(1)

The International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015 (the ‘Agreement’) was signed on behalf of the Union in accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2016/1892 (1) on 18 November 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, subject to its conclusion at a later date. The Agreement entered into force provisionally on 1 January 2017 in accordance with Article 31(2) thereof.

(2)

The Agreement was concluded on 17 May 2019 by Council Decision (EU) 2019/848 (2).

(3)

Pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Agreement, the Council of Members of the International Olive Council (the ‘Council of Members’) is to adopt decisions that modify trade standards applying to olive oils and olive pomace oils.

(4)

The Council of Members, during its 110th session from 25 November to 29 November 2019, is to adopt a decision modifying trade standards applying to olive oils and olive pomace oils (the ‘modifying decision’).

(5)

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Council of Members, as the modifying decision to be adopted will have legal effects on the Union as regards international trade with the other members of the International Olive Council (IOC) and will be capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law, namely on marketing standards concerning olive oil adopted by the Commission pursuant to Article 75 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).

(6)

The modifying decision to be adopted by the Council of Members concerns corrections of editing errors in sections related to purity criteria and quality criteria and the insertion of a new decision tree for lampante virgin olive oils. The modifying decision has been extensively discussed between scientific and technical experts of the Commission and of the Member States on olive oil. It will contribute to the international harmonisation of the olive oil standards and establish a framework which will ensure fair competition in the trading of products of the olive oil sector. The modifying decision should therefore be supported, and consequently amendments to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 (4) will be required.

(7)

If the adoption of the modifying decision during the 110th session of the Council of Members is postponed as a result of some Members not being in a position to give their approval, the position set out in the Annex to this Decision should be taken on behalf of the Union within the framework of a possible procedure for adoption by the Council of Members by exchange of correspondence, pursuant to Article 10(6) of the Agreement. The procedure for adoption by exchange of correspondence should be initiated before the next regular session of the Council of Members in June 2020.

(8)

In order to preserve the interests of the Union, the representatives of the Union in the Council of Members should be allowed to request to postpone the adoption of the modifying decision in the 110th session of the Council of Members if the relevance of the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf is likely to be affected by new scientific or technical information presented before or during that session,