MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT LETTER OF CONCERN regarding the legal status of CETA and provisional application
The Council of the European Union The President of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, and The President of the Council meeting for Foreign Affairs / Trade Issues, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slavakia Copy: The Commission of the European Union, Commissioner Cecilia Malmström
The Hague, 5 July 2016
Dear president Tusk, dear minister Lajčák, In a side event to the plenary COSAC meeting, on 14 June this year in The Hague, Members of Parliament from several EU Member States met in the Senate to discuss their concerns regarding the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with Canada (CETA), its legal status and the possibility of provisional application of (parts of) CETA. A Letter of Concern was signed, reiterating the position taken by a majority of national parliamentary chambers in the EU in 2014 that CETA should be of a mixed EU and Member States competence. The letter also asks the Commission and the Council to desist from provisional application of all parts of CETA for which there could be any doubt regarding the legal status. On behalf of over 200 MPs that have signed the Letter of Concern to date, I send you this letter, the list of signatories and the letter of national parliaments to the European Commission dd 25 June 2014. We would appreciate your response well before any Council decisions the issues raised. Yours Sincerely, Tuur Elzinga Senator
P/a Tuur ELZINGA / Senate of the Dutch Parliament P.O.Box 20017, 2500 EA The Hague, The Netherlands T.Elzinga@EersteKamer.NL
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT โ จ
P/a Tuur ELZINGA / Senate of the Dutch Parliament
P.O.Box 20017, 2500 EA The Hague, The Netherlands
T.Elzinga@EersteKamer.NL
Letter of concern regarding CETA, mixity and provisional application
The Council of the European Union The President of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, The Commission of the European Union Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrรถm
The Hague, 14 June 2016
Dear president Tusk, dear commissioner Malmstrรถm, Members of national parliaments of the EU have been following with great interest the negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. We understand that the legal "scrubbing" has been completed and that the Council of the European Union discussed a draft text in its Foreign Affairs Council on Trade Issues on 13 May 2016. We also understand that the European Commission confirmed its intention to submit a proposal to the Council in June 2016 for the signature of CETA, and put forward its view on whether or not the EC considers the legal nature of the agreement text of a mixed EU and Member States competence. Furthermore, the Council might be asked to approve provisional application of (parts of) the agreement. We would like to point out that two years ago twenty national chambers of parliament from EU member states expressed their view to the European Commission that the legal nature of CETA should be considered as a mixed agreement, since it contains provisions that concern policy areas, such as certain elements of services, transport and investor protection, which are within the competences of member states. The chambers emphasized that they attach great importance that comprehensive trade agreements, such as CETA, are ratified by the national parliaments. To which the Commission has replied that they can only propose the nature of the text to the Council when the text is final, and that the Council decides how to sign the agreement.
The Council, after its recent meeting of 13 May, emphasized a view shared amongst ministers that CETA is of mixed EU and member state competence and should be signed and concluded as such. We want to reiterate that we are of that same view. As the new type of deep and comprehensive free trade agreements are not just any FTAs, but highly political agreements, we see a heated debate on which articles fall under whose competences in the EU treaties. Especially since these deep and comprehensive agreements are aimed to target 'behind the border regulations', i.e. European and national regulations. And regulatory cooperation and investment protection, including investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, may be in the interest of (some) foreign investors, but they may also affect EU and national law. An opinion of the European Court of Justice about the legal nature of a draft free trade agreement with Singapore will be relevant for determining which parts of CETA fall within the EU's competence and which parts must be considered the competence of member states. The Court's opinion has been requested by the Commission and is not expected before 2017. Beforehand it will be very hard to determine what parts are EU-only, without entering into a sensitive and politicized debate. Furthermore, the European Commission has been unable to answer