Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 209(2), in conjunction with Article 218 (9) thereof,

Having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States of the other part^f1,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

Article 100 of the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States of the other part (‘ACP-EU Partnership Agreement’) states that Annexes Ia, Ib, II, III, IV and VI thereto may be revised, reviewed and/or amended by the ACP-EU Council of Ministers on the basis of a recommendation from the ACP-EU Development Finance Cooperation Committee.

Article 15(4) of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement states that the ACP-EU Council of Ministers may delegate powers to the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors.

At its 39^th session held on 19 and 20 June 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers agreed, in a Joint Declaration, to proceed with the orderly closing of the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (‘CDE’) and to the amendment of Annex III to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, and for this purpose, to grant a delegation of powers to the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors to take the matter forward with a view to adopting the necessary decisions, including the relevant amendment to that Annex III.

Annex III to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement should be amended in order to establish the new legal framework of the CDE existing solely for the purposes of its liquidation.

The position of the Union within the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors regarding the revision of Annex III to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement should therefore be based on the attached draft Decision,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: