02013D0755 — EN — 01.01.2020 — 001.001

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►B	COUNCIL DECISION 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union (‘Overseas Association Decision’) (OJ L 344 19.12.2013, p. 1)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
M1	COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2019/2196 of 19 December 2019	L 337	1	30.12.2019

Corrected by:

►C1	Corrigendum, OJ L 076, 15.3.2014, p.  56 (2013/755/EU)
►C2	Corrigendum, OJ L 045, 18.2.2020, p.  10 (2019/2196)

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▼B

COUNCIL DECISION 2013/755/EU

of 25 November 2013

on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union

(‘Overseas Association Decision’)

PART ONE

GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE OVERSEAS COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES WITH THE UNION

Chapter 1

General provisions

Article 1

Purpose

1.  This Decision establishes an association of the overseas countries and territories (OCTs) with the Union (the ‘association’), which constitutes a partnership, based on Article 198 TFEU, to support the OCTs’ sustainable development as well as to promote the values and standards of the Union in the wider world.

2.  The partners to the association are the Union, the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked.

Article 2

Territorial application

The association shall apply to the OCTs listed in Annex II to the TFEU.

Article 3

Objectives, principles and values

1.  The association between the Union and the OCTs shall be based on objectives, principles and values shared by the OCTs, the Member States to which they are linked and the Union.

2.  The association shall pursue the overall objectives laid down in Article 199 TFEU, by the enhancement of the OCTs’s competitiveness, the strengthening of the OCTs’ resilience, the reduction of their economic and environmental vulnerability and the promotion of cooperation between them and other partners.

3.  In pursuing those objectives, the association shall respect the fundamental principles of liberty, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, good governance and sustainable development, all of which are common to the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked.

4.  There shall be no discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in the areas of cooperation referred to in this Decision.

5.  The partners recognise each other’s rights to determine their sustainable development policies and priorities, to establish their own levels of domestic environmental and labour protection, and to adopt or modify accordingly the relevant laws and policies, consistently with commitment to the internationally recognised standards and agreements. In doing so, they shall strive to ensure high levels of environmental and labour protection.

6.  In implementing this Decision, the partners shall be guided by the principles of transparency, subsidiarity and the need for efficiency and shall equally address the three pillars of OCTs’ sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection.

Article 4

Management of the association

Management of the association shall be conducted by the Commission and the OCTs authorities and, where necessary, by the Member State to which the OCTs is linked, in accordance with respective institutional, legal and financial competences.

Article 5

Mutual interests, complementarity and priorities

1.  The association is the framework for policy dialogue and cooperation on issues of mutual interest.

2.  Priority shall be given to cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as:

3.  Cooperation in the areas of mutual interest aims at the promotion of OCTs self-reliance and of the development of OCTs’ capacities to formulate, implement and monitor strategies and policies set out in paragraph 2.

Article 6

Promotion of the association

1.  With an aim to strengthen the relations between themselves, the Union and the OCTs endeavour to make the association known among their citizens, in particular by promoting the development of the links and cooperation between the authorities, academic community, civil society and businesses of OCTs on the one hand and their interlocutors within the Union on the other.

2.  OCTs shall make efforts to strengthen and promote their relations with the Union as a whole. The Member States shall support these efforts.

Article 7

Regional cooperation, regional integration and cooperation with other partners

1.  Subject to Article 3 of this Decision, the association aims at supporting the OCTs in their efforts to take part in relevant international, regional and/or sub-regional cooperation initiatives as well as regional or sub-regional integration processes, in line with their own aspirations and in accordance with objectives and priorities defined by the competent OCTs authorities.

2.  To this end, the Union and the OCTs may exchange information and best practices or establish any other form of close cooperation and coordination with other partners in the context of the OCTs’ participation in regional and international organisations, where appropriate by means of international agreements.

3.  The association aims at supporting cooperation between the OCTs and other partners in the areas of cooperation set out in Parts Two and Three of this Decision. In that respect, the objective of the association is to promote the cooperation between the OCTs and the outermost regions, referred to in Article 349 TFEU, their neighbouring African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and non-ACP States. In order to achieve that objective, the Union shall improve coordination and synergies between cooperation programmes supported by different EU financial instruments. The Union shall also endeavour to associate OCTs in its instances of dialogue with their neighbouring countries, whether they are ACP or non-ACP States, and with the outermost regions, where appropriate.

4.  The support to OCTs’ participation in relevant regional integration organisations shall focus in particular on:

Article 8

Participation in European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation

In the application of Article 7(1) to (3) of this Decision, the cooperation initiatives or other forms of cooperation shall also mean that governmental authorities, regional and sub-regional organisations, local authorities and, where appropriate, other public and private bodies or institutions (including public service providers) from an OCTs may participate in a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) subject to the rules and objectives of the cooperation activities of this Decision and those of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 and in accordance with the arrangements applicable to the Member State to which the OCTs is linked.

Article 9

Specific treatment

1.  The association shall take into account the diversity of the OCTs in terms of economic development and capacity to fully benefit from regional cooperation and regional integration referred to in Article 7.

2.  A specific treatment shall be established for isolated OCTs.

3.  In order to enable isolated OCTs to overcome structural and other obstacles to their development, this specific treatment shall take account of their specific difficulties, inter alia, when determining the volume of financial assistance and the conditions attached thereto.

4.  The OCTs which shall be considered to be isolated are listed in Annex I.

Chapter 2

Actors of cooperation

Article 10

General approach

1.  The association shall be based on a broad dialogue and consultations on issues of mutual interest between the OCTs, the Member States to which they are linked and the Commission, and, if appropriate, the European Investment Bank (EIB).

2.  The OCTs shall organise, where appropriate, a dialogue and consultations with authorities and bodies such as:

Article 11

Actors of cooperation

1.  Actors of cooperation in the OCTs shall include:

2.  The Member States to which the OCTs are linked shall inform the Commission within three months of the entry into force of this Decision of the governmental and local authorities referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1.

Article 12

Responsibilities of the non-governmental actors

1.  Non-governmental actors may play a role in the exchange of information and consultations concerning the cooperation, and in particular for the preparation and implementation of cooperation assistance, projects or programmes. They may receive a delegation of financial management powers for implementing such projects or programmes for the purpose of supporting local development initiatives.

2.  Non-governmental actors eligible for decentralised management of projects or programmes shall be identified by agreement between the OCTs authorities, the Commission and the Member State to which the OCTs is linked, taking into account the subject concerned, their expertise and field of activity. The process of identification shall be conducted in each OCTs as part of the broad dialogue and consultations referred to in Article 10.

3.  The association aims at contributing to the efforts of the OCTs to strengthen civil society organisations, concerning in particular their creation and development, and the development of the arrangements necessary for opening their involvement in the design, implementation and evaluation of development strategies and programmes.

Chapter 3

Institutional framework of the association

Article 13

Guiding principles for dialogue

1.  The Union, the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked, shall regularly engage in a comprehensive and political dialogue.

2.  The dialogue shall be conducted in full compliance with the respective institutional, legal and financial powers of the Union, of the OCTs and of the Member States to which they are linked. The dialogue shall be conducted in a flexible manner: it may be formal or informal, at an appropriate level or format, and conducted within the framework referred to in Article 14.

3.  The dialogue shall enable the OCTs to take a full part in the implementation of the association.

4.  The dialogue shall focus, inter alia, on specific political issues of mutual concern or of general significance for the attainment of the objectives of the association.

Article 14

Instances of the association

1.  The association shall establish the following instances of dialogue:

2.  The Commission shall chair the OCTs-EU Forum, the trilateral consultations and the working parties and shall provide their secretariat.

PART TWO

AREAS OF COOPERATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ASSOCIATION

Chapter 1

Environmental issues, climate change and disaster risk reduction

Article 15

General objectives and principles

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of environment, climate change and disaster risk reduction may concern:

Article 16

Sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services may concern:

Article 17

Sustainable forest management

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of sustainable forest management may concern the promotion of the conservation and sustainable management of forests, including their role in the conservation of the environment from erosion and desertification control, afforestation and management of timber exports.

Article 18

Integrated coastal zone management

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of integrated coastal zone management may concern:

Article 19

Maritime Affairs

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of maritime affairs may concern:

Article 20

Sustainable management of fish stocks

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of sustainable management of fish stocks shall be based on the following principles:

2.  Cooperation in the field referred to in paragraph 1 may concern:

Article 21

Sustainable water management

1.  In the context of the association, the Union and the OCTs may cooperate in the area of sustainable water management through water policy and institution building, protecting water resources, water supplies in rural and urban areas for domestic, industrial or agricultural purposes, storage, distribution and management of water resources and waste water management.

2.  In the field of water supply and sanitation sector, particular attention shall be given to access in under-served areas to drinking water supply and sanitation services and those particularly exposed to natural disasters, which contribute directly to human resources development by improving the state of health and increasing productivity.

3.  Cooperation in these areas shall be guided by the principle that the continuing need to extend the provision of basic services in water and sanitation to both urban and rural populations must be addressed in environmentally sustainable ways.

Article 22

Waste management

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of waste management may concern the promotion of the use of the best environmental practice in all operations related to waste management, including the reduction of waste, recycling or other processes of recovery, e.g. energy recovery and waste disposal.

Article 23

Energy

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of sustainable energy may concern:

Article 24

Climate change

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of climate change shall aim to support the initiatives of the OCTs concerning climate change mitigation and adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change, and may cover:

Article 25

Disaster risk reduction

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of disaster risk reduction may concern:

Chapter 2

Accessibility

Article 26

General objectives

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of accessibility shall aim to:

2.  Cooperation in the context referred to in paragraph 1 may encompass:

Article 27

Maritime transport

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of maritime transport shall aim to the development and promotion of cost-effective and efficient maritime transport services in the OCTs and may concern:

2.  The Union and the OCTs shall promote shipping safety, security of crews and the prevention of pollution.

Article 28

Air transport

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of air transport may concern:

Article 29

Air transport safety

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of air transport safety shall aim to support the OCTs in their efforts to comply with the relevant international standards and may cover inter alia:

Article 30

Information and communication technologies services

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) services shall aim to spur, in the OCTs, innovation, economic growth and improvements in daily life for both citizens and businesses, including the promotion of accessibility for persons with disabilities. Cooperation shall, in particular, be directed at enhancing OCTs’ regulatory capacity and may support the expansion of ICT networks and services through the following measures:

Chapter 3

Research and innovation

Article 31

Cooperation in research and innovation

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of research and innovation may cover science, technology, including information and communication technologies, with the aim of contributing to the OCTs’ sustainable development and to promoting the OCTs’s role as regional hubs and centres of excellence as well as their industrial competitiveness. In particular, cooperation may concern:

Chapter 4

Youth, education, training, health, employment and social policy

Article 32

Youth

1.  The Union shall ensure that natural persons from OCTs, as defined in Article 50, can participate in initiatives of the Union concerning youth on the same basis as nationals of Member States.

2.  The association aims at strengthening the ties between young people living in the OCTs and the Union, among others by promoting learning mobility of OCTs youth and by fostering mutual understanding between young people.

Article 33

Education and training

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of education and training may cover:

2.  The Union shall ensure that natural persons from the OCTs, as defined in Article 50, can participate in education and vocational training initiatives of the Union on the same basis as nationals of Member States.

3.  The Union shall ensure that educational bodies and institutes from OCTs can take part in education related cooperation initiatives of the Union on the same basis as the educational and vocational training bodies and institutes of the Member States.

Article 34

Employment and social policy

1.  The Union and the OCTs shall maintain dialogue in the area of employment and social policy in order to contribute to the economic and social development of the OCTs and the promotion of decent work in the OCTs and regions where they are located. Such a dialogue shall also aim at supporting the efforts of the OCTs’ authorities to develop policies and legislation in this area.

