Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2015)226 - Conclusion of the partnership agreement with Mongolia - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2015)226 - Conclusion of the partnership agreement with Mongolia. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2015)226  |
| date | 29-05-2015 |
CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
On 27 July 2009, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate a Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) with Mongolia. Negotiations were launched in Ulaan Baatar in January 2010 and concluded in October 2010. The two sides initialled the PCA in Ulaan Baatar on 20 December 2010 and signed it in Ulaan Baatar on 30 April 2013. The PCA will supersede the current legal framework of the 1993 Agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the European Economic Community and Mongolia.
The PCA is testimony to the growing importance of EU-Mongolia relations based on shared principles such as equality, mutual respect, mutual benefit, democracy, the rule of law and human rights. It includes the EU’s standard political clauses on human rights, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the International Criminal Court (ICC), small arms and light weapons (SALWs) and counter-terrorism, and promotes bilateral, regional and international cooperation. It provides the basis for more effective engagement by the EU and its Member States with Mongolia. It strengthens political, economic and sectoral cooperation across a wide range of policy fields, including trade and investment, development, justice, freedom and security. It encompasses areas such as cooperation on principles, norms and standards, raw materials, migration, organised crime and corruption, industrial policy and small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, energy, education and culture, the environment, climate change and natural resources, agriculture, health, civil society and the modernisation of the state and public administration.
The PCA will allow the EU to assume greater responsibility and influence in the region, and to promote European values and enhance concrete cooperation in a wide range of areas of mutual interest.
The Commission notes that following the 11 June 2014 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-377/12 Commission v Council regarding the Council Decision on the signature of the PCA with the Philippines, this proposal should be based on Articles 207, 209 and 218(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The Commission draws the attention of the Council to the antepenultimate recital in the PCA, on the position of the UK, Ireland and Denmark pursuant to Protocols 21 and 22 of the Treaties. In the light of the above judgment, it follows that the Protocols referred to in the recital do not apply to the PCA itself. The EU side should inform the Mongolian side of these internal developments by means of a note verbale.