Considerations on COM(2019)595 - Authorisation of the opening of negotiations to amend the International Sugar Agreement 1992

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dossier COM(2019)595 - Authorisation of the opening of negotiations to amend the International Sugar Agreement 1992.
document COM(2019)595 EN
date November 15, 2019
 
(1) The Union is a Party to the International Sugar Agreement 1992 1 (“ISA”) and a member of the International Sugar Organisation (“ISO”).

(2) The Union has since 1995 approved the extension of the ISA for two-year periods. On 19 July 2019, during the 55th Session of the International Sugar Council, the Commission, upon authorisation by the Council 2 , expressed its position in favour of a further extension of the ISA for a period of up to two years, ending on 31 December 2021.

(3) Pursuant to Article 8 of the ISA, the International Sugar Council (“ISC”) performs or arranges for the performance of all such functions as are necessary to carry out the provisions of the ISA. Pursuant to Article 13 of the ISA, all decisions of the ISC are taken in principle by consensus. In the absence of consensus, decisions are made by a simple majority vote, unless the ISA provides for a special vote.

(4) Pursuant to Article 25 of the ISA, members of the ISO hold 2000 votes in total. Each member of the ISO holds a specified number of votes which is adjusted annually in accordance with the criteria set out in the ISA.

(5) It is in the Union's interests to participate in an international agreement on sugar, considering the importance of that sector for a number of Member States and for the economy of the European sugar sector.

(6) However, the institutional framework of the ISA, and especially the distribution of votes among members of the ISO that also determines the members' financial contribution to the ISO, no longer reflects the realities of the global sugar market.

(7) Under the ISA rules on financial contributions to the ISO, the Union's share has remained the same since 1992, although the global sugar market, and notably the Union's relative position in it, has substantially changed since then. As a result, the Union has assumed a disproportionately large share of the budgetary costs and responsibility in the ISO in recent years.

(8) By Council Decision (EU) 2017/2242 3 , the Commission received a mandate from the Council, to enter into negotiations with the other parties to the ISA within the ISC with a view to modernising the ISA, in particular as regards the discrepancies between the number of votes and financial contributions of members of the ISO on the one hand and their relative position in the global sugar market on the other. That mandate remains valid until 31 December 2019.

(9) Based on the mandate received by Decision (EU) 2017/2242, the Commission engaged in negotiations with member countries of the ISO and presented concrete proposals for the amendment of Article 25 of the ISA, which governs the adoption of the administrative budget and contributions of Members. In its 55th Session, on 19 July 2019, the ISC decided to open negotiations for a partial review of the ISA before its next meeting in November 2019, under the guidance of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Following requests of several ISO member countries, the ISC decided that, in addition to the review of Article 25 of the ISA, proposed by the Union, other areas of the ISA are to be the subject of formal negotiations. These other areas are in particular the objectives and the work priorities of the ISO.

(10) In accordance with the ISC decision of 19 July 2019, these negotiations are to be concluded no later than on 31 December 2021. This timeframe means that the negotiations are not to be concluded before the end of validity of the mandate received by Decision (EU) 2017/2242. A new mandate from the Council is therefore required to cover for the extended timeframe and scope of the negotiations.

(11) Any amendments agreed in these negotiations should be adopted in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 44 of the ISA. Pursuant to that Article, the ISC may, by special vote, recommend an amendment of the ISA to members of the ISO. As a member of the ISC, in accordance with Article 7 of the ISA, the Union should be able to participate in negotiations with a view to amending the institutional framework of the ISA.

(12) It is therefore appropriate that the Commission be authorised to engage in negotiations within the ISC to amend the ISA, that negotiating guidelines be established and that the same special committee appointed by Decision (EU) 2017/2242 continue to be consulted by the Commission when conducting the negotiations.