2.  The dialogue shall mainly consist of exchange of information and best practices relating to policies and legislation in the area of employment and social policy that are of mutual interest to the Union and the OCTs. In this regard, areas such as skills development, social protection, social dialogue, equal opportunities, non-discrimination and accessibility for persons with disabilities, health and safety at work and other labour standards shall be taken into consideration.

Article 35

Public health

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of public health shall aim to strengthen the OCTs’ capacity for surveillance, early detection and response to outbreaks of communicable diseases through measures including:

Chapter 5

Culture

Article 36

Cultural exchanges and dialogue

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of cultural exchanges and dialogue may concern:

2.  Through their cooperation the Union and the OCTs shall seek to stimulate cultural exchanges between each other through:

Article 37

Audiovisual cooperation

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the audiovisual field aims at promoting each other’s audiovisual productions and may cover the following actions:

2.  Co-produced audiovisual works shall be entitled to benefit from any scheme for the promotion of local or regional cultural content set up in the Union, the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked.

Article 38

Performing arts

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of performing arts may concern:

Article 39

Protection of cultural heritage and historic monuments

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and historic monuments aims at allowing the promotion of exchanges of expertise and best practices through:

Chapter 6

Fight against organised crime

Article 40

Fight against organised crime, trafficking in human beings, child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, terrorism and corruption

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of organised crime may include:

2.  In the context of the association, the OCTs shall cooperate with the Union as regards combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism in accordance with Articles 70 and 71.

Chapter 7

Tourism

Article 41

Tourism

In the context of the Association, cooperation in the field of tourism may include:

PART THREE

TRADE AND TRADE RELATED COOPERATION

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 42

General objectives

The general objectives of the trade and trade-related cooperation between the Union and the OCTs are to:

TITLE II

ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES AND ESTABLISHMENT

Chapter 1

Arrangements for trade in goods

Article 43

Free access for originating goods

1.  Products originating in the OCTs shall be imported into the Union free of import duty.

2.  The definition of originating products and the methods of administrative cooperation relating thereto are laid down in Annex VI.

Article 44

Quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect

1.  The Union shall not apply to imports of products originating in the OCTs any quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent effect.

2.  Paragraph 1 shall not preclude prohibitions or restrictions on imports, exports or goods in transit justified on grounds of public morality or public policy, the protection of health and life of humans, animals and plants, the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value, the conservation of exhaustible natural resources or the protection of industrial and commercial property.

Prohibitions or restrictions referred to in the first subparagraph shall in no case constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction of trade generally.

Article 45

Measures adopted by the OCTs

1.  The authorities of the OCTs may retain or introduce, in respect of imports of products originating in the Union, such customs duties or quantitative restrictions as they consider necessary in view of their respective development needs.

2.  For the fields covered by this chapter, the OCTs shall grant to the Union a treatment no less favourable than the most favourable treatment applicable to any major trading economy as defined in paragraph 4.

3.  Paragraph 2 shall not preclude an OCTs from granting certain other OCTs or other developing countries more favourable treatment than that accorded to the Union.

4.  For the purposes of this Title, a ‘major trading economy’ means any developed country, or any country accounting for a share of world merchandise exports above one per cent, or, without prejudice to paragraph 3, any group of countries acting individually, collectively or through an economic integration agreement accounting collectively for a share of world merchandise exports above 1,5 %. For this calculation the latest available official data by the WTO on leading exporters in world merchandise trade (excluding intra-Union trade) shall be used.

5.  The authorities of the OCTs shall communicate to the Commission by 2 April 2014, the customs tariffs and lists of quantitative restrictions which they apply in compliance with this Decision.

The authorities of the OCTs shall also communicate to the Commission any subsequent amendments to such measures as and when they are adopted.

Article 46

Non-discrimination

1.  The Union shall not discriminate between OCTs and the OCTs shall not discriminate between Member States.

2.  In compliance with Article 65, the implementation of the specific provisions in this Decision and in particular its Articles 44(2), 45 and 48, 49, 51 and 59(3) shall not be deemed to constitute a discrimination.

Article 47

Conditions for movements of waste

1.  Movements of waste between the Member States and the OCTs shall be controlled in accordance with international and Union law. The Union shall support the establishment and development of effective international cooperation in this area with a view to protecting the environment and public health.

2.  The Union shall prohibit all direct or indirect export of waste to the OCTs, with the exception of exports of non-hazardous waste destined for recovery operations while at the same time the OCTs authorities shall prohibit the direct or indirect import into their territory of such waste from the Union or any third country, without prejudice to specific international undertakings concerning these areas that have been made, or may be made in future, in the competent international fora.

3.  As regards those OCTs, which, due to their constitutional status, are not Party to the Basel Convention, their relevant authorities shall expedite adoption of the necessary internal legislation and administrative regulations to implement the provisions of the Basel Convention in those OCTs.

4.  In addition, the Member States to which OCTs are linked shall promote the adoption by the OCTs of the necessary internal legislation and administrative regulations to implement the following acts:

5.  One or more OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked may apply their own procedures to export of waste from the OCTs to that Member State.

6.  In this case, the Member State to which the OCTs is linked shall notify to the Commission the applicable legislation by 2 July 2014, as well as any future relevant national legislation, and any subsequent amendments to such legislation.

Article 48

Temporary withdrawal of preferences

Where the Commission considers that there are sufficient grounds to question whether this Decision is being correctly implemented, the Commission shall enter into consultations with the OCTs and the Member State with which the OCTs has special relations, in order to ensure the proper implementation of this Decision. In case the consultations do not lead to a mutually acceptable way of implementing this Decision, the Union may temporarily withdraw preferences from the OCTs concerned in accordance with Annex VII.

Article 49

Safeguard and surveillance measures

In order to ensure the proper implementation of this Decision, the Union may take safeguard and surveillance measures set out in Annex VIII.

Chapter 2

Arrangements for trade in services and for establishment

Article 50

Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

Article 51

Most favourable treatment

1.  With respect to any measures affecting trade in services and establishment in economic activities:

2.  The obligations provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to treatment granted:

3.  The authorities of an OCTs may with a view to promoting or supporting local employment, adopt regulations to aid their natural persons and local activities. In this event, the OCTs authorities shall notify the Commission of the regulations they adopt so that it may inform the Member States thereof.

Article 52

Professional qualifications

With regard to the professions of doctor, dentist, midwife, general nurse, pharmacist and veterinary surgeon, the Council shall adopt in accordance with Article 203 TFEU the list of professional qualifications specific to the OCTs which are to be recognised in the Member States.

TITLE III

TRADE RELATED AREAS

Chapter 1

Trade and sustainable development

Article 53

General approach

Trade and trade-related cooperation under the association aims at contributing to sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions. In this context, the domestic environmental or labour laws and regulations of OCTs shall not be lowered in order to encourage trade or investment.

Article 54

Environmental and climate change standards in trade

1.  Trade and trade-related cooperation under the association aims at enhancing the mutual supportiveness between trade and environmental policies and obligations. Trade and trade-related cooperation under the association shall take into account the principles of international environmental governance and multilateral environmental agreements.

2.  The ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol shall be pursued. Cooperation shall be based on the development of the future legally binding international climate change agreement involving mitigation commitments by all parties in accordance with the implementation of decisions emanating from the Conferences of the Parties of the UNFCCC.

3.  Measures to implement multilateral environmental agreements shall not be applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between the partners or a disguised restriction of trade.

Article 55

Labour standards in trade

1.  The association aims at promoting trade in such a way that it is conducive to full and productive employment and decent work for all.

2.  The internationally recognised core labour standards, as defined by the relevant International Labour Organisation Conventions, shall be respected and implemented in law and practice. Such labour standards include in particular respect for freedom of association, right to collective bargaining, abolition of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the minimum age for admission to employment and non-discrimination in respect to employment.

3.  The violation of core labour standards cannot be invoked or otherwise used as a legitimate comparative advantage. Those standards shall not be used for protectionist purposes.

Article 56

Sustainable trade in fisheries products

With a view to promoting the sustainable management of fish stocks, the association may include cooperation regarding the combat of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and related trade. Cooperation in this field aims at:

Article 57

Sustainable timber trade

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of timber trade aims at promoting trade in legally harvested timber. Such cooperation may include dialogue on regulatory measures as well as exchange of information on market-based or voluntary measures such as forest certification or green procurement policies.

Article 58

Sustainable development in trade

1.  In the context of the association, cooperation in the of field sustainable development may be pursued by:

2.  In the design and implementation of measures aimed at protecting the environment or labour conditions that may affect trade or investment, the Union and the OCTs shall take account of available scientific and technical information, and relevant international standards, guidelines or recommendations, including the precautionary principle.

3.  The Union and the OCTs shall apply full transparency to develop, introduce and implement any measures aimed at protecting the environment and labour conditions affecting trade or investment.

Chapter 2

Other trade-related areas

Article 59

Current payments and capital movements

1.  No restrictions shall be imposed on any payments in freely convertible currency on the current account of balance of payments between residents of the Union and of the OCTs.

2.  With regard to transactions on the capital account of balance of payments, the Member States and the OCTs authorities shall impose no restrictions on the free movement of capital for direct investments in companies formed in accordance with the laws of the host Member State, country or territory and shall ensure that the assets formed by such investment and any profit stemming therefrom can be realised and repatriated.

3.  The Union and the OCTs shall be entitled to take the measures referred to in Articles 64, 65, 66, 75 and 215 TFEU in accordance with the conditions laid down therein mutatis mutandis.

4.  The OCTs authorities, the Member State concerned or the Union shall inform one another immediately of any such measures and submit a timetable for their elimination as soon as possible.

Article 60

Competition policies

The elimination of distortions to competition, with due consideration to the different levels of development and economic needs of the OCTs, shall involve the implementation of local, national or regional rules and policies including the control and, under certain conditions, the prohibition of agreements between undertakings, of decisions by associations of undertakings and of concerted practices between undertakings which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition. Such prohibition also relates to the abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position in the territory of the Union or of the OCTs.

Article 61

Protection of intellectual property rights

1.  An adequate and effective level of protection of intellectual property rights, including means for enforcing such rights, shall be ensured in line with the highest international standards, where appropriate, with a view to reducing distortions and impediments to bilateral trade.

2.  In the context of the association, cooperation in this field may concern the preparation of laws and regulations for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, the prevention of the abuse of such rights by right holders and of the infringement of such rights by competitors and support for regional intellectual property organisations involved in enforcement and protection, including the training of personnel.

Article 62

Technical barriers to trade

The association may include cooperation in the fields of technical regulation for goods, standardisation, conformity assessment, accreditation, market surveillance and quality assurance with a view to removing unnecessary technical barriers to trade between the Union and the OCTs and to reduce differences in those areas.

Article 63

Consumer policy, consumer health protection and trade

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of consumer policy, consumer health protection and trade may include the preparation of laws and regulations in the area of consumer policy and consumer health protection, with a view to avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade.

Article 64

Sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures

In the context of the association, cooperation in the field of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures aims at:

Article 65

Prohibition of protectionist measures

The provisions of Chapters 1 and 2 shall not be used as a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade.

Chapter 3

Monetary and tax matters

Article 66

Tax carve out

1.  Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 67, the most favoured- nation treatment granted in accordance with this Decision shall not apply to tax advantages which the Member States or OCTs authorities are providing or may provide in the future on the basis of agreements to avoid double taxation or other tax arrangements, or domestic tax legislation in force.

2.  Nothing in this Decision may be construed so as to prevent the adoption or enforcement of any measure aimed at preventing tax fraud or avoidance or evasion of taxes pursuant to the tax provisions of agreements to avoid double taxation or other tax arrangements, or domestic tax legislation in force.

3.  Nothing in this Decision shall be construed so as to prevent the respective competent authorities from distinguishing, in the application of the relevant provisions of their tax legislation, between taxpayers who are not in the same situation, in particular with regard to their place of residence, or with regard to the place where their capital is invested.

Article 67

Tax and customs arrangements for Union funded contracts

1.  The OCTs shall apply to contracts funded by the Union tax and customs arrangements no less favourable than those applied by them to the Member State to which the OCTs is linked or to the states to which the most-favoured nation treatment is granted, or to international development organisations with which they have relations, whichever treatment is the most favourable.

2.  Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the following arrangements shall apply to contracts financed by the Union:

3.  Any contractual matter not covered by paragraphs 1 and 2 shall remain subject to the legislation of the OCTs concerned.

Chapter 4

Trade capacity development

Article 68

General approach

With a view to ensuring that OCTs derive the maximum benefit from the provisions of this Decision and that they may participate under the best possible conditions in the Union’s internal market as well as regional, sub-regional and international markets, the association aims at contributing to the development of the OCTs’ trade capacities by:

Article 69

Trade dialogue, cooperation and capacity development

In the context of the association, trade dialogue, cooperation and capacity development initiatives may include:

Chapter 5

Cooperation in the area of financial services and taxation matters

Article 70

Cooperation on international financial services

With a view to promote the stability, integrity and transparency of the global financial system, the association may include cooperation on international financial services. Such cooperation may concern:

Article 71

Regulatory alignment in financial services

The Union and the OCTs shall promote regulatory convergence with recognised international standards on regulation and supervision in the area of financial services including: the Basel Committee’s ‘Core Principle for Effective Banking Supervision’, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ ‘Insurance Core Principles’, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions’ ‘Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation’, the OECD’s ‘Agreement on exchange of information on tax matters’, the G20 ‘Statement on Transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes’, the Financial Stability Board’s ‘Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions’ and the Financial Action Task Force’s ‘International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation — the FATF Recommendations’.

Where it is appropriate to do so, or at the request of the OCTs concerned, the Union and the OCTs may make efforts to promote greater alignment of OCTs legislation with Union Legislation on financial services.

Article 72

Cooperation between regulatory and supervisory authorities

The Union and the OCTs shall encourage the cooperation between relevant regulatory and supervisory authorities, including information exchange, sharing of expertise on financial markets and other such measures. Special attention shall be given to the development of administrative capacity of such authorities, inter alia, through personnel exchange and joint training.

Article 73

Cooperation in taxation matters

The Union and the OCTs shall promote cooperation in the tax area in order to facilitate the collection of legitimate tax revenues and to develop measures for the effective implementation of the principles of good governance in the tax area, including transparency, exchange of information and fair tax competition.

PART FOUR

INSTRUMENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1

General provisions

Article 74

General objectives

The Union shall contribute to the achievement of the association’s overall objectives through the provision of:

Article 75

Definitions

For the purposes of this Part, the following definitions shall apply:

Article 76

Principles of finance cooperation

1.  Union financial assistance shall be based on the principles of partnership, ownership, alignment on territorial systems, complementarity and subsidiarity.

2.  Operations funded within the framework of this Decision can take the form of programmable or non-programmable aid.

3.  Union financial assistance shall:

4.  The authorities of the OCTs concerned shall be responsible for implementing operations without prejudice to the powers of the Commission to ensure sound financial management in the use of Union funds.

Chapter 2

Financial resources

Article 77

Sources of financing

OCTs shall be eligible for the following sources of funding:

Chapter 3

Specific provisions for the financial assistance under the 11th EDF

Article 78

Subject-matter and scope

Within the framework of the strategy and priorities established by the OCTs concerned at local or regional level, and without prejudice to humanitarian and emergency aid, financial support may be given to the following activities helping to achieve the objectives set out in this Decision:

Article 79

Humanitarian and emergency aid

1.  Humanitarian and emergency aid shall be granted in the OCTs faced with serious economic and social difficulties of an exceptional nature resulting from natural or man-made disasters or extraordinary circumstances having comparable effects. Humanitarian and emergency aid shall be maintained as long as necessary to deal with the urgent problems which arise in such situations.

Humanitarian and emergency aid shall be granted solely on the basis of the needs and interests of disaster victims.

2.  The aim of humanitarian and emergency aid shall be to:

3.  The aid provided for by this Article may also be granted to OCTs taking in refugees or returnees to meet acute needs not covered by emergency assistance.

4.  Aid provided for by this Article shall be financed from the general budget of the Union. However, it may exceptionally be financed from the allocations laid down in Annex II, in addition to the funding from the budget heading concerned.

5.  Humanitarian and emergency aid operations shall be undertaken at the request of the OCTs affected, the Commission, the Member State to which the OCTs is linked, international organisations or local or international non-governmental organisations. Such aid shall be administered and implemented under procedures that facilitate rapid, flexible and effective operations.

Article 80

Capacity development

1.  Financial assistance may contribute to, among other things, supporting the OCTs with developing the necessary capacities to define, implement and monitor territorial and/or regional strategies and actions in view of achieving the general objectives for the areas of cooperation mentioned in Parts Two and Three.

2.  The Union shall support the efforts of the OCTs in developing reliable statistical data regarding those areas.

3.  The Union may support OCTs in their efforts to improve comparability of their macroeconomic indicators.

Article 81

Technical assistance

1.  On the initiative of the Commission, studies or technical assistance measures may be financed in order to ensure the preparation, monitoring, evaluation and supervision necessary for implementing this Decision and for its overall evaluation. Technical assistance provided locally shall be implemented in all instances in accordance with the rules applicable to decentralised financial management.

2.  On the initiative of the OCTs, studies or technical assistance measures may be financed in relation to the implementation of the activities scheduled in the programming documents. The Commission may decide to finance such action either from the programmable aid or from the envelope earmarked for technical cooperation measures.

Article 82

Additional support in the event of fluctuations in export earnings

1.  In order to mitigate the adverse effects of any short-term fluctuations in export earnings, in particular in the agricultural, fisheries and mining sectors, which might jeopardise the attainment of the development objectives of the OCTs concerned, a system of additional support shall be instituted within the financial allocation referred to in Annex II.

2.  Support in the event of short-term fluctuations in export earnings shall be aimed to safeguard macroeconomic and sectoral reforms and policies that are at risk as a result of a drop in revenue and remedy the adverse effects of instability of export earnings in particular from agricultural and mining products.

The dependence of the OCTs economies on exports, in particular in the agricultural and mining sectors, shall be taken into account in the allocation of resources referred to in Annex V. In this context the isolated OCTs referred to in Annex I shall receive more favourable treatment in accordance with the criteria set out in Annex V.

3.  The additional resources shall be provided in accordance with the specific modalities of the support mechanism as set out in Annex V.

4.  The Union shall also provide support for market-based insurance schemes designed for OCTs seeking to protect themselves against the risk of fluctuations in export earnings.

Article 83

Programming

1.  For the purpose of this Decision, programmable aid shall be based on a programming document.

2.  The programming document may take into account the territorial development plans or other plans agreed upon between the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked.

3.  Pursuant to Article 10, the OCTs authorities shall assume the primary responsibility for the formulation of strategies, priorities and arrangements through the preparation of programming documents in coordination with the Commission and the Member State to which the OCTs is linked.

4.  The OCTs authorities shall be responsible for:

Article 84

Preparation, appraisal and approval of the Programming Document

1.  The competent Territorial or, in the case of regional programmes, Regional Authorising Officer shall prepare a proposal for a Programming Document following consultations with the widest possible range of stakeholders and shall draw on lessons learned and best practices.

2.  Each proposal for a Programming Document shall be adapted to the needs and specific circumstances of each OCTs. It shall set out the focal sector(s) selected for Union financing, the specific objectives, the expected results, the performance indicators by which it shall be assessed and evaluated and the indicative financial allocation. It shall promote local ownership of cooperation programmes.

3.  The proposal for the Programming Document shall be the subject of an exchange of views between the OCTs and Member State concerned and the Commission since the early stages of the programming process and with a view to promoting complementarity and consistency among their respective cooperation activities.

4.  The Commission shall appraise the proposal for the Programming Document to determine whether it contains all the elements required and is consistent with the aims of this Decision and the relevant Union policies. The Commission shall consult with the European Investment Bank on the draft Programming Document.

5.  The OCTs shall provide all the necessary information, including the results of any feasibility studies, to make the appraisal of the draft Programming Document by the Commission as effective as possible.

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6.  The OCTs authorities and the Commission shall be jointly responsible for approving the programming document. The Commission shall approve the programming document following the procedure provided for in Article 87.

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Article 85

Implementation

1.  The Commission shall adopt the financing decision corresponding to a programming document in accordance with the standards set out in the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF and following the procedure provided for in Article 87.

2.  The Commission shall implement OCTs 11th EDF resources in any of the ways set out in the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF and in accordance with the conditions set out in this Decision and in the measures implementing that Decision. To this end, it shall conclude financing agreements with the relevant authorities of the OCTs.

3.  The OCTs authorities shall be responsible for:

4.  The relevant authorities of the OCTs and the Commission shall be jointly responsible for:

5.  To facilitate the exchanges of views, technical meetings shall be held at least once a year between the Territorial Authorising Officers, the Member States concerned and representatives of the Commission involved in the programming, notably through the use of modern technologies or, if possible, as an extension of the OCTs-EU Forum dialogue.

6.  Actions financed under the 11th EDF may be implemented with parallel or joint co-financing subject to provisions of the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF.

Article 86

Territorial and Regional Authorising Officers

1.  The Government of each OCTs shall appoint a Territorial Authorising Officer to represent it in all operations financed from the resources of the 11th EDF managed by the Commission and the European Investment Bank. The Territorial Authorising Officer shall appoint one or more deputy Territorial Authorising Officers to replace him when he is unable to carry out his duties and shall inform the Commission of this appointment. Wherever the conditions regarding institutional capacity and sound financial management are met, the Territorial Authorising Officer may delegate his functions for implementation of the programmes and projects concerned to the body responsible within the competent OCTs authority. The Territorial Authorising Officer shall inform ex-ante the Commission of any such delegation.

When the Commission becomes aware of problems in carrying out procedures relating to management of resources from the 11th EDF, it shall, in conjunction with the Territorial Authorising Officer, make all contacts necessary to remedy the situation and take any appropriate steps. The Territorial Authorising Officer shall assume financial responsibility only for the executive tasks entrusted to him.

Where resources from the 11th EDF are managed indirectly and subject to any additional powers that might be granted by the Commission, the Territorial Authorising Officer shall:

2.  Where 11th EDF resources are managed in an indirect way and subject to any additional powers that might be granted by the Commission, the relevant Territorial Authorising Officer shall act as the Contracting Authority for programmes implemented by means of tenders or calls for proposals, under the ex-ante control of the Commission.

3.  The Territorial Authorising Officer shall, during the execution of operations and subject to the requirement to inform the Commission, decide on:

4.  In the case of regional programmes, the authorities of the participating OCTs shall designate a Regional Authorising Officer among the actors of cooperation referred to in Article 11. The duties of the Regional Authorising Officer correspond mutatis mutandis to those of the Territorial Authorising Officer.

Article 87

EDF-OCTs Committee

1.  The Commission shall, where appropriate, be assisted by the Committee created by the 11th EDF Internal Agreement.

2.  When exercising the powers conferred on it by this Decision, the Committee shall be known as the ‘EDF-OCTs Committee’. The procedures of the Committee laid down in the 11th EDF Internal Agreement and the Implementation Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF shall apply to the EDF-OCTs Committee. Until the entry into force of the latter Regulation, the procedures laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 617/2007 ( 5 ) shall apply.

3.  The Committee shall focus its work on the substantive issues of cooperation at OCTs and regional level. In the interests of coherence, coordination and complementarity, it shall monitor the implementation of the Programming Documents.

4.  The Committee shall give its opinion on:

Article 88

Role of Union delegations

1.  Where the Union is represented by a Delegation under the authority of a Head of Delegation, the provisions of the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF concerning authorising officers and accounting officers by subdelegation shall apply.

