Date: 2022-07-01Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: Europe
Decision No 1/2022 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors of 21 June 2022 to amend Decision No 3/2019 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors to adopt transitional measures pursuant to Article 95(4) of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement [2022/1102]
Executive Summary:
This decision amends Decision No 3/2019 of the ACPEU Committee of Ambassadors to extend transitional measures under Article 954 of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement. The extension is necessary because the new ACPEU Partnership Agreement will not be ready by the original expiry date of June 30, 2022. The provisions of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement are extended until June 30, 2023, or until the new agreement comes into force, whichever is earlier. This decision enters into force on July 1, 2022.
Key Points / Main Content:
* **Extension of Transitional Measures:**
* Extends the application of the provisions of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement.
* Replaces the original end date of June 30, 2022, with a new date of June 30, 2023.
* The extension is valid until the new agreement comes into force or is provisionally applied, if earlier.
* **Legal Basis and Authority:**
* Based on Article 954 of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement.
* The ACPEU Committee of Ambassadors is authorized to adopt transitional measures, as delegated by the ACPEU Council of Ministers.
* **Purpose of Continued Application:**
* To maintain continuity in relations between the European Union and its Member States and the ACP States.
* The transitional measures do not amend the ACPEU Partnership Agreement.
* **Effective Date:**
* The decision comes into force on July 1, 2022.
Impact Analysis:
* **European Union and its Member States:**
* Impact: Continued application of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement ensures ongoing trade, development cooperation, and political relations with ACP States.
* Action Required: Continue to apply the provisions of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement until the new agreement is in force or until June 30, 2023.
* **African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group of States:**
* Impact: Ensures continued partnership and cooperation with the EU under the existing framework, preventing a legal vacuum.
* Action Required: Continue to adhere to the ACPEU Partnership Agreement provisions until the new agreement is in force or until June 30, 2023.
Key Entities Referenced
ACPEU Committee of Ambassadors: A committee consisting of representatives from the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States and the European Union, responsible for adopting transitional measures.
ACPEU Partnership Agreement: The Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Community and its Member States.
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States: A group of countries primarily located in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that have a partnership agreement with the European Union.
European Union: A political and economic union of member states located primarily in Europe.
Article 954 of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement: Article within the ACPEU Partnership Agreement pertaining to transitional measures during negotiation of a new agreement.
Decision No 32019 of the ACPEU Committee of Ambassadors: A decision made by the ACPEU Committee of Ambassadors to adopt transitional measures pursuant to Article 954 of the ACPEU Partnership Agreement.
ACPEU Council of Ministers: The council of ministers from the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States and the European Union.
Cotonou: The city in Benin where the ACPEU Partnership Agreement was signed.
L 176/88 EN Official Journal of the European Union 1.7.2022
DECISION No 1/2022 OF THE ACP-EU COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS
of 21 June 2022
to amend Decision No 3/2019 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors to adopt transitional
measures pursuant to Article 95(4) of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement [2022/1102]
THE ACP-EU COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS,
Having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of
the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part(1), and in particular Article 15(4) and
Article 16(2) in conjunction with Article 95(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one
part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part (the ‘ACP-EU Partnership Agreement’)
was signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 and entered into force on 1 April 2003. In accordance with Decision
No 3/2019 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors(2)(the ‘decision on transitional measures’), it is to be applied
until 30 June 2022.
(2) Pursuant to Article 95(4), first subparagraph, of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, negotiations towards a new
ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (the ‘new Agreement’) were launched in September 2018. The new Agreement will
not be ready to be applied by 30 June 2022, the expiry date of the current legal framework. It is therefore necessary
to amend the decision on transitional measures to further extend the application of the provisions of the ACP-EU
Partnership Agreement.
(3) Article 95(4), second subparagraph, of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement provides for the ACP-EU Council of
Ministers to adopt any transitional measures that may be required until the new Agreement comes into force.
(4) Pursuant to Article 15(4) of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, on 23 May 2019, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers
delegated the powers to adopt the transitional measures to the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors(3).
(5) It is therefore appropriate that the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors adopt a decision, pursuant to Article 95(4) of
the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, to amend the decision on transitional measures in order to extend the
application of the provisions of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement until 30 June 2023, or until the entry into force
of the new Agreement or the provisional application between the Union and the ACP States of the new Agreement,
whichever comes first.
(6) The provisions of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement will continue to be applied with the aim of maintaining
continuity in relations between the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and the ACP States, on the other.
Accordingly, the amended transitional measures are not intended as amendments to the ACP-EU Partnership
Agreement as provided for in Article 95(3) thereof,
(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. The ACP-EU Partnership Agreement was amended by the Agreement signed in Luxembourg on 25 June
2005 (OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 27) and by the Agreement signed in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010 (OJ L 287, 4.11.2010, p. 3).
(2) Decision No 3/2019 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors of 17 December 2019 to adopt transitional measures pursuant to
Article 95(4) of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (OJ L 1, 3.1.2020, p. 3).
(3) Decision No 1/2019 of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers of 23 May 2019 on the delegation of powers to the ACP-EU Committee of
Ambassadors on the decision to adopt transitional measures pursuant to Article 95(4) of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (OJ
L 146, 5.6.2019, p. 114).1.7.2022 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 176/89
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
In Article 1 of Decision No 3/2019 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors, the date ‘30 June 2022’ shall be replaced by
that of ‘30 June 2023’.
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on 1 July 2022.
Done at Brussels, 21 June 2022.
For the ACP-EU Council of Ministers
By the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors
The President
Daniel Emery DEDE