PURPOSE: to conclude the Framework Agreement between
the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and
Australia, of the other part.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the
act only if Parliament has approved the latter.
BACKGROUND: on 10 October 2011, the Council adopted a
decision authorising the European Commission and the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
to negotiate a Framework Agreement between the European Union and
its Member States, of the one part, and Australia, of the other
part. Negotiations began in December 2011 and were successfully
concluded with the initialling of the Agreement on 5 March 2015.
Pending its entry into force, certain parts of the Agreement, as
mutually determined by the EU and Australia, are provisionally
applied.
The Agreement will contribute significantly to the
improvement of the partnership between the EU and Australia, a
partnership which is based on common values and principles,
including respect for democratic principles, human rights and
fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, international peace and
security. The Agreement is premised on respect for human rights and
democratic principles, and for international law and the principles
set out in the
Charter of the United Nations, which constitute the
basis for cooperation between the Parties.
Note on legal basis: the
Agreement pursues objectives and has components in the areas of
common foreign and security policy, common commercial policy and
development cooperation. These aspects of the agreement are
inseparably linked without one being incidental to the
other.
Article 218(6)(a)(iii) of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that, where an
agreement establishes a specific institutional framework by
organising cooperation procedures, the Council must adopt a
decision concluding the agreement after obtaining consent of the
European Parliament. Moreover, the second subparagraph of
Article
218(8) of the TFEU provides that the Council must act
unanimously when the agreement covers a field for which unanimity
is required for the adoption of a Union act.
The common foreign and security policy is a field for
which unanimity is required for the adoption of a Union act.
Equally, the Agreement establishes an institutional framework by
organising cooperation procedures between the EU and its Member
States, of the one part, and Australia, of the other
part.
In light of the above, the legal basis of the proposed
decision should therefore be Article 37 of the Treaty of the
European Union (TEU), Article 207 TFEU and Article 212(1) TFEU read
in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a) TFEU and the second
subparagraph of Article 218(8) TFEU.
CONTENT : the Commission and of the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
jointly propose that the Council adopt a decision approving the
Framework Agreement between the European Union and its Member
States, of the one part, and Australia, of the other part, on
behalf of the Union.
The text of the Agreement is attached to the
Decision.
The purpose of the Agreement is to establish a
strengthened Partnership between the Parties; to provide a
framework to facilitate and promote cooperation across a broad
range of areas of mutual interest; and to enhance cooperation to
develop solutions to regional and global
challenges.
The content of the Agreement covers three
pillars:
-political cooperation on foreign policy and security
issues of common interest, including
weapons of mass destruction (WMD), small arms and light weapons
(SALW), counter-terrorism, promoting international peace and
security and cooperation in multilateral fora. The Agreement
includes binding political clauses based on the shared values.
These clauses are in line with the standard clauses found in
similar agreements signed by the EU;
-cooperation on economic and trade matters,
including economic policy dialogue, promoting
trade and investment matters, and sectoral economic and trade
issues, such as :
- agriculture,
- technical barriers to trade,
- sanitary and phytosanitary issues,
- government procurement and intellectual
property.
-sectoral cooperation,
including in the areas of:
- environment,
- climate change,
- migration and asylum,
- tourism,
- research and innovation,
- education and culture,
- consular protection,
- protection of personal data,
- the fight against organised crime and cybercrime and
judicial cooperation.
-Institutional framework: the Agreement establishes a Joint Committee, the
objective of which is to monitor the development of the bilateral
relationship between the Parties.
Suspension mechanism:
the Agreement includes a suspension mechanism. In cases of
particularly serious and substantial violation of the essential
elements of the Agreement, the Agreement may be suspended or
terminated, and other appropriate measures affecting other
agreements may be taken in accordance with the rights and
obligations of the Parties under such agreements. Once in force,
the Agreement will create a coherent, legally binding overall
framework for the EUs relations with Australia.