2.  The Territorial and/or Regional Authorising Officer shall cooperate and work closely with the Head of Delegation, who shall be the main contact for the different actors of cooperation in the OCTs concerned.

Article 89

Rules on nationality and origin for public procurement, grants and other award procedures for OCTs

1.  General rules on eligibility:

2.  Tenderers, applicants and candidates from the following countries and territories shall be eligible to funding under this Decision:

3.  Tenderers, applicants and candidates from non-eligible countries or goods from non-eligible origin may be accepted as eligible by the Commission in duly substantiated cases where the eligibility rules would make the realisation of a project, a programme or an action impossible or exceedingly difficult.

4.  For actions implemented in shared management, the relevant Member State to which the Commission has delegated implementation tasks is entitled, on behalf of the Commission, to authorise participation of tenderers, applicants and candidates from other countries and authorise goods from other countries within the meaning of point (f) of paragraph 2, and to accept as eligible, tenderers, applicants and candidates from non-eligible countries within the meaning of paragraph 3, or goods from non-eligible origin within the meaning of point (d) of paragraph 1.

Article 90

Protecting the Union’s financial interests and financial controls

1.  The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Decision are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and deterrent penalties.

2.  The Commission and the Court of Auditors (ECA) shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds.

The European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections on economic operators concerned directly or indirectly by such funding in accordance with the procedures laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 9 ) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract concerning Union funding.

Without prejudice to the first and second subparagraphs, agreements with third countries and international organisations, and grant agreements and grant decisions and contracts resulting from the implementation of this Decision shall expressly empower the Commission, the ECA and OLAF to conduct such audits, on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the relevant EDF Financial Regulation.

3.  OCTs shall bear primary responsibility for the financial supervision of the Union funds. This shall be carried out, where appropriate, in coordination with the Member State to which the OCTs is linked in accordance with the applicable national legislation.

4.  The Commission shall be responsible for:

5.  The Commission, the OCTs and, where appropriate, the Member State to which it is linked, shall cooperate on the basis of administrative arrangements at annual or biannual meetings to coordinate programmes, methodologies and the implementation of controls.

6.  With regard to financial corrections:

Article 91

Monitoring, evaluation, review process and reporting

1.  Financial cooperation shall be sufficiently flexible to ensure that operations are kept constantly in line with the objectives of this Decision and take account of any changes occurring in the economic situation, priorities and objectives of the OCTs concerned, in particular by means of an ad hoc review of the Programming Document.

2.  The review may be launched by the Commission or at the request of the OCTs concerned and following the agreement of the Commission.

3.  The Commission shall examine the progress made in implementing the financial assistance provided to the OCTs, under the 11th EDF, and shall submit to the Council a report every year starting in 2015 on the implementation and results and, as far as possible, the main outcomes and impacts of the Union’s financial assistance. The report shall also be sent to the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

4.  The report referred to in paragraph 3 shall contain information relating to the previous year on the measures financed, the results of monitoring and evaluation exercises, the involvement of the relevant partners, and the implementation of the 11th EDF commitments and payments appropriations. The report shall assess the results of the assistance, using as far as possible, specific and measurable indicators. It shall reflect the main lessons learned and the follow-up to the recommendations of the evaluations of the previous years.

Chapter 4

Principles of eligibility

Article 92

Eligibility for territorial financing

1.  The OCTs public authorities shall be eligible for financial support provided for in this Decision.

2.  Subject to the agreement of the authorities of the OCTs concerned, the following entities or bodies shall also be eligible for financial support provided for in this Decision:

Article 93

Eligibility for regional financing

1.  A regional allocation shall be used for operations benefiting and involving:

2.  The funding to enable participation of the ACP States, outermost regions and other countries shall be additional to funds allocated to the OCTs under this Decision.

3.  The participation of ACP States, outermost regions and other countries to programmes established pursuant to this Decision shall be envisaged only to the extent that:

4.  Appropriate measures will allow for matching of funding of credits from the EDF and the general budget of the Union to finance cooperation projects between the OCTs, the ACP Countries, the outermost regions as well as other countries, in particular simplified mechanisms for joint management of such projects.

Article 94

Eligibility for Union programmes

1.  Natural persons from an OCTs, as defined in Article 50, and, where applicable, the relevant public and/or private bodies and institutions in an OCTs, shall be eligible for participation in and funding from Union programmes, subject to the rules and objectives of the programmes and possible arrangements applicable to the Member State to which the OCTs is linked.

2.  OCTs shall also be eligible for support under programmes of the Union for cooperation with other countries, notably developing countries, subject to the rules, objectives and arrangements of those programmes.

3.  The Commission shall report to the EDF-OCTs Committee on the participation of OCTs to Union programmes, on the basis of information contained in the Annual Implementation Report submitted by OCTs and other information available.

PART FIVE

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 95

Delegation of powers to the Commission

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts amending the Appendices of Annex VI for the purpose of taking into account technological development and changes in customs legislation, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 96.

Article 96

Exercise of the delegation

1.  The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2.  The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 95 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of 5 years from 1 January 2014. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

3.  The delegation of power referred to in Article 95 may be revoked at any time by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of power specified in that Decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4.  As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it to the Council.

5.  A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 95 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed by the Council within a period of 2 months of notification of the act to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the Council has informed the Commission that it will not object. That period shall be extended by 2 months at the initiative of the Council.

Article 97

Change of status

The Council, acting according to Article 203 TFEU, shall decide on any necessary adjustments to this Decision when:

Article 98

Repeal

Council Decision 2001/822/EC is hereby repealed.

References to the repealed Decision shall be construed as references to this Decision.

Article 99

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2014.

Annex VI shall apply as provided for in Article 65 of that Annex.

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ANNEX I

LIST OF THE ISOLATED OCTs

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ANNEX II

UNION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: 11th EDF

Article 1

Allocation between the various instruments

1.  For the purposes of this Decision, for the seven-year period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020, the overall amount of the Union financial assistance of EUR 364,5 million under the 11th EDF fixed by the Internal Agreement establishing the 11th EDF shall be allocated as follows:

2.  The funds of the 11th EDF shall not be committed after 31 December 2020, unless the Council unanimously decides otherwise, on a proposal from the Commission.

3.  Should the funds provided for in paragraph 1 be exhausted before this Decision expires, the Council shall take the appropriate measures.

Article 2

Administration of resources

The EIB shall administer the loans made from its own resources referred to in Annex III, as well as the operations financed under the OCTs Investment Facility referred to in Annex IV. All other financial resources under this Decision shall be administered by the Commission.

Article 3

Allocation between the OCTs

The amount of EUR 351 million mentioned in point (a) of Article 1(1) of this Annex shall be allocated on the basis of the needs and performance of the OCTs in accordance with the following criteria:

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ANNEX III

UNION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: LOANS FROM THE EIB’S OWN RESOURCES

Article 1

Amount

An amount of up to EUR 100 million shall be provided by the EIB for financing from its own resources in accordance with its own rules and procedures and the conditions provided for by its statutes and this Annex.

Article 2

EIB

1.  The EIB shall:

2.  Financing from the EIB’s own resources shall be granted under the following terms and conditions:

3.  For investments financed by the EIB from its own resources in public sector companies, specific project-related guarantees or undertakings may be required from the OCTs concerned.

Article 3

Conditions for foreign exchange transfer

1.  The OCTs concerned shall, in respect of operations under this Decision and in respect of which they have given their written approval:

2.  For the purposes of this Article, ‘OCTs concerned’ shall mean the OCTs benefitting from the operation.

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ANNEX IV

UNION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: EIB INVESTMENT FACILITY

Article 1

Objective

The OCTs Investment Facility (the Facility) set up by Decision 2001/822/EC with EDF funds to promote commercially viable enterprises shall be maintained.

The terms and conditions of financing in relation to the operations of the Facility and the loans from own resources of the EIB shall be as laid down in the Internal Agreement establishing the 11th EDF and in Annex III and in this Annex.

These resources may be channelled to eligible enterprises, either directly or indirectly, through eligible investment funds and/or financial intermediaries.

Article 2

Resources of the Facility

1.  The resources of the Facility may be used, inter alia, to:

2.  Equity participation shall, in general, be for non-controlling minority holdings and shall be remunerated on the basis of the performance of the project concerned.

3.  Quasi-capital assistance may consist of shareholders’ advances, convertible bonds, conditional, subordinated and participating loans or any other similar form of assistance. Such assistance may consist in particular of:

4.  The remuneration of each operation shall be specified when the loan is made.

5.  Without prejudice to paragraph 4:

6.  Guarantees shall be priced so as to reflect the risks insured and the particular characteristics of the operation.

7.  The interest rate of ordinary loans shall comprise a reference rate applied by the EIB for comparable loans with the same terms and conditions as to grace and repayment periods and a mark up determined by the EIB.

8.  Ordinary loans may be extended on concessional terms and conditions in the following cases:

9.  The final rate of loans falling under point (a) or (b) of paragraph 8 shall, in any case, never be less than 50 % of the reference rate.

10.  The funds to be provided for these concessional purposes will be made available from the Facility and shall not exceed the overall allocation for investment financing by the Facility and by the EIB from its own resources.

11.  Interest subsidies may be capitalised or may be used in the form of grants to support project-related technical assistance, particularly for financial institutions in the OCTs.

Article 3

Operations of the Facility

1.  The Facility shall operate in all economic sectors and support investments of private and commercially run public sector entities, including revenue generating economic and technological infrastructure critical for the private sector. The Facility shall:

2.  The EIB shall be remunerated for the cost incurred in managing the Facility. The remuneration of the EIB shall include a fixed component of 0,5 % a year of the initial endowment and a variable component of an amount of up to 1,5 % a year of the portfolio of the Facility that is invested in projects in OCTs. The remuneration shall be financed out of the Facility.

3.  Upon expiry of this Decision, and in the absence of a specific decision by the Council, the cumulative net reflows to the Facility shall be carried over to the next OCTs Financial Instrument.

Article 4

Conditions for foreign exchange rate risk

In order to minimise the effects of exchange rate fluctuations, the problems of exchange rate risk shall be dealt with in the following way:

Article 5

Financial controls

1.  Investment Facility operations shall be subject to the control and discharge procedure laid down in the Statutes of the EIB for all of its operations.

2.  The ECA’s supervision of Investment Facility operations shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures agreed upon between the Commission, the EIB and the ECA, and in particular the Tripartite Agreement between the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank of 27 October 2003, as amended, supplemented or modified from time to time.

Article 6

Privileges and immunities

1.  The representatives of the EIB, while they are engaged in activities connected with or in implementation of this Decision, shall enjoy in the OCTs the customary privileges, immunities and facilities while carrying out their duties and while travelling to or from the place at which they are required to carry out such duties.

2.  For its official communications and the transmission of all its documents, the EIB shall enjoy in the territory of the OCTs the treatment accorded to international organisations.

3.  Official correspondence and other official communications of the EIB shall not be subject to censorship.

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ANNEX V

UNION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: ADDITIONAL SUPPORT IN THE EVENT OF SHORT-TERM FLUCTUATIONS IN EXPORT EARNINGS

Article 1

Principles

1.  The degree of dependence of an OCTs economy on the export of goods, and in particular from agricultural, fisheries and mining products shall be a criterion for determining the allocation of long-term development.

2.  In order to mitigate the adverse effects of instability of export earnings and safeguard the development programme jeopardised by the drop in revenue, additional financial support may be mobilised from the programmable resources for the country’s long-term development on the basis of Articles 2 and 3 of this Annex.

Article 2

Eligibility criteria

1.  Eligibility for additional resources shall be established by:

2.  Entitlement to additional support shall be limited to four successive years.

3.  The additional resources shall be reflected in the public accounts of the country concerned. They shall be utilised in accordance with the implementing provisions to be laid down pursuant to Article 85 of this Decision. By agreement of both Parties the resources may be used to finance programmes included in the national budget. However a part of the additional resources may also be set aside for specific sectors.

