Council Decision (EU) 2020/135 of 30 January 2020 on the conclusion of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Text with EEA relevance)

• CELEX: Decision (EU) 2020/135
• Articles: 8

Article 1

The Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community is hereby approved on behalf of the Union and of the European Atomic Energy Community.

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

Any references to the Union in this decision shall be understood as including the European Atomic Energy Community.

Article 2

1.   The Commission shall represent the Union within the Joint Committee and the specialised committees provided for in Articles 164 and 165 of the Agreement, as well as in any further specialised committee as may be established in accordance with point (b) of Article 164(5) of the Agreement.

One or more Member States may request that the Commission representative be accompanied, as part of the Union delegation, by a representative of that or those Member States in a meeting of the Joint Committee or of a specialised committee in case particular matters to be addressed at that meeting are of a specific interest to that or those Member States. In particular, Ireland, the Republic of Cyprus and the Kingdom of Spain, respectively, may request that the Commission representative be accompanied by:

(a)

a representative of Ireland, in the meetings of the Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland where those issues are specific to Ireland/Northern Ireland;

(b)

a representative of the Republic of Cyprus, in the meetings of the Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol relating to the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus;

(c)

a representative of the Kingdom of Spain, in the meetings of the Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol on Gibraltar.

2.   In order for the Council to be in a position to exercise fully its policy-making, coordinating and decision-making functions in accordance with the Treaties, in particular by establishing the positions to be taken on behalf of the Union in the Joint Committee and the specialised committees, the Commission shall ensure that the Council receives all the information and documents related to any meeting of the Joint Committee, to any meeting of a specialised committee or to any acts to be adopted by written procedure sufficiently in advance of that meeting or the usage of that written procedure.

The Council shall also be informed in a timely manner about the discussions and the outcome of the meetings of the Joint Committee, the meetings of the specialised committees and the written procedure, and shall receive draft minutes and all documents relating to such meetings or procedure.

3.   The European Parliament shall be put in a position to exercise fully its institutional prerogatives throughout the process in accordance with the Treaties.

4.   During the first five years after the entry into force of the Agreement, the Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation and application of the Agreement, in particular of Part Two thereof.

Article 3

1.   The Council may authorise the United Kingdom to express its consent, in its own capacity, to be bound by an international agreement intended to enter into force or be applied during the transition period, in an area of exclusive competence of the Union. Such authorisation may only be granted if:

(a)

the United Kingdom has demonstrated a specific interest in the international agreement in question already entering into force or applying during the transition period;

(b)

the international agreement in question is compatible with Union law applicable to and in the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 127 of the Agreement and is compatible with the obligations referred to in Article 129(1) of the Agreement; and

(c)

the entry into force or application of the international agreement in question during the transition period would neither put at risk the attainment of an objective of the Union’s external action in the area concerned nor be otherwise prejudicial to the Union’s interests.

2.   An authorisation granted pursuant to paragraph 1 may be conditional upon the inclusion in or removal from the agreement in question of any provision or may be conditional upon the suspension of the application of any provision of that agreement, where necessary to ensure consistency with the conditions set out in paragraph 1.

3.   The United Kingdom shall notify the Commission of its intention to express its consent, in its own capacity, to be bound by an international agreement intended to enter into force or be applied during the transition period, in an area of exclusive competence of the Union. The Commission shall promptly inform the Council of any notification by the United Kingdom of the United Kingdom’s intention to express its consent, in its own capacity, to be bound by the international agreement in question.

4.   The Council shall adopt the decisions referred to in paragraph 1 by means of implementing acts, on a proposal from the Commission. The Commission’s proposal shall include an assessment as to whether the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 are fulfilled. If information provided by the United Kingdom is not sufficient for the assessment, the Commission may request additional information.

5.   The Council shall inform the European Parliament of any decision taken pursuant to paragraph 1.

Article 4

1.   On a duly justified request from Ireland, the Republic of Cyprus or the Kingdom of Spain, respectively, the Council may authorise those Member States to negotiate bilateral agreements with the United Kingdom in areas of exclusive competence of the Union. Such authorisation may only be granted if:

(a)

the Member State concerned has provided information showing that the agreement in question is necessary for the proper functioning of the arrangements set out, respectively, in the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, the Protocol relating to the Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Cyprus and the Protocol on Gibraltar, and that the agreement in question complies with the principles and objectives of the Agreement;

(b)

on the basis of the information provided by the Member State, it appears that the envisaged agreement is compatible with Union law; and

(c)

the envisaged agreement would neither put at risk the attainment of an objective of the Union’s external action in the area concerned nor be otherwise prejudicial to the Union’s interests.

2.   An authorisation granted pursuant to paragraph 1 may be conditional upon the inclusion in or removal from the agreement in question of any provision or may be conditional upon the suspension of the application of any provision of that agreement, where necessary to ensure the consistency with the conditions set out in paragraph 1.

3.   The Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of its intention to enter into negotiations with the United Kingdom. The Commission shall promptly inform the Council thereof. The Member State concerned shall provide the Commission with all the information necessary to assess whether the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are fulfilled.

4.   The Commission shall be invited by the Member State concerned to closely follow the negotiations.

5.   Before signing the bilateral agreement, the Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of the outcome of negotiations and shall transmit the text of the prospective agreement to the Commission which shall promptly inform the Council. The Member State concerned may only express its consent to be bound by the bilateral agreement in question if the Council has authorised it to do so.

6.   The Council shall adopt the decisions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 5 by means of implementing acts, on a proposal from the Commission.

The Commission’s proposal shall include an assessment as to whether the conditions set out in paragraph 1 and referred to in paragraph 2 are fulfilled. If information provided by the Member State concerned is not sufficient for the assessment, the Commission may request additional information.

7.   When the Council grants an authorisation pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 5, the Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of the entry into force of the bilateral agreement concerned, as well as any subsequent changes concerning the status of that agreement.

8.   The Council shall inform the European Parliament of any decisions taken pursuant to paragraph 1 and 5.

Article 5

The Commission shall lay down, by means of implementing acts, the period of validity, format and security features of the documents that Member States are to issue pursuant to Article 18(1) and (4) and Article 26 of the Agreement and the common statement to be contained in such documents. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 6 of this Decision.

Article 6

1.   The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee established by Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 for the adoption of implementing acts referred to in Article 5 of this Decision.

That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Article 7

The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the Union, give the notification provided for in Article 185 of the Agreement.

Article 8

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.