COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2026/1557

of 29 June 2026

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Trade Committee established by the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, on a revised list of arbitrators in accordance with Article 14.18 thereof and on a revised list of experts in accordance with Article 13.15 thereof

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(9), thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1)	The Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (the ‘Agreement’), was concluded by the Union by means of Council Decision (EU) 2015/2169 (1).

(2)

Pursuant to Article 14.18 of the Agreement, the Trade Committee, established pursuant to Article 15.1 of the Agreement, is to establish a list of 15 individuals who are willing and able to serve as arbitrators (the ‘list of arbitrators’). By means of Decision No 2/2011 of 23 December 2011 (2), the Trade Committee established the list of arbitrators.

(3)

The Parties to the Agreement (the ‘Parties’) have expressed their wish to replace some of the Korean nationals, some of the nationals of Union Member States and some of the non-nationals serving as chairs on the list of arbitrators. In order for that replacement to take effect, it is necessary that the revised list of arbitrators be adopted by the Trade Committee.

(4)

Pursuant to Article 13.15(3) of the Agreement, the Parties are to agree on a list of at least 15 persons with expertise on the issues covered by the Chapter on trade and sustainable development of the Agreement who are willing and able to serve as panellists in accordance with Article 13.15 of the Agreement (the ‘experts’). By means of Decision No 2/2012 of 27 June 2012 (3), the EU-Korea Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development (the ‘Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development’) established a list of 18 experts. That list has been last revised in 2019 by means of Decision No 1/2019 (4) of the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development.

(5)	The Parties have expressed their wish to replace some of the non-nationals experts serving as chairs on the list of experts. In order for that replacement to take effect, it is necessary that the revised list of experts be adopted by the Trade Committee.

(6)	The Trade Committee is scheduled to adopt the revised list of arbitrators and the revised list of experts during its next meeting or, if earlier, by written procedure.

(7)	The Decisions of the Trade Committee will, if adopted, produce legal effects for the Union.

(8)	It is therefore appropriate to establish the position to be taken within the Trade Committee on the revised list of arbitrators and on the revised list of experts,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Trade Committee established by the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (the ‘Agreement’), on a revised list of individuals who are willing and able to serve as arbitrators in accordance with Article 14.18 of the Agreement shall be based on the draft decision of the Trade Committee attached to this Decision.

Article 2

The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Trade Committee established by the Agreement on a revised list of experts willing and able to serve as panellists in accordance with Article 13.15 of the Agreement shall be based on the draft decision of the Trade Committee attached to this Decision.

Article 3

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

Done at Luxembourg, 29 June 2026.

For the Council

The President

M. MOUSHOUTTAS

(1) Council Decision (EU) 2015/2169 of 1 October 2015 on the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (OJ L 307, 25.11.2015, p. 2, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2015/2169/oj).

(2) Decision No 2 of the EU-Korea Trade Committee of 23 December 2011 on the establishment of a list of arbitrators referred to in Article 14.18 of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (OJ L 58, 1.3.2013, p. 13, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2013/111(1)/oj).

(3) Decision No 2/2012 of the EU-Korea Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development of 27 June 2012 on the establishment of a Panel of Experts referred to in Article 13.15 of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (OJ L 331, 1.12.2012, p. 54, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2012/742/oj).

(4) Decision No 1/2019 of the EU-Korea Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development of 30 September 2019 on a revised list of experts willing and able to serve as panellists in accordance with Article 13.15 of the Agreement (OJ L 264, 17.10.2019, p. 42, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2019/1734/oj).

ANNEX I

DECISION No [X]/2026 OF THE EU-KOREA TRADE COMMITTEE

of [Day and Month] 2026

on a revised list of individuals who are willing and able to serve as arbitrators in accordance with Article 14.18 of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part

THE TRADE COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 6 October 2010 (‘the Agreement’), and in particular Article 14.18 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)	The Agreement provides for a dispute settlement mechanism whereby disputes are solved through recourse to a panel of arbitrators.

(2)	In the event of a dispute, the Parties shall consult in order to reach an agreement on the composition of the arbitration panel and, failing this agreement, the panel shall be composed by drawing lots from a list of names.