Article 3

Advances

The system for allocating additional resources shall provide for advances to cover any delays in obtaining consolidated trade statistics and to ensure that the resources in question can be included in the budget of the year following the application year. Advances shall be mobilised on the basis of provisional export statistics drawn up by the authorities of the OCTs and submitted to the Commission in advance of the official final consolidated statistics. The maximum advance shall be 80 % of the estimated amount of additional resources for the application year. The amounts thus mobilised shall be adjusted by common agreement between the Commission and the authorities of the OCTs in the light of final consolidated export statistics and the final figure of the public deficit.

Article 4

Revision

The provisions in this Annex shall be subject to review at the latest after two years from the entry into force of the implementing provisions referred to in Article 85 of this Decision and subsequently at the request of the Commission, a Member State or an OCTs.

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ANNEX VI

CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT OF ‘ORIGINATING PRODUCTS’ AND METHODS OF ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE I:	General provisions
TITLE II:	Definition of the concept of originating products
TITLE III:	Territorial requirements
TITLE IV:	Proofs of origin
TITLE V:	Arrangements for administrative cooperation
TITLE VI:	Ceuta and Melilla
TITLE VII:	Final provisions
	Appendices I to VI

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Annex the following definitions apply:

TITLE II

DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT OF ORIGINATING PRODUCTS

Article 2

General requirements

1.  The following products shall be considered as originating in an OCT:

2.  Originating products made up of materials wholly obtained or sufficiently worked or processed in two or more OCTs shall be considered to be products originating in the OCT where the last working or processing took place.

Article 3

Wholly obtained products

1.  The following shall be considered to have been wholly obtained in an OCT:

2.  The terms ‘its vessels’ and ‘its factory ships’ in points (h) and (i) of paragraph 1 shall apply only to vessels and factory ships which meet each of the following requirements:

3.  The conditions of paragraph 2 may each be fulfilled in Member States or in different OCTs. In that case, the products shall be deemed to have the origin of the OCT where the vessel or factory ship is registered in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 2.

Article 4

Sufficiently worked or processed products

1.  Without prejudice to Articles 5 and 6 of this Annex, products which are not wholly obtained in an OCT within the meaning of Article 3 of this Annex shall be considered to originate there, provided that the conditions laid down in the list in Appendix I for the goods concerned are fulfilled.

2.  If a product which has acquired originating status in an OCT in accordance with paragraph 1 is further processed in that OCT and used as a material in the manufacture of another product, no account shall be taken of the non-originating materials which may have been used in its manufacture.

3.  The determination of whether the requirements of paragraph 1 are met shall be carried out for each product.

However, where the relevant rule is based on compliance with a maximum content of non-originating materials, in order to take into account fluctuations in costs and currency rates, the value of the non-originating materials may be calculated on an average basis as set out in paragraph 4.

4.  Where the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 applies, an average ex-works price of the product and average value of non-originating materials used shall be calculated respectively on the basis of the sum of the ex-works prices charged for all sales of the products carried out during the preceding fiscal year and the sum of the value of all the non-originating materials used in the manufacture of the products over the preceding fiscal year as defined in the country of export, or, where figures for a complete fiscal year are not available, a shorter period which should not be less than three months.

5.  Exporters having opted for calculations on an average basis shall consistently apply such a method during the year following the fiscal year of reference, or, where appropriate, during the year following the shorter period used as a reference. They may cease to apply such a method where during a given fiscal year, or a shorter representative period of no less than three months, they record that the fluctuations in costs or currency rates which justified the use of such a method have ceased.

6.  The averages referred to in paragraph 4 shall be used as the ex-works price and the value of non-originating materials respectively, for the purpose of establishing compliance with the maximum content of non-originating materials.

Article 5

Insufficient working or processing operations

1.  Without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article, the following operations shall be considered to be insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, whether or not the requirements of Article 4 of this Annex are satisfied:

2.  For the purposes of paragraph 1, operations shall be considered simple when neither special skills nor machines, apparatus or tools especially produced or installed for those operations are required for their performance.

3.  All the operations carried out in an OCT on a given product shall be taken into account when determining whether the working or processing undergone by that product is to be regarded as insufficient within the meaning of paragraph 1.

Article 6

Tolerances

1.  By way of derogation from Article 4 of this Annex and subject to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, non-originating materials which, according to the conditions set out in the list in Appendix I are not to be used in the manufacture of a given product may nevertheless be used, provided that their total value or net weight assessed for the product does not exceed:

2.  Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not allow that any of the percentages for the maximum content of non-originating materials as specified in the rules laid down in the list in Appendix I are exceeded.

3.  Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not apply to products wholly obtained in an OCT within the meaning of Article 3 of this Annex. However, without prejudice to Article 5 and Article 11(2) of this Annex, the tolerance provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall nevertheless apply to the sum of all the materials which are used in the manufacture of a product and for which the rule laid down in the list in Appendix I for that product requires that such materials be wholly obtained.

Article 7

Bilateral cumulation

1.  Without prejudice to Article 2 of this Annex, materials originating in the Union shall be considered to be materials originating in an OCT when incorporated into a product obtained there, provided that they have undergone working or processing which goes beyond the operations referred to in Article 5(1) of this Annex.

2.  Without prejudice to Article 2 of this Annex, working or processing carried out in the Union shall be considered to have been carried out in an OCT when the materials undergo subsequent working or processing there.

3.  For the purposes of cumulation as provided for in this Article, the origin of the materials shall be established in accordance with this Annex.

Article 8

Cumulation with EPA countries

1.  Without prejudice to Article 2 of this Annex, materials originating in the EPA countries shall be considered to be materials originating in an OCT when incorporated into a product obtained there, provided that they have undergone working or processing which goes beyond the operations referred to in Article 5(1) of this Annex.

2.  Without prejudice to Article 2 of this Annex, working or processing carried out in the EPA countries shall be considered to have been carried out in an OCT, when the materials undergo subsequent working or processing there.

3.  For the purposes of paragraph 1, the origin of the materials originating in an EPA country shall be determined in accordance with the rules of origin applicable to the EPA concerned and relevant provisions on proofs of origin and administrative cooperation.

The cumulation provided for in this Article shall not apply to materials originating in the Republic of South Africa which cannot be imported directly in the Union duty-free-quota-free in the framework of the EPA between the Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

4.  The cumulation provided for in this Article may only be applied provided that:

5.  Where EPA countries have already complied with paragraph 4 before 1 January 2014, a new undertaking shall not be required.

Article 9

Cumulation with other countries benefiting from duty-free quota-free access to the market of the Union under the Generalised System of Preferences

1.  Without prejudice to Article 2 of this Annex, materials originating in countries and territories set out in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be considered to be materials originating in an OCT when incorporated into a product obtained there, provided they have undergone working or processing which goes beyond the operations referred to in Article 5(1) of this Annex.

2.  For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, materials shall originate from a country or territory:

3.  The origin of the materials of the countries or territories concerned shall be determined according to the rules of origin laid down, pursuant to Article 33 of Regulation (EU) No 978/2012, in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 ( 12 ).

4.  The cumulation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to the following:

The competent authorities of the OCTs shall notify the Commission on an annual basis of the materials, if any, to which cumulation under paragraph 1 of this Article has been applied.

5.  The cumulation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article may only be applied provided that:

6.  The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union (C series) the date on which the cumulation provided for in this Article may be applied with the countries or territories referred to in this Article which have fulfilled the necessary requirements.

Article 10

Extended cumulation

1.  The Commission may grant, at the request of an OCT, cumulation of origin between an OCT and a country with which the Union has a free-trade agreement in accordance with Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in force, provided that the following conditions are met:

The Commission, taking into account the risk of trade circumvention and specific sensitivities of materials to be used in cumulation, may establish additional conditions for granting the cumulation requested.

2.  The request referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall:

3.  The origin of the materials used and the documentary proof of origin shall be determined in accordance with the rules laid down in the relevant free-trade agreement. The origin of the products to be exported to the Union shall be determined in accordance with the rules of origin laid down in this Annex.

4.  In order for the obtained product to acquire originating status, it shall not be necessary that the materials originating in the third country and used in the OCT in the manufacture of the product to be exported to the Union have undergone sufficient working or processing, provided that the working or processing carried out in the OCT concerned goes beyond the operations described in Article 5(1) of this Annex.

5.  The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union (C series) the date on which the extended cumulation takes effect, the Union’s free trade agreement partner involved in that cumulation, the applicable conditions and the list of materials in relation to which the cumulation applies.

6.  The Commission shall adopt a measure granting the cumulation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2) of this Annex.

Article 11

Unit of qualification

1.  The unit of qualification for the application of the provisions of this Annex shall be the particular product which is considered to be the basic unit when determining classification using the Harmonized System.

2.  When a consignment consists of a number of identical products classified under the same heading, each individual item shall be taken into account when applying the provisions of this Annex.

3.  Where, under general rule 5 of the Harmonized System, packaging is included with the product for classification purposes, it shall be included for the purpose of determining origin.

Article 12

Accessories, spare parts and tools

Accessories, spare parts and tools dispatched with a piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle which are part of the normal equipment and included in the ex-works price thereof, shall be regarded as one with the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle in question.

Article 13

Sets

Sets, as defined in General Rule 3 for the interpretation of the Harmonized System, shall be regarded as originating when all the component products are originating products.

When a set is composed of originating and non-originating products, the set as a whole shall however be regarded as originating, provided that the value of the non-originating products does not exceed 15 % of the ex-works price of the set.

Article 14

Neutral elements

In order to determine whether a product is an originating product, no account shall be taken of the origin of the following which might be used in its manufacture:

Article 15

Accounting segregation

1.  If originating and non-originating fungible materials are used in the working or processing of a product, the customs authorities of the Member States may, at the written request of economic operators, authorise the management of materials in the Union using the accounting segregation method for the purposes of subsequent export to an OCT within the framework of bilateral cumulation, without keeping the materials on separate stocks.

2.  The customs authorities of the Member States may make the granting of authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 subject to any conditions they deem appropriate.

The authorisation shall be granted only if by use of the method referred to in paragraph 3 it can be ensured that, at any time, the number of products obtained which could be considered as originating in the Union is the same as the number that would have been obtained by using a method of physical segregation of the stocks.

If authorised, the method shall be applied and the application thereof shall be recorded on the basis of the general accounting principles applicable in the Union.

3.  The beneficiary of the method referred to in paragraph 2 shall make out or, until the application of the REX system, apply for proofs of origin for the quantity of products which may be considered as originating in the Union. At the request of the customs authorities of the Member States, the beneficiary shall provide a statement of how the quantities have been managed.

4.  The customs authorities of the Member States shall monitor the use made of the authorisation referred to in paragraph 1.

They may withdraw the authorisation in the following cases:

Article 16

Derogations

1.  Upon the Commission’s initiative or in response to a request from a Member State or an OCT, an OCT may be granted a temporary derogation from this Annex in any of the following cases:

2.  The request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be addressed to the Commission in writing, by means of the form set out in Appendix II. It shall state the reasons for the request and shall contain appropriate supporting documents.

3.  The examination of requests shall in particular take into account:

4.  The Commission shall respond positively to all the requests which are duly justified in conformity with this Article and which cannot cause serious injury to an established Union industry.

5.  The Commission shall take the steps necessary to ensure that a decision is reached as quickly as possible and shall endeavour to adopt its position within 75 working days of its receipt of the request.

6.  The temporary derogation shall be limited to the duration of the effects of the internal or external factors giving rise to it or to the length of time needed for the OCT to achieve compliance with the rules or to fulfil the targets which have been set by the derogation, taking into account the particular situation of the OCT concerned and its difficulties.

