Considerations on COM(2023)589 - EU position within the Joint Committee established by the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin as regards the amendment of the Convention - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2023)589 - EU position within the Joint Committee established by the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2023)589 |
| date | October 16, 2023 |
(2) The system of pan-Euro-Mediterranean cumulation of origin allows for the application of diagonal cumulation between the 25 Contracting Parties of the Convention: the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine2, Syria, Tunisia, Türkiye, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo*, the Faroe Islands, Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.
(3) The Convention envisages that the rules of origin will need to be amended in order to better respond to the economic reality and establishes procedures for its own amendment. In accordance with Article 4 of the Convention, amendments to the Convention are to be adopted by a decision of the Joint Committee established by Article 3(1) of the Convention (“the Joint Committee”).
(4) The process of amending the Convention started in 2012 and resulted in a new set of modernised and more flexible rules of origin, consistent with those which have already been agreed by the Union in certain other recent agreements (EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, EU-Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement) or preferential schemes (GSP).
(5) On 27 November 2019 the European Commission, acting as the Secretariat of the PEM Convention, chaired the 9th meeting of the PEM Joint Committee, to invite all the Contracting Parties to express their position on the formal adoption of the revised rules of origin of the PEM Convention. However, the revised rules could not be adopted in the Joint Committee in the light of the reservations expressed by some of the Contracting Parties. On 14 June 2023 at the 14th meeting of the PEM Joint Committee, all Contracting Parties expressed their support with the reservation that bilateral issues will be subject to technical discussions to be finalised before the entry into application of the new rules.
(6) The Joint Committee is expected to adopt a Decision on the amendment of the Convention during its meeting on 29 November 2023 or at a later date.
(7) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the Joint Committee, as the Decision will be binding on the Union.