2 EU-Lebanon relations
| Committee's assessment
| Legally and politically important
|
| Committee's decision
| Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested
|
| Document details
| EU-Lebanon Framework Agreement
|
| Legal base
| (a) Article 212, in conjunction with Article 218(5) TFEU; QMV
(b) Article 212, in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a) of the TFEU; QMV
|
| Department
| Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
2.1 These draft Council Decisions relate
to the signing, provisional application, and conclusion of a Protocol
to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement, which will enable Lebanon
to apply to join European Union programmes through its participation
in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
2.2 Projects and initiatives submitted
by participants from Lebanon will be subject to the same conditions,
rules and procedures as those applied to Member States. Participation
in these associations and groups aims to help align Lebanon with
international standards.
2.3 Lebanon has agreed to contribute
financially to the budget of the specific programmes in which
it participates. Lebanese representatives will be allowed to take
part as observers, and as members of the management committee
for the points which concern Lebanon in these relevant programmes.
2.4 The participation of Lebanon in
the programmes covered by the Decisions is in accordance with
the EU-Lebanon European Neighbourhood Policy Action plan, which
supports the implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean agreement.
2.5 We note the Government is seeking
to amend the legal bases put forward by the Commission of Article
212 TFEU (economic, financial and technical cooperation with third
countries) to add specific ones reflecting the individual programmes
covered by the Framework Agreement. These would include one or
more from Title V of Part Three TFEU (an area of freedom, security
and justice) which would trigger the UK justice and home affairs
opt-in under Protocol 21. Previous experience in the cases of
similar agreements with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kosovo indicate
that it is unlikely to succeed, in which case the UK would be
asserting that the UK opt-in is engaged without the proposal including
a Title V legal basis. We have consistently taken the view that
the UK opt-in is not engaged in these circumstances and are reinforced
in this view by the Government's failure in case C-277/12, on
which the Court of Justice delivered its judgment on 11 June 2014.
2.6 However, we retain this matter
under scrutiny pending further information from the Minister for
Europe (Mr David Lidington) as to whether the UK, in pursuance
of its assertion that the UK opt-in is engaged, wishes to participate
in these proposals.
Full details of the documents:
(a) Council Decision on the signing
and provisional application of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean
Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community
and its Member States and the Republic of Lebanon, on a Framework
Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Lebanon
on the general principles for the participation of the Republic
of Lebanon in Union programmes: (35990), 9248/14 + ADD 1, COM(14)
200 (b) Council Decision on the conclusion of a Protocol to the
Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between
the European Community and its Member States and the Republic
of Lebanon, on a Framework Agreement between the European Union
and the Republic of Lebanon on the general principles for the
participation of the Republic of Lebanon in Union programmes (35991),
9264/14 + ADD 1, COM(14) 201
Background
2.7 The EU programmes in question promote
co-operation in different, specific fields and were, in principle,
originally conceived for Member States. However, the regulations
for these programmes allow for the possibility of third country
participation, provided that certain terms and conditions are
met. The EU has already signed similar protocols with Israel,
Morocco, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
The Minister's Explanatory Memorandum of 2 June
2014
2.8 The Minister says that the Government
supports and welcomes the proposed protocol:
"Lebanon's involvement in these
programmes will help bring them in line with international standards.
A number of union programmes are linked with our humanitarian
and prosperity objectives, which in turn will aid our overall
objective of stability for Lebanon.
"More broadly, the UK remains
a strong supporter of Lebanon's progression to stronger ties with
the European Union as part of our long-standing support to the
enlargement of the EU and strengthening of ties in the Southern
Neighbourhood region."
2.9 With regard to Legal and Procedural
Issues, the Minister says:
"The approach taken by the
Commission in proposing Article 212 TFEU as the substantive legal
basis for adoption of these draft Council Decisions mirrors the
approach that the Commission took in relation to similar recent
Council Decisions relating to Kosovo's, Georgia's and Azerbaijan's
participation in Union programmes. However, this approach
is a departure from the practice undertaken for Framework Agreements
agreed prior to the Kosovo, Georgia and Azerbaijan agreements.
The Government disagrees with the approach taken by the Commission
and considers that the Council Decisions under consideration should
cite all of the substantive legal bases for the programmes covered
in the Framework Agreement, as was the practice prior to these
last three agreements. The Government will therefore seek
to have the legal bases amended by the Council, by seeking to
add to the draft Council Decision all substantive legal bases
for the programmes.
"In respect of the current
proposed Council Decisions, the list of Union programmes that
Lebanon will be eligible to participate in has yet to be produced.
Participation in each programme will have to be negotiated with
the Commission and a financial contribution would be needed for
those programmes (Fiscalis 2020 and Customs 2020) contain JHA
obligations and as such trigger Protocol 21 (the UK's JHA opt-in
protocol). Consequently, the Government will push for the citation
of the relevant Title V of Part Three TFEU legal bases and considers
that the JHA opt-in has been triggered.
"The last language version
of the Council Decision on signing and provisional application
was published on 2 May 2014. The eight week period for the Committees
to express their views on the Government's opt-in decision therefore
ends on 27 June. The three month period for the Government to
make its opt-in decision ends on 3 August.
"It is Government policy to
consider each opt-in decision on a case-by-case basis. The Committees
will recall that for recent, similar, agreements with Georgia
and most recently Azerbaijan, the UK asserted the opt-in and opted
into the agreements in respect of the provisions that relate to
Union programmes that contain JHA content. This approach served
to protect our wider position on the JHA opt-in and reflect that
the UK participates in the underlying Union programmes (Fiscalis
2020 and Customs 2020).
"The Committees should note
that this approach, on asserting the JHA Protocol, may be affected
by the European Court of Justice judgment on 11 June 2014 in case
C-377/12 Commission v. Council which concerns a challenge
to the Council Decision on the signing of the EU-Philippines Partnership
and Co-operation Agreement. That case concerns whether a Title
V legal base should be cited in the context of the Council Decision
concerning the Philippines Partnership and Cooperation agreement.
The Government will consider carefully its position once that
judgment is handed down; until that point, the Government's position
remains that our JHA opt-in is triggered by the content of a measure
and that where the EU is assuming obligations in an international
agreement, the Council decisions approving the signature and conclusion
of that agreement should cite all appropriate legal bases in respect
of those obligations."
Previous Committee
Reports
None; but see (35680)
18055/13: Thirty-ninth Report HC 83-xxxvi (2013-14), chapter 8
(12 March 2014).
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