questions from the European Parliament and others to specify when provisional application ends if the treaty is not ratified by all member states. This question became relevant after the Dutch no-vote in the referendum on the EU/Ukraine Association Treaty. For these reasons we ask the Commission and the Council to desist from provisional application of all parts of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with Canada for which there could be any doubt regarding the exclusive competence of the European Union. Furthermore we would like to receive a legal clarification of how long and under which circumstances the EU has the competence to provisionally apply a treaty, especially if one of its member states decides not to ratify that treaty. We look forward to your reaction and would appreciate receiving that reply well before the Council takes a decision on either of the addressed issues. Yours Sincerely,
Mr Tuur Elzinga
Mr Pieter Omtzigt
Member of the Eerste Kamer of the Dutch Parliament Member of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament
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Postbus 20018
Mr. K. de Gucht European Commissioner for Trade BE—1049 Brussels Belgium
2500 EA Den Haag Commissie Europese Zaken R. W. Knops Binnenhof 1a 2513 AA Den Haag
date 25 June 2014 Subject Letter in the framework of the political dialogue: the role of national parliaments in free trade agreements page 1/4
Dear Mr. De Gucht, The national parliaments of the EU have been following with great interest the negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and the EU. A recurring issue between the European Commission and the Council when agreements have been reached, is whether or not these types of comprehensive agreements should be considered as coming within the exclusive competence of the European Commission (so-called ‘EU-only’ agreements) or that that they concern both competences of the Commission and of the member states (mixed agreements). The chairs of relevant committees in national parliaments who are signatories to this letter believe that free trade agreements should be considered as mixed agreements, since they contain provisions that concern policy areas which are within the competences of the member states. For CETA, as well as TTIP (as well as can be foreseen at this stage), this is the case for certain elements of policy areas such as services, transport and investor protection. In the case of a mixed status, all Member-States, namely through their national Parliaments, have to ratify the agreement. In view of the important role national parliaments have in the democratic decision making process of the EU, we feel that it is of great importance that trade agreements such as CETA and TTIP are ratified by the national parliaments.
date
25 June 2014
Therefore, we ask you to consider comprehensive trade agreements such as TTIP and CETA as mixed agreements. We look forward to your reaction.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. R. W. KNOPS,
Tweede Kamer
Netherlands
Tweede Kamer
Netherlands
Nationalrat
Austria
Bundesrat
Austria
House of Representatives
Belgium
Chamber of Deputies
Czech Republic
Chairman of the committee on European Affairs Mr. R. DE ROON, Chairman of the committee on Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
Mr. K. KOPF, Chairman of the Standing Subcommittee on EU-Affairs Mr. E. MAYER, Chairman of the EU Committee Mr. A. FLAHAUT, President of the Belgian House of representatives and chair of the advisory committee on European Affairs Mr. O. BENESIK Chairman of the Committee for European Affairs
page 2/4
date
25 June 2014
Mr. M. KREJCA
Senate
Czech Republic
Assemblée nationale
France
Bundestag
Germany
National Assembly
Hungary
House of the Oireachtas
Ireland
Saeima
Latvia
Chamber of Deputies
Luxembourg
House of Representatives
Malta
Sejm
Poland
Chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs Ms. D. AUROI, Présidente de la Commission des Affaires européennes Mr. G. KRICHBAUM, Chairman of the Committee on Affairs of the European Union
Mr. R. HÖRCSIK Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs Mr. D. HANNIGAN Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs Ms. Z. KALNIŅA- LUKAŠEVICA Chair of the European Affairs Committee Mr. M. ANGEL Chairman of the Committee on foreign and European Affairs
Hon. L. BUSUTTIL Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs Ms. A. POMASKA Chair of the European Affairs Committee
page 3/4
date
25 June 2014
Mr. E. WITTBRODT
Senate
Poland
Assembly of the Republic
Portugal
National Council
Slovakia
National Assembly
Slovenia
House of Commons
United Kingdom
House of Lords
United Kingdom
Chairman of the EU Affairs Committee Mr. P. MOTA PINTO Chairman of the European Affairs Committee Mr. L. BLAHA Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs Mr. J. HORVAT Chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs Sir W. CASH Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee Lord T. BOSWELL Chairman of EU select Committee
page 4/4