Introductory text
United Kingdom
Council Decision (EU) 2016/859
of 4 March 2016
on the signing, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, and provisional application of a Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lebanon, of the other part to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 217 in conjunction with Article 218(5) thereof,
Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Republic of Croatia, and in particular Article 6(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)
The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lebanon, of the other partf1 (‘the Agreement’) was signed in Luxembourg on 17 June 2002 and entered into force on 1 April 2006.
(2)
The Republic of Croatia became a Member State of the European Union on 1 July 2013.
(3)
Under the terms of Article 6(2) of the Act of Accession of the Republic of Croatia, the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the Agreement is to be agreed by means of a protocol to the Agreement concluded between the Council, acting on behalf of the Union and unanimously on behalf of the Member States, and the Lebanese Republic.
(4)
On 14 September 2012, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with the Lebanese Republic. The negotiations were successfully concluded by the initialling of the Protocol attached to this Decision.
(5)
Article 7 of the Protocol provides for its provisional application before its entry into force.
(6)
The Protocol should be signed, subject to its conclusion at a later date, and applied on a provisional basis,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: