COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2016/1885

of 18 October 2016

on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the People's Republic of China pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular first subparagraph of Article 207(4), in conjunction with point (a)(v) of the second subparagraph of Article 218(6) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1)	On 15 July 2013 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with certain other Members of the World Trade Organization under Article XXIV:6 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, in the course of the accession to the European Union of the Republic of Croatia.

(2)	Negotiations have been conducted by the Commission within the framework of the negotiating directives adopted by the Council.

(3)

Those negotiations have been concluded and an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the People's Republic of China pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union was initialled on 7 October 2015.

(4)	The Agreement was signed on behalf of the Union on 19 April 2016, subject to its conclusion at a later date, in accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2016/243 (2).

(5)	The Agreement should be approved,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the People's Republic of China pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union, is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

Article 2

The President of the Council shall designate the person empowered to proceed, on behalf of the Union, to the notification provided for in the Agreement, in order to express the consent of the European Union to be bound by the Agreement (3).

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Brussels, 18 October 2016.

For the Council

The President

M. LAJČÁK

(1) Position of the European Parliament of 15 September 2016.

(2) Council Decision (EU) 2016/243 of 12 February 2016 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the People's Republic of China pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedule of the Republic of Croatia in the course of its accession to the European Union (OJ L 45, 20.2.2016, p. 12).

(3) The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.