THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/1076 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 applying the arrangements for products originating in certain states which are part of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States provided for in agreements establishing, or leading to the establishment of, Economic Partnership Agreements (1), and in particular Article 2(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)	Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/1076 lists the countries to which the market access arrangements provided for by that Regulation apply.

(2)

The Interim Agreement establishing a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement between the Eastern and Southern Africa States, on the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, on the other part (the ‘interim EPA’) (2) has been provisionally applied since 14 May 2012 for four (Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe) out of six States in the Eastern and Southern Africa region which signed and ratified the agreement.

(3)	On 7 February 2019, the Union of Comoros deposited the instrument of ratification of the interim EPA. Accordingly, the interim EPA is provisionally applicable between the Union and the Union of Comoros from that date.

(4)	Therefore, the Union of Comoros should be included in Annex I,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

In Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/1076 the following is inserted after the words ‘THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON’:

‘THE UNION OF COMOROS’

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.