BETA


2018/0256M(NLE) EC/Morocco Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement: amending Protocols 1 and 4

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead INTA SCHAAKE Marietje (icon: ALDE ALDE) CICU Salvatore (icon: PPE PPE), PACKET Ralph (icon: ECR ECR), JADOT Yannick (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), BEGHIN Tiziana (icon: EFDD EFDD)
Committee Opinion AGRI DANTIN Michel (icon: PPE PPE) José BOVÉ (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), Jørn DOHRMANN (icon: ECR ECR), Maria Lidia SENRA RODRÍGUEZ (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Committee Opinion AFET VISTISEN Anders (icon: ECR ECR) Gilles PARGNEAUX (icon: S&D S&D), Cristian Dan PREDA (icon: PPE PPE), Bodil VALERO (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Committee Opinion PECH TORVALDS Nils (icon: ALDE ALDE) Isabelle THOMAS (icon: S&D S&D)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 105-p2

Events

2019/05/28
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2019/01/16
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2019/01/16
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 442 votes to 172, with 65 abstentions, a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part.

Parliament also adopted a legislative resolution on the draft Council Decision.

Background

The European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco enjoy historical relations and maintain close cooperation developed through a broad partnership that covers political, economic and social aspects, such as security of migrants, as strengthened by the advanced status and the willingness of both parties to further develop it.

The Liberalisation Agreement between the EU and Morocco entered into force on 1 September 2013. However, on 10 December 2015 the first instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union repealed the Council decision to conclude the Liberalisation Agreement. It was determined that the Liberalisation Agreement did not provide a legal basis for Western Sahara to be included, and therefore could not apply to this territory.

Following the CJEU judgment, the Council gave the Commission a mandate to modify protocols 1 and 4 of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement in order to allow for the inclusion of Western Saharan products. Their inclusion by definition necessitates some form of traceability to identify such products.

Recommendations

Parliament stressed that:

- since the CJEU judgment, Member States cannot legally apply trade preferences to products from the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara and that the legal uncertainty affecting economic operators has to come to an end;

- this agreement does not imply any form of recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, presently listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory for the purposes of Article 73 of its Charter; the EU’s position remains that of supporting UN efforts to secure a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the conflict in Western Sahara that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with international law;

- the agreement can lead to the promotion of social and sustainable development which makes a key contribution to current economic, social and environmental development and to the potential creation of both low- and high-skilled local employment opportunities with an estimated 59 000 or so jobs are dependent on exports, corresponding to roughly 10 % of the population living in the territory;

- without this agreement in force, including the mechanism allowing for the identification of products, it will be impossible to know whether, and how many, products originating in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara are entering the European market;

- during inclusive consultations led by the Commission and the EEAS with a range of Western Saharan organisations and other organisations and bodies, majority support was expressed, by the parties participating, for the socio-economic benefits the proposed tariff preferences would bring;

- the EU tariff preferences have had a positive impact on the agricultural and fisheries products sectors and their export levels in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara;

- the EU’s ongoing engagement in the territory will have a positive leverage effect on its sustainable development, the local population will profit from economic development and the spill-over effects created in terms of investment in infrastructure, employment, health and education;

- a key criterion for Parliament before giving its consent to the agreement is to ensure that a mechanism will be put in place for Member States’ customs authorities to have access to reliable information on products originating in Western Sahara and imported into the EU, in full compliance with EU customs legislation;

The Commission is called on to promote equivalency of measures and controls between Morocco and the European Union in the area of sanitary, phytosanitary, traceability and environmental standards as well as labelling of origin rules, in order to guarantee fair competition between the two markets.

Documents
2019/01/16
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2018/12/20
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by Marietje SCHAAKE (ALDE, NL) containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part.

Background

The European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco enjoy historical relations and maintain close cooperation developed through a broad partnership that covers political, economic and social aspects, as strengthened by the advanced status and the willingness of both parties to further develop it.

The Liberalisation Agreement between the EU and Morocco entered into force on 1 September 2013. However, on 10 December 2015 the first instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union repealed the Council decision to conclude the Liberalisation Agreement. It was determined that the Liberalisation Agreement did not provide a legal basis for Western Sahara to be included, and therefore could not apply to this territory.

Following the CJEU judgment, the Council gave the Commission a mandate to modify protocols 1 and 4 of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement in order to allow for the inclusion of Western Saharan products. Their inclusion by definition necessitates some form of traceability to identify such products.

