letter

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
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 Malmström
The Hague, 14 June 2016
Dear president Tusk, dear commissioner Malmström,
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