(1)

On 19 November 2013 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations on behalf of the Union in order to conclude a new international agreement on olive oil and table olives.

(2)

The text of the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2015 (‘the Agreement’) was adopted on 9 October 2015 by the representatives of 24 Member States of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and two intergovernmental organisations during the United Nations Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor Agreement to the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2005.

(3)

In accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2016/1892 (1), the Agreement was signed on behalf of the Union on 28 November 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

(4)

The Agreement entered into force provisionally on 1 January 2017 in accordance with Article 31(2) thereof.

(5)

The Council of Members is the decision-making organ of the International Olive Council and exercises all powers and performs all the functions necessary to achieve the objectives of the Agreement. The Commission should be authorised to represent the Union in the Council of Members.

(6)

In accordance with Article 19(2) of the Agreement, the Council of Members is able to amend the designations and definitions of olive oils, olive pomace oils and table olives provided for in Annexes B and C to the Agreement, and thus amend the Agreement.

(7)

In order to facilitate the adoption of such amendments to the Agreement by the Council of Members and to avoid the risk of not having a Union position, the Commission should be authorised to approve such proposed amendments on behalf of the Union, under specific substantive and procedural conditions.

(8)

In order to ensure that the approval by the Commission of the proposed amendments to Annexes B and C to the Agreement is in conformity with the conditions laid down in this Decision, the Commission should submit those proposed amendments sufficiently in advance to the Council.

(9)

The conformity of the proposed amendments submitted by the Commission to the Council should be assessed by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the governments of the Member States (‘Coreper’). The Commission should approve those proposed amendments unless a number of Member States representing a blocking minority of the Council in accordance with Article 16(4) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) objects to them in Coreper.

(10)

The Agreement should be approved,

(1)

The Commission shall ensure that the approval on behalf of the Union:

(2)

Before the Commission approves such proposed amendments on behalf of the Union, the Commission shall submit them to the Council sufficiently in advance and at least 15 working days before the session where the Council of Members is called upon to adopt those proposed amendments.

The conformity of the proposed amendments with the criteria laid down in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be assessed by Coreper.

The Commission shall approve the proposed amendments on behalf of the Union unless a number of Member States representing a blocking minority of the Council in accordance with Article 16(4) TEU object to them. If there is such a blocking minority, the Commission shall reject the proposed amendments on behalf of the Union.