authentic version of the Agreement in the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish languages.