Members stressed that:

- since the CJEU judgment, Member States cannot legally apply trade preferences to products from the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara and that the legal uncertainty affecting economic operators has to come to an end;

- this agreement does not imply any form of recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, presently listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory,

- the agreement can lead to the promotion of social and sustainable development which makes a key contribution to current economic, social and environmental development and to the potential creation of both low- and high-skilled local employment opportunities with an estimated 59 000 or so jobs are dependent on exports, corresponding to roughly 10 % of the population living in the territory;

- without this agreement in force, including the mechanism allowing for the identification of products, it will be impossible to know whether, and how many, products originating in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara are entering the European market;

- the EU tariff preferences have had a positive impact on the agricultural and fisheries products sectors and their export levels in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara;

- the EU’s ongoing engagement in the territory will have a positive leverage effect on its sustainable development;

- a key criterion for Parliament before giving its consent to the agreement is to ensure that a mechanism will be put in place for Member States’ customs authorities to have access to reliable information on products originating in Western Sahara and imported into the EU, in full compliance with EU customs legislation;

The Commission is called on to promote equivalency of measures and controls between Morocco and the European Union in the area of sanitary, phytosanitary, traceability and environmental standards as well as labelling of origin rules, in order to guarantee fair competition between the two markets.

Documents
2018/12/10
   EP - Vote in committee
2018/12/10
   EP - SCHAAKE Marietje (ALDE) appointed as rapporteur in INTA
2018/11/27
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2018/11/21
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2018/11/14
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2018/11/13
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2018/10/10
   EP - TORVALDS Nils (ALDE) appointed as rapporteur in PECH
2018/10/01
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2018/09/13
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2018/08/30
   EP - DANTIN Michel (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in AGRI
2018/07/05
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2018/06/20
   EP - VISTISEN Anders (ECR) appointed as rapporteur in AFET

Documents

Votes

A8-0478/2018 - Marietje Schaake - Résolution #

2019/01/16 Outcome: +: 442, -: 172, 0: 65
PL FR RO IT ES BG CZ DE SK HU HR PT BE LT MT EE LV DK SI LU FI NL ?? IE AT CY EL GB SE
Total
50
66
25
63
49
16
21
88
13
17
10
20
21
9
6
6
6
10
8
5
11
25
1
9
17
5
18
62
20
icon: PPE PPE
201

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

2

Finland PPE

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Cyprus PPE

Abstain (1)

1

United Kingdom PPE

2
icon: ALDE ALDE
62

Romania ALDE

2

Croatia ALDE

2

Portugal ALDE

1

Lithuania ALDE

1

Estonia ALDE

3

Latvia ALDE

1

Slovenia ALDE

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Finland ALDE

Against (1)

3

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Sweden ALDE

Abstain (1)

3
icon: ECR ECR
68

Romania ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

2

Czechia ECR

2

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Finland ECR

For (1)

2

Netherlands ECR

For (1)

1

Cyprus ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1

Sweden ECR

2
icon: S&D S&D
170

Bulgaria S&D

Abstain (1)

3
4

Croatia S&D

2

Belgium S&D

4

Malta S&D

3

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

1

Denmark S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Luxembourg S&D

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands S&D

3

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Cyprus S&D

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
34

Poland EFDD

1

Czechia EFDD

For (1)

1

Germany EFDD

Abstain (1)

1

Lithuania EFDD

For (1)

1
icon: ENF ENF
29

Poland ENF

2

Germany ENF

Against (1)

1

Belgium ENF

Against (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

4

United Kingdom ENF

4
icon: NI NI
18

France NI

Against (1)

3

Romania NI

1

Germany NI

2

Hungary NI

Against (1)

1

NI

For (1)

1

United Kingdom NI

For (1)

Against (1)

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
44

Italy GUE/NGL

2

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Finland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

3
4

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
51

Italy Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Hungary Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

Abstain (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

3

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

6
AmendmentsDossier
336 2018/0256M(NLE)
2018/10/12 AGRI 62 amendments...
source: 628.535
2018/10/26 AFET 85 amendments...
source: 629.610
2018/11/09 INTA 173 amendments...
source: 630.461
2018/11/12 PECH, PECH 16 amendments...
source: 629.559

