Council Decision (EU) 2020/409 of 17 February 2020 on the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part

What it is

to approve, on behalf of the European Union, Solomon Islands' accession to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. BACKGROUND: on 12 June 2002, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. The Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement, was signed in London on 30 July 2009. The Interim Partnership Agreement has been provisionally applied by Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014 and 31 December 2018, respectively. The Agreement lays down the provisions regarding the accession of other Pacific Island States. The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by André ROUGÉ (ID, FR) on the draft Council decision on the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part. The committee recommended that the European Parliament give its consent to Solomon Islands' accession to the agreement. The draft Council Decision implements the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000. On 30 July 2009, the EU signed the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Community, on the one hand, and the Pacific States, on the other. The EPA has been provisionally applied by the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Fiji and the Independent State of Samoa since 20 December 2009, 28 July 2014 and 31 December 2018, respectively. It provides for the accession of other Pacific Island States. The European Parliament adopted by 534 votes to 45, with 13 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part. Following the recommendation of its Committee on International Trade, the European Parliament gave its consent to the accession of Solomon Islands to the Agreement. PURPOSE: accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part. NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2020/409 on the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part. CONTENT: the Council decided to approve, on behalf of the Union, the accession of Solomon Islands to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part, subject to the deposit of the Act…

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