PURPOSE: to conclude, by the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part.

PROPOSED ACT: Council and Commission Decision.

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

CONTENT: under this proposal, the Council and the Commission are called upon to approve, on behalf of the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part.

The conclusion of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 25 May 1998, will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Union.

The purpose of the Agreement is to strengthen the links established in particular by the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on trade and commercial and economic cooperation, signed on 18 December 1989 and approved by the Council Decision of 26 February 1990.

Upon its entry into force, the Agreement will replace the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, as amended by the Exchange of Letters between the European Community and Turkmenistan amending the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, as regards the authentic language versions.

PURPOSE: to conclude, by the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part.

PROPOSED ACT: Council and Commission Decision.

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

BACKGROUND: the conclusion of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 25 May 1998, will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Union which aim to strengthen the links established in particular by the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on trade and commercial and economic cooperation, signed on 18 December 1989 and approved by the Council Decision of 26 February 1990.

As a consequence of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the European Union has replaced and succeeded the European Community and from that date exercises all rights and assumes all obligations of the European Community. Therefore, references to the "European Community" in the text of the Agreement are, where appropriate, to be read as references to the "European Union".

It is now necessary to conclude the protocols to the Agreement to take into account the accession of several Member States to the Union since the signature of the Agreement.

Upon its entry into force, the Agreement will replace the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, as amended by the Exchange of Letters between the parties.

The Agreement should be approved on behalf of the European Union and Euratom.

CONTENT: under this proposal, the Council and the Commission are called upon to approve, on behalf of the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part.

The texts are attached this draft Decision.

For further details as regards the main provisions of this Agreement and its trade implications, please refer to the summary of the Commission’s initial legislative proposal dated 6 February 1998.

It should be noted that the proposal includes specific measures as regards the position to be taken by the Union within the Cooperation Council and the Cooperation Committee.

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, amended the EU's two core treaties, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). The latter was renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

These changes had various consequences for many ongoing procedures. First of all, the articles of the TEU and of the old EC Treaty that constitute the legal basis of all the proposals founded on those Treaties were renumbered in accordance with the table of equivalences mentioned in Article 5 of the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition, some proposals underwent a change to their legal basis going beyond a mere change to their numbering, and this resulted in changes to the type of procedure .

The Lisbon Treaty also introduced new concepts of decision-making procedure . The old "codecision procedure" was extended to new areas and renamed the "ordinary legislative procedure". A new "consent procedure" replaced the old "assent procedure". New interinstitutional procedures were also set up for the adoption of certain non-legislative acts, for example the conclusion of some international agreements.

The ongoing proposals concerned by these changes were formally modified by the Commission in a Communication published on 2 December 2009 (COM(2009)0665).

In the case of the proposal for a Council and Commission Decision on the conclusion of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States and Turkmenistan, the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty had the following impacts :

· the old legal basis – Treaty/EC/Art. 181a; Treaty/EC/Art. 300(2); Treaty/EC/Art. 300(3) 2nd par; Treaty/EC/Art. 44(1); Treaty/EC/Art. 57(2); Treaty/EC/Art. 80(2); Treaty/EURATOM/Art. 101(2); Treaty/EC/Art. 133; Treaty/ECSC/Art. 95; Treaty/EC/Art. 71; Treaty/EC/Art. 47(2) – became Art.218(6)(a), Art.50(1), Art.60 2nd para, Art.100(2) of the TFEU. Please note that the numbering of the old legal bases corresponds to the consolidated versions of the Treaties that were applicable immediately before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and may differ from the references in the original Commission proposal ;

· the proposal, which had previously fallen under the old assent procedure (AVC), was classified as an interinstitutional non-legislative procedure (NLE).