7.  When a derogation is granted, it is subject to compliance with any requirements laid down as to information to be provided to the Commission concerning the use of the derogation and the management of the quantities for which the derogation was granted.

8.  The Commission shall adopt a measure granting a temporary derogation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2) of this Annex.

TITLE III

TERRITORIAL REQUIREMENTS

Article 17

Principle of territoriality

1.  Except as provided for in Articles 7 to 10 of this Annex, the conditions set out in this Annex for acquiring originating status shall be fulfilled without interruption in the OCT.

2.  If originating products exported from the OCT to another country are returned, they shall be considered to be non-originating unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the competent authorities of the OCT that:

Article 18

Non-manipulation clause

1.  The products declared for release for free circulation in the Union shall be the same products as exported from the OCT in which they are considered to originate. They shall not have been altered, transformed in any way or subjected to operations other than operations to preserve them in good condition, prior to being declared for release for free circulation. Storage of products or consignments and splitting of consignments may take place where carried out under the responsibility of the exporter or of a subsequent holder of the goods and the products remain under customs supervision in the country or countries of transit.

2.  The customs authorities shall consider the declarant to have complied with paragraph 1 unless they have reason to believe the contrary. In such cases, the customs authorities may request the declarant to provide evidence of compliance, which may be given by any means, including contractual transport documents such as bills of lading or factual or concrete evidence based on marking or numbering of packages or any evidence related to the goods themselves.

3.  Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis when cumulation under Articles 7 to 10 of this Annex applies.

Article 19

Exhibitions

1.  Originating products, sent from an OCT for exhibition in a country other than an OCT, an EPA country or a Member State and sold after the exhibition for importation in the Union shall benefit on importation from the provisions of the Decision, provided it is shown to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that:

2.  A proof of origin shall be issued or made out in accordance with Title IV of this Annex and submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country in the normal manner. The name and address of the exhibition shall be indicated thereon. Where necessary, additional documentary evidence of the conditions under which they have been exhibited may be required.

3.  Paragraph 1 shall apply to any trade, industrial, agricultural or crafts exhibition, fair or similar public show or display which is not organised for private purposes in shops or business premises with a view to the sale of foreign products, and during which the products remain under customs control.

TITLE IV

PROOFS OF ORIGIN

SECTION 1

General requirements

Article 20

Amounts expressed in euros

1.  For the application of Articles 29 and 30 of this Annex in cases where products are invoiced in a currency other than the euro, amounts in the national currencies of the Member States equivalent to the amounts expressed in euros shall be fixed annually by each of the countries concerned.

2.  A consignment shall benefit from Articles 29 and 30 of this Annex by reference to the currency in which the invoice is drawn up.

3.  The amounts to be used in any given national currency shall be the equivalent in that currency of the amounts expressed in euros as at the first working day of October of each year. The amounts shall be communicated to the Commission by 15 October and shall apply from 1 January the following year. The Commission shall notify all countries concerned of the relevant amounts.

4.  A Member State may round up or down the amount resulting from the conversion into its national currency of an amount expressed in euros. The rounded-off amount may not differ from the amount resulting from the conversion by more than 5 per cent. A Member State may retain unchanged its national currency equivalent of an amount expressed in euros if, at the time of the annual adjustment provided for in paragraph 3, the conversion of that amount, prior to any rounding-off, results in an increase of less than 15 per cent in the national currency equivalent. The national currency equivalent may be retained unchanged if the conversion would result in a decrease in that equivalent value.

5.  The amounts expressed in euros and their equivalents in national currencies of some Member States shall be reviewed by the Commission on its own initiative or at the request of a Member State or an OCT. When carrying out this review, the Commission shall consider the desirability of preserving the effects of the limits concerned in real terms. For this purpose, it may decide to modify the amounts expressed in euros.

SECTION 2

Procedures at export in the OCT

Article 21

General requirements

Benefits from this Decision shall apply in the following cases:

Article 22

Request for registration

1.  To be registered, exporters shall lodge an application with the competent authorities of the OCT referred to in Article 39(1) of this Annex, using the form a model of which is set out in Appendix V.

2.  The application shall be accepted by the competent authorities of the OCT only if it is complete.

3.  The registration shall be valid as of the date on which the competent authorities of the OCTs receive a complete application for registration, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2.

4.  An exporter established in an OCT and already registered in the REX system for the purposes of the GSP scheme of Norway or Switzerland shall not be required to lodge an application with the competent authorities of the OCT to be registered for the purposes of this Decision.

Article 23

Registration

1.  The competent authorities of the OCTs shall upon receipt of the complete application form referred to in Appendix III assign without delay the number of registered exporter to the exporter and enter into the REX system the number of registered exporter, the registration data and the date from which the registration is valid in accordance with Article 22(3) of this Annex.

The competent authorities of the OCTs shall inform the exporter of the number of registered exporter assigned to that exporter and of the date from which the registration is valid.

The competent authorities of the OCTs shall keep the data registered by them up to date. They shall modify those data immediately after having been informed by the registered exporter in accordance with Article 24(1) of this Annex.

2.  The registration shall contain the following information:

Article 24

Revocation of the registration

1.  Registered exporters who no longer meet the conditions for exporting any goods benefiting from this Decision, or no longer intend to export such goods, shall inform the competent authorities of the OCTs who shall immediately remove them from the record of registered exporters kept in that OCT.

2.  Without prejudice to the system of penalties and sanctions applicable in the OCTs, where registered exporters intentionally or negligently draw up, or cause to be drawn up, a statement on origin or any supporting document which contains incorrect information which leads to irregularly or fraudulently obtaining the benefit of preferential tariff treatment, the competent authorities of the OCT shall revoke the exporter from the record of registered exporters kept by the OCT concerned.

3.  Without prejudice to the possible impact of irregularities found on pending verifications, revocation from the record of registered exporters shall take effect for the future, i.e. in respect of statements made out after the date of revocation.

4.  Exporters who have been revoked from the record of registered exporters by the competent authorities of an OCT in accordance with paragraph 2 may only be re-introduced into the record of registered exporters once they have proved to the competent authorities of that OCT that they have remedied the situation which led to their revocation.

5.  If an exporter has been revoked from the record of registered exporters by the competent authorities of the OCT in accordance with the GSP legislation of Norway or Switzerland, the revocation shall also apply for the purposes of this Decision.

Article 25

Supporting documents

1.  Exporters, registered or not, shall comply with the following obligations:

2.  The records referred to in point (d) of paragraph 1 may be electronic but shall allow the materials used in the manufacture of the exported products to be traced and their originating status to be confirmed.

3.  The obligations provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall also apply to suppliers who provide exporters with the supplier’s declaration referred to in Article 27 of this Annex.

Article 26

Statement on origin and information for cumulation purpose

1.  A statement on origin shall be made out by the exporter when the products to which it relates are exported, if the goods concerned can be considered as originating in the OCT.

2.  By derogation from paragraph 1, a statement on origin may exceptionally be made out after exportation (‘retrospective statement’) on condition that it is presented in the Member State of declaration for release for free circulation no longer than two years after the export.

3.  The statement on origin shall be provided by the exporter to his customer in the Union and shall contain the particulars specified in Appendix IV. A statement on origin shall be made out in either English or French.

It may be made out on any commercial document allowing to identify the exporter concerned and the goods involved.

4.  For the purposes of Article 2(2) of this Annex or of bilateral cumulation under Article 7 of this Annex:

In cases where the first subparagraph applies, the statement on origin made out by the exporter shall, as the case may be, contain the indication ‘EU cumulation’, ‘OCT cumulation’ or ‘cumul UE’, ‘cumul PTOM’.

5.  For the purposes of cumulation with an EPA country under Article 8 of this Annex:

In cases where the first subparagraph applies, the statement on origin made out by the exporter shall contain the indication ‘cumulation with EPA country [name of the country]’ or ‘cumul avec le pays APE [nom du pays]’.

6.  For the purposes of cumulation with other countries benefiting from duty-free quota-free access to the market of the Union under GSP under Article 9 of this Annex, the evidence of originating status shall be given by the proofs of origin provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, provided to the exporter by the supplier in the GSP country from which the materials came.

In this case, the statement on origin made out by the exporter shall contain the indication ‘cumulation with GSP country [name of the country]’ or ‘cumul avec le pays SPG [nom du pays]’.

7.  For the purposes of extended cumulation under Article 10 of this Annex, the evidence of originating status of the materials coming from a country with which the Union has a free-trade agreement shall be given by means of a proof of origin issued or made out in accordance with the provisions of that free-trade agreement, provided to the exporter by the supplier in the country from which the materials came.

In cases where the first subparagraph applies, the statement on origin made out by the exporter shall contain the indication ‘extended cumulation with country [name of the country]’ or ‘cumul étendu avec le pays [nom du pays]’.

Article 27

Supplier’s declaration

1.  For the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 26(4) and point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 26(5) of this Annex, a supplier’s declaration shall be made out by the supplier for each consignment of materials on the commercial invoice related to that shipment or in an annex to that invoice, or on a delivery note or other commercial document related to that shipment which describes the materials concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified. A specimen of the supplier’s declaration is set out in Appendix V.

2.  When a supplier regularly supplies a particular customer with goods whose status in respect of the rules of preferential origin is expected to remain constant for considerable periods of time, he may provide a single declaration (‘a long-term supplier’s declaration’), provided that facts or circumstances on which it is granted remain unchanged, to cover subsequent shipments of those goods.

A long-term supplier’s declaration may be issued for a period of up to one year from the date of issue of the declaration. A long-term supplier’s declaration may be issued with retroactive effect. In such cases, its validity may not exceed a period of one year from the date on which it came into effect. The period of validity shall be indicated in the long-term supplier’s declaration.

The customs authority may revoke a long-term supplier’s declaration, should the circumstances change, or when inaccurate or false information has been provided.

The supplier shall inform the client immediately when the long-term supplier’s declaration is no longer valid in relation to the goods supplied.

3.  A supplier’s declaration may be made out on a pre-printed form.

4.  The suppliers’ declarations shall be signed in manuscript. However, where the invoice and the supplier’s declaration are established using electronic data-processing methods, the supplier’s declaration need not be signed in manuscript, provided that the responsible officer in the supplying company is identified to the satisfaction of the customs authorities in the country or territory where the suppliers’ declarations were established. Such customs authorities may lay down conditions for the implementation of this paragraph.

Article 28

Proof of origin

1.  A statement on origin shall be made out for each consignment.

2.  A statement on origin shall be valid for twelve months from the date of its making out by the exporter.

3.  A single statement on origin may cover several consignments if the goods meet the following conditions:

SECTION 3

Procedures at release for free circulation in the Union

Article 29

Submission of proof of origin

1.  The customs declaration for release for free circulation shall make reference to the statement on origin. The statement on origin shall be kept at the disposal of the customs authorities, which may request its submission for the verification of the declaration. Those authorities may also require a translation of the statement into the official language, or one of the official languages, of the Member State concerned.

2.  Where the application of the benefits from this Decision is requested by the declarant, without a statement on origin being in his possession at the time of the acceptance of the customs declaration for release for free circulation, that declaration shall be considered to be a simplified declaration within the meaning of Article 166 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 13 ) and treated accordingly.

3.  Before declaring goods for release for free circulation, the declarant shall take due care that the goods comply with this Annex by, in particular, checking:

Article 30

Exemption from proof of origin

1.  The following products shall be exempted from the obligation to make out and produce a statement on origin:

2.  The products referred to in paragraph 1 shall meet the following conditions:

3.  For the purposes of point (a) of paragraph 2, imports shall not be considered to be imports by way of trade if all the following conditions are met:

Article 31

Discrepancies and formal errors

1.  The discovery of slight discrepancies between the particulars included in a statement on origin and those mentioned in the documents submitted to the customs authorities for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the products shall not ipso facto render the statement on origin invalid if it is duly established that that document does correspond to the products concerned.

