RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol extending to customs security measures the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra

27.5.2011 - (17403/2010 – C7‑0036/2011 – 2010/0308(NLE)) - ***

Committee on International Trade
Rapporteur: Vital Moreira

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol extending to customs security measures the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra

(17403/2010 – C7‑0036/2011 – 2010/0308(NLE))

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the draft Council decision (17403/2010),

–   having regard to the Protocol extending to customs security measures the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra (17405/2010),

–   having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C7‑0036/2011),

–   having regard to Rules 81 and 90(8) of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on International Trade and the opinion of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A7-0198/2011),

1.  Consents to conclusion of the Agreement;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Principality of Andorra.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Council Decision referral for the European Parliament for consent procedure constitutes the legal instrument for the conclusion of the Protocol between the European Union and the Principality of Andorra extending to customs security measures the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra concluded on 28 June 1990. The Agreement was the basis for the customs union between both parties.

The present arrangement concerning customs security measures will be added to the 1990 Agreement under the form of a new Title IIA and, unlike the customs union, will apply to agricultural products (Article 12b(2) of the Protocol).

The rules on the customs treatment of goods exported or imported, laid by the Community Customs Code and its Implementing Rules, were amended in 2005 and 2006 respectively to provide for customs security measures. While the Community Customs Code is, in principle, applicable to trade with all non-member countries, it allows for different rules where international agreements provide for special security arrangements. Article 12c(2) of the Protocol exempts Andorra from the obligation to apply customs security measures (provisions concerning the declaration of goods prior to their entry and exit from this customs territory, authorised economic operators, and customs security checks and risk management) set out in Article 12b(1) to the carriage of goods between the customs territories of the EU and Andorra for as long as the parties undertake to apply them and ensure an equivalent level of security at the external borders.

Rapporteur's observations

Your Rapporteur welcomes that the arrangement is aimed at ensuring that trade between both Parties develops smoothly within a high level of customs security and that it includes a set of rules to ensure that the Agreement and the EU acquis remain in alignment, and therefore proposes that Parliament gives its assent.

Your Rapporteur notes that Article 12f of the Protocol provides for the monitoring of the implementation of the Protocol through the Joint Committee. In this respect, your Rapporteur asks the Commission to inform Parliament on the conclusions of the meetings and proceedings of the Joint Committee and the findings of the regular assessments. Your Rapporteur also asks the Commission to commit to submitting to Parliament an implementation review of the Agreement.

Finally, your Rapporteur also notes that the conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 14 December 2010 point out that relations between the EU and the Principality of Andorra are extended but fragmented, with large parts of the acquis related to the internal market not introduced in Andorran legislation and therefore not applicable. Your Rapporteur supports that an analysis of the possibilities and modalities of its possible progressive integration into the internal market is undertaken as soon as possible.

OPINION of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (14.4.2011)

for the Committee on International Trade

on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol extending to customs security measures the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra
(17403/2010 – C7‑0036/2011 – 2010/0308(NLE))

Rapporteur: Toine Manders

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

The main content of the proposal

Andorra and the EU form a Customs Union since 1990 which is based on the agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra. The agreement establishes a customs union for non-agricultural goods (products falling within Chapters 25 to 97 of the Harmonised System).

The proposal is related to the amendments to the Community Customs Code and its Implementing Rules, concerning customs security measures for goods that are exported to or imported from non-EU countries. Most importantly, the changes contain a provision that traders should submit certain information prior to importing or exporting goods.

Taking into account the changes in the relevant EU customs acquis, the proposal establishes a special regime between the EU and Andorra to ensure that trade runs smoothly between the two parties while maintaining a high level of security.

The proposed rules on customs security in the bilateral trade between the EU and Andorra foresee that the requirement of prior declaration of goods is abolished on the condition that the EU and Andorra guarantee in their respective territories an eqivalent level of security as provided by the respective acquis.

Article 12i, paragraph 2 of the arrangement enables Andorran experts to participate as observers in meetings of the Customs Code Committee, in as far as items concerning them are discussed.

Under the consent procedure, Parliament can only either reject or approve the act being proposed, on the basis of a recommendation from the committee responsible – in this case the Committee on International Trade (INTA), to which the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection has submitted this opinion.

Rapporteur's observations

Your Rapporteur welcomes that the proposal includes a set of measures to ensure that the agreement remains in alignment with the development of the relevant EU acquis.

Your Rapporteur calls on both the Commission and Andorra to engage in further talks in order to take into account and if necessary to adapt bilateral arrangements to the ongoing implementation of the Modernised Customs Code, which should be completed within the EU by 24 June 2013 at the latest.

Your Rapporteur notes that large parts of the internal market remain outside the existing agreements, especially as regards services, labour and capital. Your Rapporteur believes that a further extension of the internal market with common regulatory standards to Andorra should be to the mutual benefit of citizens and businesses in the EU and Andorra, and that the agreement should not have any negative impact on the functioning of the Internal Market.

Your Rapporteur furthermore considers that the existing institutional framework of EU-Andorra relations remains fragmented. He encourages the Commission and Andorra to continue a dialogue in order to streamline and further develop the relations between the EU and Andorra, taking into account the experiences with different institutional models of extending the internal market beyond the EU (e.g. EEA agreement, EU-Swiss bilateral agreements etc.).

Your Rapporteur considers that it is necessary to correct the legal basis of the draft Council decision by deleting the reference to Article 218(7) TFEU. He has been informed that the Council has agreed to send a corrigendum, where Art. 218(7) TFEU has been withdrawn.

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The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls on the Committee on International Trade, as the committee responsible, to propose that Parliament give its consent.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted	13.4.2011
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	37 0 0
Members present for the final vote	Pablo Arias Echeverría, Adam Bielan, Lara Comi, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, António Fernando Correia De Campos, Jürgen Creutzmann, Christian Engström, Evelyne Gebhardt, Louis Grech, Małgorzata Handzlik, Iliana Ivanova, Philippe Juvin, Sandra Kalniete, Eija-Riitta Korhola, Edvard Kožušník, Kurt Lechner, Toine Manders, Mitro Repo, Robert Rochefort, Zuzana Roithová, Heide Rühle, Matteo Salvini, Christel Schaldemose, Andreas Schwab, Eva-Britt Svensson, Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein, Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, Emilie Turunen, Bernadette Vergnaud, Barbara Weiler
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Ashley Fox, María Irigoyen Pérez, Constance Le Grip, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Konstantinos Poupakis, Sylvana Rapti, Olle Schmidt

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted	24.5.2011
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	21 0 2
Members present for the final vote	William (The Earl of) Dartmouth, David Campbell Bannerman, Daniel Caspary, Marielle De Sarnez, Harlem Désir, Yannick Jadot, Metin Kazak, Bernd Lange, David Martin, Emilio Menéndez del Valle, Vital Moreira, Paul Murphy, Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Niccolò Rinaldi, Tokia Saïfi, Helmut Scholz, Peter Šťastný, Robert Sturdy, Gianluca Susta, Iuliu Winkler, Jan Zahradil, Pablo Zalba Bidegain, Paweł Zalewski
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	George Sabin Cutaş, Mário David, Salvatore Iacolino