PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Argentina pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of Bulgaria and Romania in the course of 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 accessions to the European Union of Bulgaria and Romania.
Negotiations have been conducted by the Commission within the framework of the negotiating directives adopted by the Council.
These negotiations have been concluded and the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Argentina pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of Bulgaria and Romania in the course of their accession to the European Union was initialled on 22 September 2010.
The Agreement was signed on behalf of the Union, subject to its conclusion at a later date.
It is now appropriate to approve the Agreement on behalf of the European Union.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.
LEGAL BASIS: Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a)(v) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
CONTENT: the purpose of this proposal is approve, on behalf of the European Union, the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Argentine Republic pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania in the course of their accession to the European Union.
The text of the Agreement is attached to the proposed Decision. For details of the Agreement, please refer to the summary of the previous initial legislative document dated 14/02/2011.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no implication on the EU budget.