BETA


2019/0099(NLE) EC/Pacific States Interim Partnership Agreement: accession of Solomon Islands

Progress: Awaiting final decision

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead INTA LANGE Bernd (icon: S&D S&D) MCALLISTER David (icon: EPP EPP), ČÍŽ Miroslav (icon: S&D S&D), LØKKEGAARD Morten (icon: Renew Renew), FRAGKOS Emmanouil (icon: ECR ECR), FLANAGAN Luke Ming (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Former Responsible Committee INTA
Committee Opinion DEVE TOBÉ Tomas (icon: EPP EPP)
Committee Opinion PECH
Former Committee Opinion DEVE Dominique BILDE (icon: ID ID), Hildegard BENTELE (icon: PPE PPE)
Former Committee Opinion PECH
Lead committee dossier:

Events

2019/12/17
   EP - Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 534 votes to 45, with 13 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part.

Following the recommendation of its Committee on International Trade, the European Parliament gave its consent to the accession of Solomon Islands to the Agreement.

The EPA is a development-oriented trade agreement, which offers asymmetric market access to Solomon Islands and allows it to shield sensitive sectors from liberalisation, while providing a large number of safeguards and a clause for infant industry protection. It further contains provisions on the rules of origin that facilitate Solomon Islands' exports into the EU and provisions on sustainable development.

Documents
2019/12/09
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by André ROUGÉ (ID, FR) on the draft Council decision on the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament give its consent to Solomon Islands' accession to the agreement.

The draft Council Decision implements the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000.

On 30 July 2009, the EU signed the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Community, on the one hand, and the Pacific States, on the other. The EPA has been provisionally applied by the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Fiji and the Independent State of Samoa since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014 and 31 December 2018, respectively. It provides for the accession of other Pacific Island States.

The EPA is a development-oriented trade agreement, which offers asymmetric market access to Solomon Islands and allows it to shield sensitive sectors from liberalisation, while providing a large number of safeguards and a clause for infant industry protection. It further contains provisions on the rules of origin that facilitate Solomon Islands' exports into the EU and provisions on sustainable development.

Documents
2019/12/03
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2019/12/03
   EP - Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
2019/11/15
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2019/10/29
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2019/10/22
   EP - TOBÉ Tomas (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in DEVE
2019/09/23
   EP - LANGE Bernd (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in INTA
2019/07/15
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
2019/06/04
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to approve, on behalf of the European Union, Solomon Islands' accession to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part.

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 12 June 2002, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

The Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement, was signed in London on 30 July 2009. The Interim Partnership Agreement has been provisionally applied by Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014 and 31 December 2018, respectively. The Agreement lays down the provisions regarding the accession of other Pacific Island States.

In accordance with the Agreement, Solomon Islands submitted to the Council on 4 June 2018 an application for membership and an offer of market access. The Commission examined Solomon Islands' offer and, after modifications, has found it acceptable. Accordingly, the Commission concluded negotiations with Solomon Islands on 23 October 2018.

CONTENT: the draft Council decision concerns the approval, on behalf of the Union, of Solomon Islands' accession to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, subject to the deposit of the Act of Accession by Solomon Islands.

The EPA is a development-oriented trade agreement, which offers asymmetric market access to Solomon Islands and allows it to shield sensitive sectors from liberalisation, while providing a large number of safeguards and a clause for infant industry protection. It further contains provisions on the rules of origin that facilitate Solomon Islands' exports into the EU.

Over the course of its implementation, the EPA will largely relieve EU exporters of industrial products to Solomon Islands from paying customs duties. Indeed, the EPA covers 90.3% of tariff lines, or 83% of the EU's export volume over 15 years.

The Agreement also contains provisions on sustainable development.

In accordance with the Agreement, the Union and Solomon Islands are to apply the Agreement on a provisional basis ten days after they have notified each other in writing that the necessary procedures have been completed.

Documents
2019/04/29
   EC - Preparatory document
Details

PURPOSE: to approve, on behalf of the European Union, the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part.

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 12 June 2002, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

On 30 July 2009, the Union signed the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement. The Interim Partnership Agreement has been provisionally applied by the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Fiji Islands and the Independent State of Samoa since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014 and 31 December 2018, respectively.

Accordingly, on 4 June 2018, Solomon Islands submitted a request to the Council together with a market access offer to accede to the EPA. The Commission assessed the offer and, after modifications, found it to be acceptable. Accordingly, it concluded negotiations on behalf of the Union on 23 October 2018. The European Parliament was informed via its Committee on International Trade (INTA).

CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council decide to approve, on behalf of the Union, the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, subject to Solomon Islands' deposit of the act of accession.

The accession of Solomon Islands to the EPA between the EU, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa, which is an asymmetric and WTO-compatible trade agreement, reinforces the legal framework of the EU trade relations with partner countries and facilitates reciprocal trade. It also incorporates Solomon Islands into the regime of joint rules and institutions established by the EPA.

The Economic Partnership Agreement contains provisions on Sustainable Development, whereby the Parties reaffirm that the objective of sustainable development shall be an integral part of the provisions of this Agreement, consistent with the overarching objectives and principles set out in Cotonou Agreement, and especially the general commitment to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty in a way that is consistent with the objectives of sustainable development. The EPA is a development-oriented trade agreement, which offers asymmetric market access to Solomon Islands and allows it to shield sensitive sectors from liberalisation, while providing a large number of safeguards and a clause for infant industry protection. It further contains provisions on the rules of origin that facilitate Solomon Islands' exports into the EU.

Over the course of its implementation, the EPA will largely relieve EU exporters of industrial products to Solomon Islands from paying customs duties. The EPA concerns 90.3% of tariff lines, corresponding to 83% in volume of EU exports over 15 years. Solomon Islands will benefit from maintaining their duty-free quota-free market access into the EU market.

Solomon Islands will take part in the Trade Committee which shall deal with all matters necessary for the implementation of the Agreement, including monitoring and review its implementation.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: Solomon Islands is projected to graduate from the Least Developed Countries category in 2021; as such it will continue to benefit from the 'Everything But Arms' initiative which offers exports duty-free quota-free market access into the EU for a transitional period of three years thereafter. There will be no budgetary implications as the accession to the Agreement will continue Solomon Islands' market access into the EU on the same terms.

2019/04/29
   Preparatory document

Documents

Votes

A9-0050/2019 - Bernd Lange - procédure d'approbation #

2019/12/17 Outcome: +: 534, -: 145, 0: 13
IT PL ES RO DE NL BG SE HU AT CZ SK BE PT HR SI LT FI DK EL LV MT EE LU GB CY IE FR
Total
65
46
47
31
91
25
17
19
16
18
21
13
20
20
10
8
11
12
13
20
8
6
5
6
59
6
11
68
icon: PPE PPE
167

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2

Malta PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2
2
icon: S&D S&D
145

Belgium S&D

Against (1)

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Finland S&D

1

Greece S&D

1

Latvia S&D

2

Estonia S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Cyprus S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
104

Hungary Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Slovakia Renew

2

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Lithuania Renew

2

Finland Renew

3

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Estonia Renew

2

Luxembourg Renew

2

Ireland Renew

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
58

Germany ECR

For (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

3

Bulgaria ECR

2

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Greece ECR

1

Latvia ECR

2
icon: ID ID
70
3

Czechia ID

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

For (1)

1

Estonia ID

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
42

Germany NI

Against (1)

1

Hungary NI

Abstain (1)

1

Slovakia NI

Against (1)

2

Croatia NI

Abstain (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
37

Netherlands GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Belgium GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

4

Finland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Ireland GUE/NGL

4
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
69

Spain Verts/ALE

For (1)

Against (1)

2

Netherlands Verts/ALE

For (1)

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

Against (2)

