Raad Landbouw en Visserij ondertekent Euro-mediterrane conventie over preferentiële oorsprongsregels (en)

9101/11

PRESSE 104

Council authorises signing of the Euro-Mediterranean convention on preferential rules of origin

The Council today¹ adopted a decision authorising the signature, on behalf of the EU, of the regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin (9124/3/10 and 8519/11 ADD1 REV2).

The decision, which was called for by the European Council on 24/25 March, aims at replacing the current pan-Euro-Mediterranean system of cumulation of origin based on individual protocols applicable between two partner countries, with a single legal instrument in the form of a regional convention on preferential rules of origin (9429/10).

The main objective of establishing a single regional convention is to facilitate the application of identical rules of origin for the purpose of diagonal cumulation of origin for goods traded in the pan-Euro-Mediterranean cumulation zone.

The Convention is intended to overcome the difficulties in the management of the current network of some 60 bilateral protocols on rules of origin among the countries or territories of the Euro-Mediterranean zone.

The contracting parties to the Convention are:

• - 

  the European Union;
• - 

  the Faroe Islands²;
• - 

  the EFTA States: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland;
• - 

  the participants in the "Barcelona Process": Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestine Liberation Organisation for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey; and
• - 

  the participants in the EU's Stabilisation and Association Process: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo (under resolution 1244(1999) of the United Nations Security Council).

On 24/25 March 2011, the European Council called for work to be rapidly taken forward to develop a new partnership with the region, founded on deeper economic integration, broader market access and closer political cooperation. It called, in particular, for rapid progress to be made on the proposals on pan-Euro-Mediterranean rules of origin.

For more information:

http://www.eu2011.hu/files/bveu/documents/HunPR23_30032011_EN.pdf

¹ :

The decision was taken without discussion at a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

² :

Denmark in respect of the Faroe Islands.