(1)

The International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015 (the ‘Agreement’) was concluded on behalf of the Union by Council Decision (EU) 2019/848 (1).

(2)

Pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Agreement, the Council of Members of the International Olive Council (the ‘Council of Members’) is to take decisions and adopt recommendations for the application of the provisions of the Agreement.

(3)

At its 119th session, to be held between 18 and 25 June 2024, the Council of Members is to adopt a decision amending the trade standard for olive oils and olive pomace oils, a decision to update methods for the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oils and a decision to correct the method to determine the content of waxes and ethyl esters of fatty acids by capillary column gas chromatography.

(4)

The decisions to be adopted at the 119th session of the Council of Members have been extensively discussed by scientific and technical experts on olive oil of the Commission and of the Member States. The decisions will contribute to the international harmonisation of standards for olive oils and will establish a framework which will ensure fair competition in the trading of products of the olive oil sector. The Union should therefore support the adoption of the decisions.

(5)

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on behalf of the Union within the Council of Members, as the decisions to be adopted will be binding 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 marketing standards for olive oil adopted by the Commission pursuant to Article 75 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2).

(6)

If the adoption of the decisions at the 119th 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 the procedure for adoption by the Council of Members by exchange of correspondence pursuant to Article 10(6) of the Agreement, provided that that procedure is initiated before the next regular session of the Council of Members in November 2024.

(7)

It should, however, be possible for the representatives of the Union in the Council of Members to agree to technical adaptations to other methods or documents of the IOC without further decision of the Council, if those technical adaptations result from amendments related to the revision of the trade standard, of the method for the organoleptic assessment for virgin olive oils or of the method to determine the content of waxes and ethyl esters of fatty acids by capillary column gas chromatography.

(8)

In order to safeguard the interests of the Union, the representatives of the Union in the Council of Members should, however, be allowed to request to postpone the adoption of the decisions to a later session of the Council of Members, if the position to be taken on behalf of the Union is likely to be affected by new scientific or technical information presented before or at the 119th session,