PURPOSE: to conclude the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Mongolia, of the other part.
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: in accordance with the Decision of the Council of 14 May 2012, a Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Mongolia, of the other part, was signed on 30 April 2013, subject to its conclusion at a later date. The Agreement should now be approved on behalf of the European Union.
The PCA will supersede the current legal framework of the 1993 Agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the European Economic Community and Mongolia.
The Commission notes that following the 11 June 2014 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-377/12 Commission v Council regarding the Council Decision on the signature of the PCA with the Philippines, this proposal should be based on Articles 207, 209 and 218(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
CONTENT: under this proposal, it is proposed that the Council approve, on behalf of the Union, the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Mongolia, of the other part.
Shared principles: the PCA is testimony to the growing importance of EU-Mongolia relations based on shared principles such as equality, mutual respect, mutual benefit, democracy, the rule of law and human rights. It includes the EU’s standard political clauses on human rights, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the International Criminal Court (ICC), small arms and light weapons (SALWs) and counter-terrorism, and promotes bilateral, regional and international cooperation.
Concrete cooperation: the PCA will allow the EU to assume greater responsibility and influence in the region, and to promote European values and provide the basis for more effective engagement by the EU and its Member States with Mongolia. It strengthens political, economic and sectoral cooperation across a wide range of policy fields, including trade and investment, development, justice, freedom and security.
It encompasses areas such as:
Institutional framework: the draft Agreement comprises institutional measures establishing a Joint Committee, composed of representatives of both sides at an appropriate high level, whose tasks shall be to ensure the proper functioning and implementation of this Agreement.
Duration of the Agreement: this Agreement is valid for a period of five years. It shall be automatically extended for further successive periods of one year, unless either Party notifies the other in writing of its intention not to do so.