Proposal on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the EU-Morocco Association Agreement

Summary:

Proposal for a Decision from the Council of the European Union on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the EU and Morocco amending Protocols 1 and 4 to the existing bilateral Association Agreement.

Further information:

The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part entered into force in 2000. Liberalisation measures on agricultural products, processed agricultural products, fish and fishery products were introduced into the Association Agreement in 2012.

Since the Association Agreement came into force, products from Western Sahara certified to be of Moroccan origin have been imported to the Union, benefiting from the tariff preferences laid down in its provisions. However, in its judgement relating to Case C-104/16 P, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the Association Agreement applied only to Morocco and not to Western Sahara.

In May 2017, the Council of the European Union authorised the European Commission to open negotiations with Morocco with a view to establishing a legal basis to grant the tariff preferences laid down in the Association Agreement to products originating in Western Sahara. The Agreement, in the form of an Exchange of Letters on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Association Agreement, was initialled on 31 January 2018.

• Primary Source

Official

European Parliament: Press Release, 16.01.19: Preferential tariffs to help Western Sahara to develop http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20190109IPR23018/

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: EC/Morocco Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement: products originating in Western Sahara http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil-mobile/fiche-procedure/2018/0256(NLE)

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ESO Records

Decision (EU) 2018/1893 regarding the signature of the Agreement between the European Union and Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the EU-Morocco Association Agreement https://www.europeansources.info/record/decision-eu-2018-1893-regarding-the-signature-of-the-agreement-between-the-european-union-and-morocco-on-the-amendment-of-protocols-1-and-4-to-the-eu-morocco-association-agreement/

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