Council Decision (EU) 2024/2728 of 14 October 2024 on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol of Accession to the Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Ecuador

What it is

PURPOSE: to conclude the Protocol of Accession to the Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, to take account of the Accession of Ecuador. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. BACKGROUND: on 19 January 2009, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate a trade agreement on behalf of the Union with those Member Countries of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) which shared the aim to reach a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and WTO-compatible agreement. On 26 June 2012, the EU signed a Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru. The Trade Agreement has been provisionally applied since 1 March 2013 for Peru and 1 August 2013 for Colombia. The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by Helmut SCHOLZ (GUE/NGL, DE) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol of Accession to the Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Ecuador. The committee recommended that the European Parliament give its consent to the conclusion of the Protocol. To recall, on 20 November 2015 the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the accession of Ecuador to the Trade Agreement between the EU and Peru and Columbia, in which it welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations with Ecuador, and encouraged the quick and complete entry into force and implementation of this agreement. Members considered that this would allow Ecuador the opportunity to continue stimulating policies on economic and social sustainable development. The European Parliament adopted by 544 to 114, with 44 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol of Accession to the Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Ecuador. In line with the recommendation made by its Committee on International Trade and the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Protocol.

Official title: Council Decision (EU) 2024/2728 of 14 October 2024 on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol of Accession to the Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, to take account of the accession of Ecuador