2

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Ireland Verts/ALE

2
AmendmentsDossier
3 2019/0099(NLE)
2019/11/14 INTA 3 amendments...
source: 643.212

History

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

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  • The European Parliament adopted by 534 votes to 45, with 13 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part.
  • Following the recommendation of its Committee on International Trade, the European Parliament gave its consent to the accession of Solomon Islands to the Agreement.
  • The EPA is a development-oriented trade agreement, which offers asymmetric market access to Solomon Islands and allows it to shield sensitive sectors from liberalisation, while providing a large number of safeguards and a clause for infant industry protection. It further contains provisions on the rules of origin that facilitate Solomon Islands' exports into the EU and provisions on sustainable development.
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            • PURPOSE: to approve, on behalf of the European Union, Solomon Islands' accession to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part.
            • 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 12 June 2002, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.
            • The Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement, was signed in London on 30 July 2009. The Interim Partnership Agreement has been provisionally applied by Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014 and 31 December 2018, respectively. The Agreement lays down the provisions regarding the accession of other Pacific Island States.
            • In accordance with the Agreement, Solomon Islands submitted to the Council on 4 June 2018 an application for membership and an offer of market access. The Commission examined Solomon Islands' offer and, after modifications, has found it acceptable. Accordingly, the Commission concluded negotiations with Solomon Islands on 23 October 2018.
            • CONTENT: the draft Council decision concerns the approval, on behalf of the Union, of Solomon Islands' accession to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, subject to the deposit of the Act of Accession by Solomon Islands.
            • The EPA is a development-oriented trade agreement, which offers asymmetric market access to Solomon Islands and allows it to shield sensitive sectors from liberalisation, while providing a large number of safeguards and a clause for infant industry protection. It further contains provisions on the rules of origin that facilitate Solomon Islands' exports into the EU.
            • Over the course of its implementation, the EPA will largely relieve EU exporters of industrial products to Solomon Islands from paying customs duties. Indeed, the EPA covers 90.3% of tariff lines, or 83% of the EU's export volume over 15 years.
            • The Agreement also contains provisions on sustainable development.
            • In accordance with the Agreement, the Union and Solomon Islands are to apply the Agreement on a provisional basis ten days after they have notified each other in writing that the necessary procedures have been completed.
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            • date: 2019-04-29T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2019/0204/COM_COM(2019)0204_EN.pdf title: COM(2019)0204 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2019&nu_doc=0204 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: to approve, on behalf of the European Union, the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part. 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 12 June 2002, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. On 30 July 2009, the Union signed the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement. The Interim Partnership Agreement has been provisionally applied by the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Fiji Islands and the Independent State of Samoa since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014 and 31 December 2018, respectively. Accordingly, on 4 June 2018, Solomon Islands submitted a request to the Council together with a market access offer to accede to the EPA. The Commission assessed the offer and, after modifications, found it to be acceptable. Accordingly, it concluded negotiations on behalf of the Union on 23 October 2018. The European Parliament was informed via its Committee on International Trade (INTA). CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council decide to approve, on behalf of the Union, the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, subject to Solomon Islands' deposit of the act of accession. The accession of Solomon Islands to the EPA between the EU, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa, which is an asymmetric and WTO-compatible trade agreement, reinforces the legal framework of the EU trade relations with partner countries and facilitates reciprocal trade. It also incorporates Solomon Islands into the regime of joint rules and institutions established by the EPA. The Economic Partnership Agreement contains provisions on Sustainable Development, whereby the Parties reaffirm that the objective of sustainable development shall be an integral part of the provisions of this Agreement, consistent with the overarching objectives and principles set out in Cotonou Agreement, and especially the general commitment to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty in a way that is consistent with the objectives of sustainable development. The EPA is a development-oriented trade agreement, which offers asymmetric market access to Solomon Islands and allows it to shield sensitive sectors from liberalisation, while providing a large number of safeguards and a clause for infant industry protection. It further contains provisions on the rules of origin that facilitate Solomon Islands' exports into the EU. Over the course of its implementation, the EPA will largely relieve EU exporters of industrial products to Solomon Islands from paying customs duties. The EPA concerns 90.3% of tariff lines, corresponding to 83% in volume of EU exports over 15 years. Solomon Islands will benefit from maintaining their duty-free quota-free market access into the EU market. Solomon Islands will take part in the Trade Committee which shall deal with all matters necessary for the implementation of the Agreement, including monitoring and review its implementation. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: Solomon Islands is projected to graduate from the Least Developed Countries category in 2021; as such it will continue to benefit from the 'Everything But Arms' initiative which offers exports duty-free quota-free market access into the EU for a transitional period of three years thereafter. There will be no budgetary implications as the accession to the Agreement will continue Solomon Islands' market access into the EU on the same terms. type: Initial legislative proposal body: EC
            • date: 2019-06-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=9405%2F19&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 09405/2019 type: Legislative proposal body: CSL
            events
            • date: 2019-04-29T00:00:00 type: Initial legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2019/0204/COM_COM(2019)0204_EN.pdf title: COM(2019)0204 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2019&nu_doc=0204 title: EUR-Lex
            • date: 2019-06-04T00:00:00 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=9405%2F19&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 09405/2019
            procedure
            reference
            2019/0099(NLE)
            title
            EC/Pacific States Interim Partnership Agreement: accession of Solomon Islands
            subject
            geographical_area
            Solomon Islands
            type
            NLE - Non-legislative enactments
            subtype
            Consent by Parliament
            stage_reached
            Preparatory phase in Parliament