2.  Obvious formal errors such as typing errors on a statement on origin shall not cause this document to be rejected if these errors are not such as to create doubts concerning the correctness of the statements made in that document.

Article 32

Validity of statements on origin

Statements on origin which are submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country after the period of validity mentioned in Article 28(2) of this Annex may be accepted for the purpose of applying the tariff preferences, where failure to submit these documents by the final date set is due to exceptional circumstances. In other cases of belated presentation, the customs authorities of the importing country may accept the statements on origin where the products have been presented to customs before that final date.

Article 33

Procedure for importation by instalments

1.  The procedure referred to in Article 28(3) of this Annex shall apply for a period determined by the customs authorities of the Member States.

2.  The customs authorities of the Member States of importation supervising the successive releases for free circulation shall verify that the successive consignments are part of the dismantled or non-assembled products for which the statement on origin has been made out.

Article 34

Verification of statements on origin

1.  The customs authorities may, where they have doubts with regard to the originating status of the products request the declarant to produce, within a reasonable time period which they shall specify, any available evidence for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the indication of origin on the statement or the compliance with the conditions set out in Article 18 of this Annex.

2.  The customs authorities may suspend the application of the preferential tariff measure for the duration of the verification procedure laid down in Article 43 of this Annex where:

3.  While awaiting either the information requested from the declarant, referred to in paragraph 1, or the results of the verification procedure, referred to in paragraph 2, release of the products shall be offered to the importer subject to any precautionary measures deemed necessary.

Article 35

Denial of preferences

1.  The customs authorities of the Member State of importation shall refuse entitlement to the benefits of this Decision, without being obliged to request any additional evidence or send a request for verification to the OCT where:

2.  The customs authorities of the Member State of importation shall refuse entitlement to the benefits of this Decision, following a request for verification within the meaning of Article 43 of this Annex addressed to the competent authorities of the OCTs, where the customs authorities of the Member State of importation:

TITLE V

ARRANGEMENTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

SECTION 1

General requirements

Article 36

General principles

1.  In order to ensure the proper application of the preferences, OCTs shall:

2.  The cooperation referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall consist of:

3.  OCTs shall submit to the Commission, before 1 January 2020, a formal undertaking to comply with the requirements of paragraph 1.

Article 37

Publication requirements and compliance

1.  The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union (C Series) the list of OCTs and the date on which they are considered to have met the conditions referred to in Article 39 of this Annex. The Commission shall update that list when a new OCT fulfils the same conditions.

2.  Products originating in an OCT shall benefit, on release for free circulation in the Union, from the tariff preferences only on condition that they were exported on or after the date specified in the list referred to in paragraph 1.

3.  An OCT shall be considered to comply with Articles 36 and 39 of this Annex on the date on which it has:

Article 38

Penalties

Penalties shall be imposed on any person who draws up, or causes to be drawn up, a document which contains incorrect information for the purpose of obtaining a preferential treatment for products.

SECTION 2

Methods of administrative cooperation applicable for the REX system

Article 39

Communication of names and addresses of competent authorities of the OCTs

1.  The OCTs shall notify to the Commission the names and addresses of the authorities situated in their territory which are:

2.  The OCTs shall inform the Commission immediately of any changes to the information notified under paragraphs 1 and 2.

3.  The Commission shall send this information to the customs authorities of the Member States.

Article 40

Access rights to and publication of data from the REX system

1.  The Commission shall have access to consult all the data.

2.  The competent authorities of the OCTs shall have access to consult the data concerning exporters registered by them.

The Commission shall provide secure access to the REX system to the competent authorities of the OCTs.

3.  The Commission shall make the following data available to the public:

4.  The Commission shall make the following data available to the public if the exporter has consented thereto by signing box 6 of the form set out in Appendix III:

A refusal to sign box 6 shall not constitute a ground for refusing to register the exporter.

Article 41

Protection of data in the REX system

1.  The data registered by the competent authorities of the OCTs in the REX system shall be processed solely for the purposes of this Annex.

2.  Registered exporters shall be provided with the information laid down in Articles 14 to 16 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 14 ) or Articles 12 to 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 15 ), as applicable.

Registered exporters shall be provided with the information referred to in the first subparagraph via a notice attached to the application to become a registered exporter as set out in Appendix III to this Annex.

3.  Each competent authority of an OCT that has introduced data into the REX system shall be considered to be a controller with respect to the processing of those data.

The Commission shall be considered to be a joint controller with respect to the processing of all data to guarantee that the registered exporter will obtain his rights.

4.  The rights of registered exporters with regard to the processing of data listed in Appendix III to this Annex which are stored in the REX system and processed in national systems shall be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

5.  Member States who replicate in their national systems the data of the REX system to which they have access shall keep those replicated data up to date.

6.  The rights of registered exporters with regard to the processing of their registration data by the Commission shall be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

7.  Any request by a registered exporter to exercise the right of access, rectification, erasure or blocking of data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall be submitted to and processed by the controller of data.

Where a registered exporter has submitted such a request to the Commission without having tried to obtain his rights from the controller of data, the Commission shall forward that request to the controller of data of the registered exporter.

If the registered exporter fails to obtain his rights from the controller of data, the registered exporter shall submit such request to the Commission acting as controller. The Commission shall have the right to rectify, erase or block the data.

8.  The national supervisory data protection authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor, each acting within the scope of its respective competence, shall, as necessary:

Article 42

Control of origin

1.  For the purpose of ensuring compliance with the rules concerning the originating status of products, the competent authorities of the OCT shall carry out:

2.  The controls referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall ensure the continued compliance of exporters with their obligations. They shall be carried out at intervals determined on the basis of appropriate risk analysis criteria. For that purpose, the competent authorities of the OCTs shall require exporters to provide copies or a list of the statements on origin they have made out.

3.  The competent authorities of the OCTs shall have the right to call for any evidence and to carry out any inspection of the exporter’s accounts and, where appropriate, those of producers supplying the exporter, including at the premises, or any other check considered appropriate.

Article 43

Request for verification of statements on origin

1.  Subsequent verifications of statements on origin shall be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities of the Member States have reasonable doubts as to their authenticity, the originating status of the products concerned or the fulfilment of other requirements of this Annex.

Where the customs authorities of a Member State request the cooperation of the competent authorities of an OCT to carry out a verification of the validity of statements on origin, the originating status of products, or of both, it shall, where appropriate, indicate on its request the reasons why it has reasonable doubts on the validity of the statement on origin or the originating status of the products.

A copy of the statement on origin and any additional information or documents suggesting that the information given on that statement is incorrect may be forwarded in support of the request for verification.

The requesting Member State shall set a six-month initial deadline to communicate the results of the verification, starting from the date of the verification request.

2.  If in cases of reasonable doubt there is no reply within the period specified in paragraph 1 or if the reply does not contain sufficient information to determine the real origin of the products, a second communication shall be sent to the competent authorities of the OCT concerned. This communication shall set a further deadline of not more than six months.

Article 44

Verification of suppliers’ declarations

1.  Verification of suppliers’ declaration referred to in Article 27 of this Annex may be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities of the importing country have reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of the document or the accuracy or completeness of the information concerning the true origin of the materials in question.

2.  The customs authorities to which a supplier’s declaration is submitted may request the customs authorities of the country where the declaration was made to issue an information certificate, a specimen of which is set out in Appendix VI. Alternatively, the customs authorities to which a supplier’s declaration is submitted may request the exporter to produce an information certificate issued by the customs authorities of the country where the supplier’s declaration was made out.

A copy of the information certificate shall be preserved by the office which has issued it for at least three years.

3.  The requesting customs authorities shall be informed of the results of the verification as soon as possible. The results must be such as to indicate positively whether the declaration concerning the status of the materials is correct.

4.  For the purposes of verification, suppliers shall keep for at least three years a copy of the document containing the declaration together with all necessary evidence showing the true status of the materials.

5.  The customs authorities in the country where the supplier’s declaration is made out shall have the right to call for any evidence or to carry out any check which they consider appropriate in order to verify the correctness of any supplier’s declaration.

6.  Any statement on origin made out on the basis of an incorrect supplier’s declaration shall be considered invalid.

Article 45

Other provisions

1.  This Section and Section 2 of Title IV shall apply mutatis mutandis to:

2.  In the cases referred to in points (a) and (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, exporters shall be registered in the Union in accordance with Article 68 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.

TITLE VI

CEUTA AND MELILLA

Article 46

Ceuta and Melilla

1.  The provisions of this Annex concerning the issue, use and subsequent verification of proofs of origin shall apply mutatis mutandis to products exported from an OCT to Ceuta and Melilla and to products exported from Ceuta and Melilla to an OCT for the purposes of bilateral cumulation.

2.  Ceuta and Melilla shall be considered to be a single territory.

3.  The Spanish customs authorities shall be responsible for the application of this Annex in Ceuta and Melilla.

TITLE VII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 47

Committee procedure

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by the Customs Code Committee established by Article 285 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. 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.

3.  Where the opinion of the committee is to be obtained by written procedure and reference is made to this paragraph, that procedure shall be terminated without result when, within the time-limit for delivery of the opinion, the chair of the committee so decides.

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Appendix I

INTRODUCTORY NOTES AND LIST OF WORKING OR PROCESSING OPERATIONS WHICH CONFER ORIGINATING STATUS

INTRODUCTORY NOTES

Note 1 – General introduction

This Appendix lays down the conditions pursuant to Article 4 of this Annex under which products shall be considered to originate in the OCT concerned. There are four different types of rules, which vary according to the product:

Note 2 – The structure of the list

Note 3 – Examples of how to apply the rules

Note 4 – General provisions concerning certain agricultural goods

Note 5 – Terminology used in respect of certain textile products

Note 6 – Tolerances applicable to products made of a mixture of textile materials

Note 7 – Other tolerances applicable to certain textile products

Note 8 – Definition of specific processes and simple operations carried out in respect of certain products of Chapter 27

List of products and working or processing operations which confer originating status

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Appendix II

APPLICATION FOR A DEROGATION

1.    COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT

1.1    Customs classification (H.S. code)

2.    COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION OF NON-ORIGINATING MATERIALS

2.1    Customs classification (H. S. code)

3.    ANTICIPATED ANNUAL QUANTITY OF EXPORTS TO THE UNION (EXPRESSED IN WEIGHT, N° OF ARTICLES, METERS OR OTHER UNIT)

4.    VALUE OF FINISHED PRODUCTS

5.    VALUE OF THE NON-ORIGINATING MATERIALS

6.    ORIGIN OF NON-ORIGINATING MATERIALS

7.    REASONS WHY THE RULE OF ORIGIN FOR THE FINISHED PRODUCT CANNOT BE FULFILLED

8.    DURATION REQUESTED FOR DEROGATION

9.    POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS TO OVERCOME THE NEED FOR A DEROGATION

10.    INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY

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Appendix III

APPLICATION TO BECOME A REGISTERED EXPORTER

for the purpose of registering exporters in the OCTs in the context of the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union

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Appendix IV

STATEMENT ON ORIGIN

To be made out on any commercial documents showing the name and full address of the exporter and consignee as well as a description of the goods and the date of issue

French version

L’exportateur (Numéro d’exportateur enregistré – excepté lorsque la valeur des produits originaires contenus dans l’envoi est inférieure à EUR 10 000  ( 17 )) des produits couverts par le présent document déclare que, sauf indication claire du contraire, ces produits ont l’origine préférentielle … ( 18 ) au sens des règles d’origine de la Décision d’association des pays et territoires d’outre-mer et que le critère d’origine satisfait est … … ( 19 )

English version

The exporter (number of registered exporter – unless the value of the consigned originating products does not exceed EUR 10 000  (17) ) of the products covered by this document declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of … preferential origin (18)  according to rules of origin of the Decision on the association of the overseas countries and territories and that the origin criterion met is … … (19) 

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Appendix V

SUPPLIER’S DECLARATION FOR PRODUCTS NOT HAVING PREFERENTIAL ORIGINAL STATUS

I, the undersigned, declare that the goods listed on this invoice … (1)

were produced in … (2)

and incorporate the following components or materials which do not have EPA, OCT or European Union originating status for preferential trade:

… (3) … (4) … (5)

…

…

… (6)

I undertake to make available to the customs authorities, if required, evidence in support of this declaration.

