RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, as regards provisions relating to the treatment of third-country nationals legally employed as workers in the territory of the other party

15.9.2014 - (14011/2013 – C8‑0106/2014 – 2013/0151B(NLE)) - ***

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Rapporteur: Claude Moraes

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, as regards provisions relating to the treatment of third-country nationals legally employed as workers in the territory of the other party

(14011/2013 – C8‑0106/2014 – 2013/0151B(NLE))

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

–       having regard to the draft Council decision (14011/2013),

–       having regard to the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part (7076/13),

–       having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 79(2)(b), Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), and Article 218(8), first subparagraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8‑0106/2014),

–       having regard to Rule 99(1), first and third subparagraphs, Rule 99(2), and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

–       having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A8-0009/2014),

1.      Gives its consent 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 Ukraine.

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

Relations between the European Union and Ukraine are currently based on the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) which entered into force in 1998. At the Paris Summit in 2008 the leaders of the EU and Ukraine agreed that an Association Agreement should be the successor agreement to the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (AA) is the first of a new generation of Association Agreements with Eastern Partnership countries. The Association Agreement aims to accelerate the deepening of political and economic relations between Ukraine and the EU, Negotiations on this comprehensive, ambitious and innovative Agreement between the EU and Ukraine were launched in March 2007 and successfully concluded by the initialling of the Agreement in 2012.

As the Council decided on July 2014 to split the conclusion of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement into two decisions, one concerning the Association Agreement, without the provision relating to the treatment of third-country nationals, and one concerning the provision relating to the treatment of third-country nationals legally employed as workers in the territory of the other party, as included in Article 17 of the Agreement, arguing the latter falls within the scope of Part III, Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 79 (2) (b) thereof), consent by the European Parliament to Article 17 of the Agreement falls under the responsibility of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE).

This report therefore concerns only Article 17 of the Agreement, which contains specific obligations relating to the treatment of third-country nationals legally employed as workers in the territory of the other Party. A separate resolution relating to the other provisions of the Agreement will be adopted in parallel by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The specific situations of Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland are reflected in the preamble.

Taking account of the close historical relationship and progressively closer links between the European Union and Ukraine and the current political situation within the European neighbourhood, the rapporteur supports the desire to strengthen and widen relations in an ambitious and innovative way with this Association Agreement and therefore recommends that the members of Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs support this report and that the European Parliament give its consent.

ROLL CALL FOR FINAL VOTE

Members in favour	Gérard Deprez, Sophia in ‘t Veld, Louis Michel, Morten Helveg Petersen, Cecilia Wikström, Marek Jurek, Timothy Kirkhope, Helga Stevens, Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski, Ignazio Corrao, Laura Ferrara, Michał Boni, Carlos Coelho, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Pál Csáky, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Frank Engel, Mariya Gabriel, Kinga Gál, Brice Hortefeux, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Barbara Kudrycka, Jeroen Lenaers, Roberta Metsola, Alessandra Mussolini, József Nagy, Salvatore Domenico Pogliese, Csaba Sógor, Traian Ungureanu, Tomáš Zdechovský; Caterina Chinnici, Miriam Dalli, Tanja Fajon; Ana Gomes, Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, Marju Lauristin, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Claude Moraes, Soraya Post, Elly Schlein, Birgit Sippel, Josef Weidenholzer, Bodil Ceballos, Eva Joly, Judith Sargentini, Josep-Maria Terricabras
Members against	Beatrix von Storch, Janice Atkinson, Kristina Winberg, Malin Björk, Cornelia Ernst, Barbara Spinelli, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Vicky Maeijer, Harald Vilimsky, Udo Voigt
Members abstained

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted	15.9.2014
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	46 10 0
Members present for the final vote	Malin Björk, Michał Boni, Bodil Ceballos, Caterina Chinnici, Ignazio Corrao, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Frank Engel, Cornelia Ernst, Tanja Fajon, Laura Ferrara, Mariya Gabriel, Kinga Gál, Ana Gomes, Brice Hortefeux, Sophia in ‘t Veld, Eva Joly, Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, Timothy Kirkhope, Barbara Kudrycka, Marju Lauristin, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Vicky Maeijer, Roberta Metsola, Louis Michel, Claude Moraes, Alessandra Mussolini, József Nagy, Soraya Post, Judith Sargentini, Birgit Sippel, Csaba Sógor, Helga Stevens, Traian Ungureanu, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Harald Vilimsky, Udo Voigt, Beatrix von Storch, Josef Weidenholzer, Cecilia Wikström, Kristina Winberg, Tomáš Zdechovský
Substitutes present for the final vote	Janice Atkinson, Carlos Coelho, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Pál Csáky, Miriam Dalli, Gérard Deprez, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Marek Jurek, Jeroen Lenaers, Morten Helveg Petersen, Salvatore Domenico Pogliese, Elly Schlein, Barbara Spinelli, Josep-Maria Terricabras, Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski