16194/10 BD/Sy 1 DDTE COUNCIL of the EUROPEAN UNION
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COUNCIL OF Brussels, 12 November 2010 THE EUROPEAN UNION 16194/10 Interinstitutional File: 2010/0316 (NLE) AELE 69 CH 49 AGRI 455 PROPOSAL from: theCommission dated: 10November2010 Subject: ProposalforaCouncilDecisiononthesignat ureoftheAgreement betweenthe EuropeanUnionandthe SwissConfederationonthe protectionofdesignations oforiginandgeographicalindicationsforagricultural productsandfoodstuffs, amendingtheAgreement betweentheEuropeanCommunity andtheSwiss Confederationontradeinagricultural products Delegationswillfindattacheda proposalfromthe Commission,submittedunderacoveringletter fromMrJordiAYETPUIGARNAU,Director,toMrPierrede BOISSIEU,Secretary-Generalof theCounciloftheEuropeanUnion. ________________________ Encl. :COM(2010)644final 16194/10 BD/sy 1 DDTE EN EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels,9.11.2010 COM(2010)644final 2010/0316(NLE) Proposalfora COUNCIL DECISION on the signature of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs, amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products EN EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The twoparties,the EuropeanUnionandthe Swiss Confederation,aim toensure the mutual recognitionof protecteddesignations of origin(PDOs) andprotectedgeographical indications (PGIs) in order to improve the conditions of bilateral trade, to promote quality in the food chainandtoretainthevalueofsustainableruraldevelopment. The present proposal is the result of bilateral negotiations,conductedfrom October 2007to December 2009. The agreement provides for the mutual protectionof designations of origin andgeographicalindications protectedbytherespectiveParties. 2. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS Thereisnobudgetaryimplication. Onthe basis of the above,the Commission proposes that the Council designate the person(s) empoweredtosigntheAgreementonbehalfoftheEuropeanUnion,subjecttoitsconclusion. EN 2 EN 2010/0316(NLE) Proposalfora COUNCIL DECISION on the signature of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs, amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEANUNION, Having regardtothe Treaty onthe Functioning of the EuropeanUnion,andinparticular the firstsubparagraphofArticle207(4)thereof,inconjunctionwithArticle218(5)thereof, Having regardtothe proposalfromtheEuropeanCommission, Whereas: (1) The Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade inagricultural products 1 (hereinafter called‘the Agreement’) enteredintoforce on1June2002. (2) Article 12 of the Agreement provides that the Agreement may be reviewed at the requestofeitherParty. (3) A joint declarationonthe protectionof geographical indications anddesignations of originof agricultural products andfoodstuffs has beenattached tothe Final Act of the Agreement. (4) The Commission has negotiated, on behalf of the European Union, an agreement between the latter and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs, which amendstheAgreement by insertinganewAnnex12. (5) Euratom Decision2002/309/EC of the Council andof the Commissionas regards the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, of 4April 2002 on the conclusion of seven Agreements with the Swiss Confederation 2 defines the internal procedure for adopting the EuropeanUnion’s positiononmatters subject todecisions of the Joint Committee referred to in Article 6(3) of the Agreement. The internal procedure for establishing the EU’s positiononmatters relating toAnnex 12should likewise bedefined. 1 OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p.132. 2 OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p.1. EN 3 EN (6) The Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products andfoodstuffs,whichis yet tobe concludedat a later stage,shouldbe signed onbehalfoftheEuropeanUnion, HASADOPTEDTHIS DECISION: Article 1 The President of the Council is authorisedtodesignate the person(s) empoweredtosign,on behalf of the European Union, the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs amending the Agreement between the European CommunityandtheSwissConfederationontrade inagricultural products. The text of the Agreement to be signed between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural productsandfoodstuffsisattachedtothisDecision. Article 2 As regards matters relating to Annex 12tothe Agreement andthe Appendices thereto,the European Union’s position on matters which are subject to the decisions of the Joint Committee for Agriculture as referredtoinArticle 6(3) of the Agreement shall be adopted by the Commissioninaccordance withthe procedure laiddowninArticle 15of Regulation(EC) No510/2006. Article 3 ThisDecisionshallenter intoforceonthedateofitsadoption. Doneat Brussels, For the Council The President EN 4 EN ANNEX AGREEMENT Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs, amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products Preamble TheEuropeanUnion hereinafterreferredtoas ‘theUnion’, TheSwissConfederation, hereinafterreferredtoas ‘Switzerland’, hereinafterreferredtoas the‘Parties’, WhereastheAgreement betweentheEuropeanCommunity andtheSwissConfederationon tradeinagricultural products(hereinafter referredtoas‘theAgreement’) cameintoforceon 1June2002, Havingmadea commitmenttopromoting,betweenthemselves,theharmoniousdevelopment ofdesignationsoforiginandgeographicalindications(hereinafter referredtoas‘GIs’) andto facilitating,bymeansof the protectionofsuchdesignationsandindications,bilateraltradein agricultural productsandfoodstuffsoriginatinginthePartieswhichhave beengrantedaGI undertheParties’ respectivelegislation,andalsotoupdatingregularlythelistofGIs protectedunderthisAgreement, Whereastheyhavedevelopedconverginglegislationconcerningthe protectionofGIsintheir respectiveterritories, Whereastheyhaveconductedanexaminationandpublicconsultationonthe protectionofthe GIslistedinthisAgreement, Thefollowinghas beenagreed: Article 1 Amendments TheAgreementisamendedasfollows: 1. Article5(1)shall beamendedasfollows: – theintroductorywordingisreplacedbythefollowing: ‘The way technical obstacles totrade inagricultural products are tobe reducedinthe followingfieldsshall be assetoutinAnnexes4to12hereto:’ – thefollowingindentisto beadded: EN 5 EN ‘ –Annex 12onthe protectionof designations of originandgeographical indications foragricultural products andfoodstuffs’. 2. Thefollowing paragraphshall beaddedtoArticle 6: ‘8.The Committee is authorisedtoapprove authentic versions of the agreement in newlanguages’. 3. Annex12,asreproducedintheAnnextothisagreement,shall beadded. It shallform anintegral partthereofinaccordancewithArticle 15oftheAgreement. Article 2 Language versions The versions of the agreement inthe Bulgarian,Spanish,Czech,Danish,German,Estonian, Greek,English,French,Irish,Italian,Latvian,Lithuanian,Hungarian,Maltese,Dutch,Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Finnish and Swedish languages shall be equally authentic. Article 3 Entry into force 1. This Agreement shall be ratifiedor approvedby the Parties inaccordance withtheir internal procedures. 2. ThePartiesshallnotify eachotherofthecompletionofthose procedures. 3. It shall enter intoforce onthe first day of the secondmonthfollowingthe date of the lastnotification. 4. The Annex tothis Agreement shall remainin force for the same durationandunder thesameconditionsastheAgreement. EN 6 EN ANNEX ‘Annex 12 on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs Article 1 Objectives The Parties agree to promote, between themselves, the harmonious development of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs (hereinafter referred to as ‘GIs’) and to facilitate, by means of the protection of such designations and indications, bilateral trade in those agricultural products and foodstuffs whichhave beengrantedaGIundertheParties’ respectivelegislation. Article 2 Legislative provisions of the Parties 1. The Parties’ legislationrelating tothe protectionof GIs intheir respective territories shall allow for a uniform procedure for protection whichshall meet the Parties’ joint objectives. 2. Suchlegislationshall, inter alia ,establish: – anadministrative procedureenablingittobeverifiedthattheGIs correspondto agricultural products or foodstuffs originatingfrom a regionor specific place, and that their specific quality, reputation or other characteristics may be attributedtothatgeographicalorigin; – an obligation that the GIs protected relate to specific products, meeting a number of conditions set out ina specificationandthat those conditions may bemodifiedonlyiftheaforementionedadministrative procedureisfollowed; – the implementation of the protection by the Parties