PURPOSE: to conclude the Protocol of Accession to the
Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States,
of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, to take
account of the Accession of Ecuador.
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: on 19 January 2009, the Council authorised
the Commission to negotiate a trade agreement on behalf of the
Union with those Member Countries of the Andean Community (Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) which shared the aim to reach a
balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and WTO-compatible
agreement.
On 26 June 2012, the EU signed a Trade Agreement with
Colombia and Peru. The Trade Agreement has been provisionally
applied since 1 March 2013 for Peru and 1 August 2013 for
Colombia.
On 17 July 2014, the Union and Ecuador concluded their
negotiations on the Protocol to take account of the Accession of
Ecuador to the Trade Agreement. The text of the Protocol was
approved by the Trade Committee of the Trade Agreement at its
meeting of 8 February 2016.
CONTENT: the proposal for a Council Decision
constitutes the legal instrument for the conclusion of the
Protocol of Accession to the Trade Agreement between the
European Union and its Member States, on the one part, and Colombia
and Peru on the other part, to take account of the Accession of
Ecuador.
The Protocol in question establishes the necessary
modifications to the Trade Agreement to take account of the
accession of Ecuador. The Trade Agreement establishes the
conditions for EU economic operators to take full advantage of the
opportunities and the emerging complementarities between our
respective economies:
- over the course of its implementation, the Agreement
will fully relieve EU exporters of industrial and fisheries
products to Ecuador from paying customs duties. In addition, it
will allow for the dismantling of several important non-tariff
barriers;
- Ecuador will benefit from substantial new access to
the EU market in particular for their key agriculture export:
bananas, and the EU will grant 100% duty-free coverage for
fisheries of Ecuadorian origin and liberalise 99,9% of industrial
tariff lines and 100% of industrial imports at entry into
force;
- on services and establishment as well as public
procurement coverage, the agreement matches the ambition of the
Agreement with Colombia and Peru. It includes substantial
commitments on all key sectors (notably financial services,
telecommunications, transport) for cross-border supply and
establishment in particular, while the EU's concerns in terms of
temporary presence of natural persons for business purposes have
been dealt with satisfactorily. In procurement, the EU has obtained
the commitment of institutions at both central and sub-central
level with appropriately low thresholds;
- the Agreement also establishes a set of disciplines
which go beyond those agreed in the multilateral framework,
notably on intellectual property (e.g. 116 EU geographical
indications protected in Ecuador, data protection conditions
clarified); sustainable development; competition; technical
barriers to trade; Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures,
etc;
- Ecuador will participate in the Trade Committee
as well as in a set of sub-committees which allow for consultations
on specific trade concerns under its different titles.
According to the Commission, the accession of Ecuador
to the existing Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru, which is a
balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and WTO-compatible agreement,
reinforces the legal framework of the EU trade relations with this
country and facilitates reciprocal trade and investment. Moreover,
accession to the Trade Agreement will provide an anchor for
Ecuador's economic reforms and efforts to integrate the global
economy and increase welfare.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: foregone duty is estimated to
amount to EUR 80 million upon full implementation of the
Agreement after ten years.