Faroe Islands Joint Committee - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2022)471 - EU position in the Joint Committee EU-Denmark/Faroe Islands as regards the adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the ...
source	COM(2022)471
date	21-09-2022

1. Subject matter of the proposal

This proposal concerns a Council Decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands, of the other part ¹ (‘the Agreement’). It concerns in particular Article 31(3) of the Agreement which states that the Joint Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

2. Context of the proposal

2.1.The Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands, of the other part

The Agreement aims:

to promote through the expansion of reciprocal trade the harmonious development of economic relations between the European Union (‘EU’) and the Faeroes and thus to foster in the EU and in the Faeroes the advance of economic activity, the improvement of living and employment conditions, and increased productivity and financial stability;

to provide fair conditions of competition for trade between the Contracting Parties;

to contribute in this way, by the removal of barriers to trade, to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade. ²

The Agreement entered into force on 1 January 1997.

2.2.The Joint Committee

The EC/Faroe Islands Joint Committee (‘the Joint Committee’), established under Article 31(1) of the Agreement, is responsible for the administration of the Agreement, for its proper implementation and for making recommendations and taking decisions on trade relations between the EU and the Faroe Islands. Per Article 31(3) of the Agreement, the Joint Committee is also responsible for adopting its own rules of procedure.

2.3.The envisaged act of the Joint Committee

At the current moment, the Joint Committee is operating under outdated rules of procedure which predate the entry into force of the Agreement. Therefore, the Joint Committee is to adopt a Decision by written procedure establishing its rules of procedure (‘the envisaged act’) in the third quarter of 2022.

The purpose of the envisaged act is to lay down the rules of procedure in order to ensure proper implementation and administration of the Agreement and to comply with the obligation in Article 31(3) of the Agreement.

3. Position to be taken on the Union's behalf

The proposed Council Decision establishes the position to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in the Joint Committee regarding the adoption of the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee.

Such position shall be based on the draft Decision of the Joint Committee which is attached to the proposed Council Decision. In turn, the draft rules of procedure of the Joint Committee are annexed to the draft Decision of the Joint Committee. The draft rules of procedure contain the role and name of the Joint Committee, its composition and chairperson, secretariat, organisation of meetings, the composition of delegations, agenda for the meetings, invitation of experts, minutes, decisions and recommendations, transparency, languages, expenses, working parties, and amendments of the rules of procedure.

4. Legal basis

4.1.Procedural legal basis

4.1.1.Principles

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts having legal effects, with the exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’

4.1.2.Application to the present case

The Joint Committee is a body set up by an agreement, namely the Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands, of the other part. The act which the Joint Committee is called upon to adopt constitutes an act having legal effects. The envisaged act will be binding under international law in accordance with Article 31 of the Agreement.

The envisaged act does not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Agreement.

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU.

4.2.Substantive legal basis

4.2.1.Principles

The substantive legal basis for a decision under Article 218(9) TFEU depends primarily on the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the Union's behalf. If the envisaged act pursues two aims or has two components and if one of those aims or components is identifiable as the main one, whereas the other is merely incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component.

4.2.2.Application to the present case

The objective and content of the envisaged act relates solely to the common commercial policy.

Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is the first subparagraph of Article 207 i TFEU.

4.3.Conclusion

The legal basis of the proposed decision should be Article 207 i, in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU.

5. Publication of the envisaged act

As the act of the Joint Committee will complement the legal framework of the Agreement, it is appropriate to publish it in the Official Journal of the European Union after its adoption.