Considerations on COM(2024)168 -

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dossier COM(2024)168 - .
document COM(2024)168
date May 30, 2024
 
(1) The International Sugar Agreement, 1992 (‘the Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by means of Council Decision 92/580/EEC1 and entered into force on 1 January 1993.

(2) Article 41 of the Agreement states that the Agreement is open for accession by Governments of all States in accordance with the conditions established by the International Sugar Council (‘ISC’). At its first meeting in 1993, the ISC established an Accessions Committee subgroup, which was tasked to consider the applications for accession of States not listed in the Annex to the Agreement. The Union is a member of the Accessions Committee.

(3) The Government of Kuwait has formally expressed its interest to accede to the Agreement. Kuwait is not listed in the Annex to the Agreement, which means that accession conditions need to be established. Therefore, the Accessions Committee is invited to take a decision, by exchange of correspondence, to establish the conditions for the accession of Kuwait. These conditions are the number of votes, the payment of an annual contribution, and the reporting obligations to the ISC.

(4) Approving the accession conditions of Kuwait under the approach established by the ISC is in the interest of the Union in view of Kuwait’s position as a significant regional importer of sugar and as an established export destination of sugar produced in the Union.

(5) When a State accedes after the entry into force and is not listed in the Annex of the Agreement, the ISC shall decide the number of votes to be allocated to that Member, in accordance with Article 25(4) of the Agreement. Kuwait’s accession will therefore affect the decisional balance within the ISC.

(6) It is therefore appropriate to establish the positions to be taken on the Union's behalf in the International Sugar Council’s Accessions Committee.