(3)	On 23 December 2011, the EU-Korea Trade Committee adopted Decision No 2 (1) establishing a list of 15 individuals that may serve as arbitrators in the Panel procedures pursuant to Article 14.18 of the Agreement.

(4)

The Parties have expressed their wish to replace some of the Korean nationals, nationals of the Member States of the European Union and non-nationals serving as chairs on the list of arbitrators. In order for this amendment to take effect, the revised list of individuals should be approved by the EU-Korea Trade Committee.Therefore, the revised list of individuals who are willing and able to serve as arbitrators in accordance with Article 14.18 of the Agreement, as set out in the Annex to this Decision, should be adopted,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The list of individuals that may serve as arbitrators for the purposes of Article 14.18 of the Agreement is set out in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision takes effect on the date of its adoption.

For the Trade Committee

Co-chair of the Trade Committee of the European Union

[Name]

Co-chair of the Trade Committee of the Republic of Korea

[Name]

(1) Decision No 2 of the EU-Korea Trade Committee of 23 December 2011 on the establishment of a list of arbitrators referred to in Article 14.18 of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part.

ANNEX

LIST OF ARBITRATORS

Arbitrators proposed by Korea:

Insoo PYO

Seungwha CHANG

Sungjoon CHO

Joongi KIM

Jaemin LEE

Arbitrators proposed by the EU:

Mary FOOTER

Marcus KRAJEWSKI

Crenguta LEAUA

Joost PAUWELYN

Hélène RUIZ FABRI

Chairpersons:

William DAVEY

Merit JANOW

Penelope Jane RIDINGS

Valerie HUGHES

Marco Tulio MOLINA TEJEDA

ANNEX II

DECISION No [X]/2026 OF THE EU-KOREA TRADE COMMITTEE

of [Day and Month] 2026

on a revised list of experts who are willing and able to serve as panellists in accordance with Article 13.15 of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part

THE TRADE COMMITTEE,

Whereas:

(1)

Pursuant to Article 13.15(3) of the Agreement, the Parties are to establish a list of at least 15 persons willing and able to serve as panellists with regard to matters arising under Chapter 13 of the Agreement and who have expertise in the issues covered by that Chapter, notably on trade and sustainable development. Of those individuals, at least five are to be non-nationals of either Party and are to serve as chair of the Panel of Experts.

(2)

On 27 June 2012, the Parties have agreed within the EU-Korea Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development through Decision No 2/2012 (1) on the list establishing a roster of 18 experts that may serve as panellists. This list has been last revised in 2019 through Decision No 1/2019 (2) of the same Committee.

(3)	The Parties have expressed their wish to replace some of the non-nationals who may serve as chair of the Panel of Experts.

(4)	Therefore, the revised list of experts who are willing and able to serve as panellists in accordance with Article 13.15 of the Agreement, as set out in the Annex to this Decision, should be adopted,

(5)	In order for this amendment to take effect, the revised list of experts should be approved by the EU-Korea Trade Committee,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The revised list of experts that may serve as panellists for the purposes of Article 13.15 of the Agreement is set out in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision takes effect on the date of its adoption.

Done at [Brussels / Seoul], [Day and Month] 2026.

For the Trade Committee

Co-chair of the Trade Committee of the European Union

[Name]

Co-chair of the Trade Committee of the Republic of Korea

[Name]

(1) Decision No 2/2012 of the EU-Korea Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development of 27 June 2012 on the establishment of a Panel of Experts referred to in Article 13.15 of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part.

(2) Decision No 1/2019 of the EU-Korea Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development of 30 September 2019 on a revised list of experts willing and able to serve as panellists in accordance with Article 13.15 of the Agreement.

ANNEX

LIST OF EXPERTS

Experts named by the Republic of Korea:

Sung Wook LEE

Jaemin LEE

Chang Young KWON

Suh-Yong CHUNG

Taek-Whan HAN

Won-Mog CHOI

Experts named by the European Union:

Eddy LAURIJSSEN

Jorge CARDONA

Karin LUKAS

Hélène RUIZ FABRI

Laurence BOISSON DE CHAZOURNES

Geert VAN CALSTER

Chairpersons:

Brian LANGILLE

Kevin BANKS

Le HA THANH

Jill MURRAY

Ricardo MELÉNDEZ-ORTIZ

Nathalie BERNASCONI-OSTERWALDER