… (7) … (8)

… (9)

Note

The above mentioned text, suitably completed in conformity with the footnotes below, constitutes a supplier’s declaration. The footnotes do not have to be reproduced.

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Appendix VI

INFORMATION CERTIFICATE

▼B

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ANNEX VII

TEMPORARY WITHDRAWAL OF PREFERENCES

Article 1

Principles concerning the withdrawal of preferences

1.  The preferential arrangements provided for under Article 43 of this Decision may be withdrawn temporarily, in respect of all or of certain products originating in an OCTs, in cases of:

2.  The administrative cooperation referred to in paragraph 1 requires, inter alia, that an OCTs:

Article 2

Withdrawal of preferential arrangements

1.  The Commission may temporarily withdraw the preferential arrangements provided for in this Decision, in respect of all or of certain products originating in a beneficiary country, where it considers that there is sufficient evidence that a temporary withdrawal would be justified for the reasons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 1 of this Annex, provided that it has first:

The Commission shall inform the OCTs(s) concerned of any decision taken in accordance with this paragraph, before it becomes effective. The Commission shall also notify the Committee referred to in Article 10 of Annex VIII.

2.  The period of temporary withdrawal shall not exceed six months. On conclusion of that period, the Commission shall decide either to terminate the temporary withdrawal after informing the Committee referred to in Article 10 of Annex VIII or to extend the period of temporary withdrawal in accordance with the procedure referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

3.  Member States shall communicate to the Commission all relevant information that may justify the withdrawal of preferences, its extension or its termination.

Article 3

Committee procedure

1.  For the purpose of the implementation of Article 2 of this Annex, the Commission shall be assisted by the Committee referred to in Article 10 of Annex VIII.

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

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ANNEX VIII

SAFEGUARD AND SURVEILLANCE PROCEDURES

Article 1

Definitions relative to surveillance and safeguard measures

For the purpose of the Articles 2 to 10 of this Annex relating to surveillance and safeguard measures:

Article 2

Principles of safeguard measures

1.  Where a product originating in an OCTs referred to in Article 43 of this Decision is imported in volumes and/or at prices which cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties to Union producers of like or directly competing products, the necessary safeguard measures may be taken in accordance with the provisions below.

2.  For the purpose of implementing paragraph 1, priority shall be given to such measures as would least disturb the functioning of the Association. These measures shall not exceed the limits of what is strictly necessary to remedy the difficulties that have arisen. They cannot exceed the withdrawal of the preferential treatment granted by this Decision.

3.  When safeguard measures are taken or modified, particular attention shall be paid to the interests of the OCTs involved.

Article 3

Initiation of proceedings

1.  The Commission shall investigate whether safeguard measures should be taken if there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the conditions of Article 2 of this Annex are met.

2.  An investigation shall be initiated upon request by a Member State, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of Union producers, or on the Commission’s own initiative if it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient prima facie evidence, as determined on the basis of factors referred to in Article 2 of this Annex, to justify such initiation. The request to initiate an investigation shall contain evidence that the conditions for imposing the safeguard measure set out in Article 2 of this Annex are met. The request shall be submitted to the Commission. The Commission shall, as far as possible, examine the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided in the request to determine whether there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation.

3.  Where it is apparent that there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding, the Commission shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Initiation shall take place within one month of the request received pursuant to paragraph 2. Should an investigation be initiated, the notice shall provide all necessary details about the procedure and deadlines, including the possibility of recourse to the Hearing Officer of the Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission.

4.  The rules and procedures concerning the conduct of the investigation are laid down in Article 4 of this Annex.

5.  If the OCTs authorities so require and without prejudice to the deadlines referred to in this Article, a trilateral consultation referred to in Article 14 of this Decision shall be organised. The outcome of the trilateral consultation shall be transmitted to the consultative committee.

Article 4

Investigations

1.  Following the initiation of the proceeding, the Commission shall commence an investigation. The period as set out in paragraph 3 shall start on the day the decision to initiate the investigation is published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.  The Commission may request Member States to supply information and Member States shall take whatever steps are necessary in order to give effect to any such request. If that information is of general interest and is not confidential within the meaning of Article 9 of this Annex, it shall be added to the non-confidential files as provided for in paragraph 8.

3.  The investigation shall be concluded within 12 months of its initiation.

4.  The Commission shall seek all information it considers necessary to make a determination with regard to the conditions set out in Article 2 of this Annex, and, where it considers it appropriate, endeavour to verify that information.

5.  In the investigation the Commission shall evaluate all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of the Union industry, in particular, the market share, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilisation, profits and losses, and employment. This list is not exhaustive and other relevant factors may also be taken into consideration by the Commission.

6.  Interested parties who have come forward within the period laid down in the notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union and representatives of the OCTs concerned may, upon written request, inspect all information made available to the Commission in connection with the investigation other than internal documents prepared by the Union authorities or those of the Member States, provided that that information is relevant to the presentation of their case and not confidential within the meaning of Article 9 of this Annex and that it is used by the Commission in the investigation. Interested parties who have come forward may communicate their views on the information to the Commission. Those views shall be taken into consideration where they are backed by sufficient prima facie evidence.

7.  The Commission shall ensure that all data and statistics which are used for the investigation are available, comprehensible, transparent and verifiable.

8.  The Commission shall hear the interested parties, in particular where they have made a written application within the period laid down in the notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union, showing that they are actually likely to be affected by the outcome of the investigation and that there are special reasons for them to be heard orally. The Commission shall hear such parties on further occasions if there are special reasons for them to be heard again.

9.  When information is not supplied within the time limits set by the Commission, or the investigation is significantly impeded, findings may be made on the basis of the facts available. Where the Commission finds that any interested party or third party has supplied it with false or misleading information, it shall disregard that information and may make use of the facts available.

10.  The Commission shall notify the OCTs concerned in writing of the initiation of an investigation.

Article 5

Prior surveillance measures

1.  The products originating in the OCTs referred to in Article 43 of this Decision may be subject to special surveillance.

2.  Prior surveillance measures shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 10 of this Annex.

3.  Prior surveillance measures shall have a limited period of validity. Unless otherwise provided, they shall cease to be valid at the end of the second six-month period following the first six months after the measures were introduced.

4.  The Commission and the competent OCTs authorities shall ensure the effectiveness of the surveillance measures by introducing the methods of administrative cooperation set out in Annexes VI and VII.

Article 6

Imposition of provisional safeguard measures

1.  On duly justified grounds of urgency relating to deterioration of the economic and/or financial situation of Union producers which would be difficult to remedy, provisional measures may be imposed. Provisional measures shall not apply for more than 200 days. Provisional measures shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 10 of this Annex. In cases of imperative grounds of urgency, the Commission shall adopt immediately applicable provisional safeguard measures in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 10 of this Annex.

2.  Should the provisional safeguard measures be repealed because the investigation shows that the conditions set out in Article 2 are not met, any customs duty collected as a result of those provisional measures shall be refunded automatically.

Article 7

Imposition of definitive measures

1.  Where the facts as finally established show that the conditions set out in Article 2 are not met, the Commission shall adopt a decision terminating the investigation and proceeding in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 4. The Commission shall make public, with due regard to the protection of confidential information within the meaning of Article 9, a report setting forth its findings and reasoned conclusions reached on all pertinent issues of fact and law.

2.  Where the facts as finally established show that the conditions set out in Article 2 are met, the Commission shall adopt a decision imposing definitive safeguard measures in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 4 of this Annex. The Commission shall make public, with due regard to the protection of confidential information within the meaning of Article 9, a report containing a summary of the material facts and considerations relevant to the determination, and notify the OCTs authorities immediately of the decision to take the necessary safeguard measures

Article 8

Duration and review of safeguard measures

1.  A safeguard measure shall remain in force only for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy the serious injury and to facilitate adjustment. That period shall not exceed three years, unless it is extended under paragraph 2.

2.  The initial period of duration of a safeguard measure may exceptionally be extended by up to two years provided it is determined that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious difficulties.

3.  Any extension pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be preceded by an investigation upon a request by a Member State, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of the Union industry, or on the Commission’s own initiative if there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary.

4.  The initiation of an investigation shall be published in accordance with Article 4 and the safeguard measure shall remain in force, pending the outcome of the investigation. The investigation and any decision regarding an extension pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article shall be done in accordance with Articles 6 and 7.

Article 9

Confidentiality

1.  Information received pursuant to this Decision shall be used only for the purpose for which it was requested. Neither information of a confidential nature nor any information provided on a confidential basis received pursuant to this Decision shall be disclosed without specific permission from the supplier of such information.

2.  Each request for confidentiality shall state the reasons why the information is confidential. However, if the supplier of the information wishes neither to make it public nor to authorise its disclosure in general terms or in the form of a summary, and if it appears that the request for confidentiality is unjustified, the information concerned may be disregarded.

3.  Information shall, in any case, be considered to be confidential if its disclosure is likely to have a significantly adverse effect upon the supplier or the source of such information.

4.  Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not preclude reference by the Union authorities to general information and in particular to reasons on which decisions taken pursuant to this Decision are based. Those authorities shall, however, take into account the legitimate interest of natural and legal persons concerned that their business secrets should not be divulged.

Article 10

Committee procedure

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee established by Article 4(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 ( 20 ). That Committee shall be a Committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

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

4.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with Article 4 thereof, shall apply.

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( 1 ) Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste (OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1).

( 2 ) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 of 29 November 2007 concerning the export for recovery of certain waste listed in Annex III or IIIA to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council to certain countries to which the OECD Decision on the control of transboundary movements of wastes does not apply (OJ L 316, 4.12.2007, p. 6).

( 3 ) Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2000 on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues (OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 81).

( 4 ) Internal Agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council, on the financing of European Union aid under the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020, in accordance with the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, and on the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union applies (OJ L 210, 6.8.2013, p. 1).

( 5 ) Council Regulation (EC) No 617/2007 of 14 May 2007 on the implementation of the 10th European Development Fund under the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement (OJ L 152, 13.6.2007, p. 1).

( 6 ) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.

( 7 ) OJ L 287, 4.11.2010, p. 3.

( 8 ) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1).

( 9 ) Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities’ financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2).

( 10 ) Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 (OJ L 303, 31.10.2012, p. 1).

( 11 ) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558).

( 12 ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning certain provisions of the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 1).

( 13 ) Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

( 14 ) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

( 15 ) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

( 16 ) See additional explanatory Note 4(b) to Chapter 27 of the Combined Nomenclature.

( 17 ) Where the statement on origin replaces another statement, the subsequent holder of the goods establishing such a statement shall indicate his name and full address followed by the mention ‘acting on the basis of the statement on origin made out by [name and full address of the exporter in the OCT], registered under the following number [Number of Registered Exporter of the exporter in the OCT]’.

( 18 ) Country of origin of products to be indicated. When the statement on origin relates, in whole or in part, to products originating in Ceuta and Melilla within the meaning of Article 46 of this Annex, the exporter must clearly indicate those products in the document on which the statement is made out by means of the symbol ‘CM’.

(

19

) Products wholly obtained: enter the letter ‘P’; Products sufficiently worked or processed: enter the letter ‘W’ followed by the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (‘Harmonized System’) heading at the four-digit level of the exported product (example ‘W’ 9618); where appropriate, the above mention shall be replaced with one of the following indications:

( 20 ) Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the common rules for imports (OJ L 84, 31.3.2009, p. 1).