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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  • date: 2018-09-13T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2018-12-10T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2018-12-20T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2018-0478&language=EN title: A8-0478/2018 summary: The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by Marietje SCHAAKE (ALDE, NL) containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part. Background The European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco enjoy historical relations and maintain close cooperation developed through a broad partnership that covers political, economic and social aspects, as strengthened by the advanced status and the willingness of both parties to further develop it. The Liberalisation Agreement between the EU and Morocco entered into force on 1 September 2013. However, on 10 December 2015 the first instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union repealed the Council decision to conclude the Liberalisation Agreement. It was determined that the Liberalisation Agreement did not provide a legal basis for Western Sahara to be included, and therefore could not apply to this territory. Following the CJEU judgment, the Council gave the Commission a mandate to modify protocols 1 and 4 of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement in order to allow for the inclusion of Western Saharan products. Their inclusion by definition necessitates some form of traceability to identify such products. Members stressed that: - since the CJEU judgment, Member States cannot legally apply trade preferences to products from the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara and that the legal uncertainty affecting economic operators has to come to an end; - this agreement does not imply any form of recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, presently listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory, - the agreement can lead to the promotion of social and sustainable development which makes a key contribution to current economic, social and environmental development and to the potential creation of both low- and high-skilled local employment opportunities with an estimated 59 000 or so jobs are dependent on exports, corresponding to roughly 10 % of the population living in the territory; - without this agreement in force, including the mechanism allowing for the identification of products, it will be impossible to know whether, and how many, products originating in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara are entering the European market; - the EU tariff preferences have had a positive impact on the agricultural and fisheries products sectors and their export levels in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara; - the EU’s ongoing engagement in the territory will have a positive leverage effect on its sustainable development; - a key criterion for Parliament before giving its consent to the agreement is to ensure that a mechanism will be put in place for Member States’ customs authorities to have access to reliable information on products originating in Western Sahara and imported into the EU, in full compliance with EU customs legislation; The Commission is called on to promote equivalency of measures and controls between Morocco and the European Union in the area of sanitary, phytosanitary, traceability and environmental standards as well as labelling of origin rules, in order to guarantee fair competition between the two markets.
  • date: 2019-01-16T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=32009&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2019-01-16T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2019-0016 title: T8-0016/2019 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 442 votes to 172, with 65 abstentions, a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part. Parliament also adopted a legislative resolution on the draft Council Decision. Background The European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco enjoy historical relations and maintain close cooperation developed through a broad partnership that covers political, economic and social aspects, such as security of migrants, as strengthened by the advanced status and the willingness of both parties to further develop it. The Liberalisation Agreement between the EU and Morocco entered into force on 1 September 2013. However, on 10 December 2015 the first instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union repealed the Council decision to conclude the Liberalisation Agreement. It was determined that the Liberalisation Agreement did not provide a legal basis for Western Sahara to be included, and therefore could not apply to this territory. Following the CJEU judgment, the Council gave the Commission a mandate to modify protocols 1 and 4 of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement in order to allow for the inclusion of Western Saharan products. Their inclusion by definition necessitates some form of traceability to identify such products. Recommendations Parliament stressed that: - since the CJEU judgment, Member States cannot legally apply trade preferences to products from the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara and that the legal uncertainty affecting economic operators has to come to an end; - this agreement does not imply any form of recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, presently listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory for the purposes of Article 73 of its Charter; the EU’s position remains that of supporting UN efforts to secure a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the conflict in Western Sahara that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with international law; - the agreement can lead to the promotion of social and sustainable development which makes a key contribution to current economic, social and environmental development and to the potential creation of both low- and high-skilled local employment opportunities with an estimated 59 000 or so jobs are dependent on exports, corresponding to roughly 10 % of the population living in the territory; - without this agreement in force, including the mechanism allowing for the identification of products, it will be impossible to know whether, and how many, products originating in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara are entering the European market; - during inclusive consultations led by the Commission and the EEAS with a range of Western Saharan organisations and other organisations and bodies, majority support was expressed, by the parties participating, for the socio-economic benefits the proposed tariff preferences would bring; - the EU tariff preferences have had a positive impact on the agricultural and fisheries products sectors and their export levels in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara; - the EU’s ongoing engagement in the territory will have a positive leverage effect on its sustainable development, the local population will profit from economic development and the spill-over effects created in terms of investment in infrastructure, employment, health and education; - a key criterion for Parliament before giving its consent to the agreement is to ensure that a mechanism will be put in place for Member States’ customs authorities to have access to reliable information on products originating in Western Sahara and imported into the EU, in full compliance with EU customs legislation; The Commission is called on to promote equivalency of measures and controls between Morocco and the European Union in the area of sanitary, phytosanitary, traceability and environmental standards as well as labelling of origin rules, in order to guarantee fair competition between the two markets.
  • date: 2019-01-16T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
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