PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement under the form of a Protocol between the EU and Jordan establishing a Dispute Settlement Mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean-Jordan Agreement .

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2011/398/EU Council Decision on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the European Union and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, of the other part.

BACKGROUND: on 24 February 2006 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with partners in the Mediterranean region in order to establish a dispute settlement mechanism related to trade provisions.

These negotiations have been concluded and an Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the European Union and the Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States and Jordan was initialled on 9 December 2009 and signed on 11 February 2011.

It is now necessary to conclude the Protocol on behalf of the European Union.

CONTENT: with this Decision, the Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Jordan establishing a Dispute Settlement Mechanism is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.

The Agreement follows the model of the chapter on dispute settlement, which is included in the current negotiations of free trade agreements, and is based on the Memorandum of Understanding of the WTO, adapted to a bilateral context.

The scope of the dispute settlement mechanism includes Title II of the Association Agreement between the EU and Jordan, with the usual exception of the article on anti-dumping measures. After the entry into force of the Agreement on the liberalisation measures on agricultural products, signed on 14 December 2009, disputes will be governed by this Agreement.

The Agreement provides for the following:

opportunities to settle disputes before establishing an arbitration panel, through consultations and mediation; streamlined and effective procedures on the composition of the arbitration panel and compliance proceedings with clear time-limits; rules on openness and transparency, with provisions on open hearings, amicus curiae briefs, and the publication of the panel report; provisions on relations with the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 13 May 2011. The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.

Decision 2011/398
OJ L 177 06.07.2011, p. 0001

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the European Union and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, of the other part.

Parliament gives its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.

T7-0131/2011

A7-0067/2011

A7-0067/2011

The Committee on International Trade adopted the report drafted by Emilio MENÉNDEZ DEL VALLE (S&D, ES) in which it recommends the European Parliament to give its consent to the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the European Union and Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Jordan, of the other part.

PE452.790

13974/2010

PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the EU and Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the EU-Jordan Euro-Mediterranean Agreement .

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

BACKGROUND: on 24 February 2006, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with partners in the Mediterranean region in order to establish a dispute settlement mechanism related to trade provisions. These negotiations have been concluded and an Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the EU and Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing and Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Jordan, of the other part was initialled on 9 December 2009.

It is now necessary to conclude the Protocol on behalf of the European Union.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.

LEGAL BASIS: the first sub-paragraph of Article 207(4), in conjunction with point (a)(v) of Article 218(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

COTNENT: under this Decision, the Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the EU and Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing and Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Jordan, of the other part is hereby approved on behalf of the Union, having regard to the consent of the European Parliament

The main elements of this Protocol are detailed in the summary of the previous initial legislative document dated 22/06/2010.

13758/2010

PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement in the form of a Protocol between the EU and Jordan establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to disputes under the trade provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the EC and their Member States and Jordan.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

BACKGROUND: the Euro-Mediterranean Agreements contain provisions liberalising trade in goods, but the dispute settlement rules applicable to disputes concerning these provisions rely mainly on a diplomatic approach and can be easily blocked by the party complained against. In the context of an upgrading of Euro-Mediterranean trade relations, it was opportune to create a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to trade disputes based on streamlined and effective procedures within firm time limits, and modelled on the dispute settlement mechanisms of the most recent agreements concluded by the EU and on the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding. Such a mechanism will increase the security and predictability of bilateral trade relations. To this end in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy EU-Morocco Action Plan the parties agreed to elaborate rules of procedure for dispute settlement.

The Commission has negotiated in regional and bilateral mode with several Mediterranean partners. Negotiations with Jordan resulted in a draft Agreement that was initialled at the Euro-Mediterranean Trade Ministerial Conference in Brussels on 9 December 2009.

LEGAL BASE: Article 207(4), first sub-paragraph, in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a)(v) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.

CONTENT: this Agreement follows the model of the dispute settlement chapter of current Free Trade Agreement negotiations, and is based on the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding, adapted to a bilateral context. The scope of the dispute settlement mechanism includes Title II of the EU-Jordan Association Agreement, with the usual exception of the article on anti-dumping. After the entry into force of the Agreement on the liberalisation of agricultural products, initialled on 14 December 2009, disputes arising from that agreement would also be subject to this Agreement.

The text provides for the following:

opportunities to settle disputes before establishing an arbitration panel, through consultations and mediation; streamlined and effective procedures on the composition of the arbitration panel and compliance proceedings with clear time-limits; provisions on temporary remedies in case of non-compliance; rules on openness and transparency, with provisions on open hearings, amicus curiae briefs, and the publication of the panel report; provisions on relations with the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no implication for the EU budget.

COM(2010)0322
EUR-Lex