# Council Decision (EU) 2017/876 of 18 May 2017 on the accession of the European Union to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), Introduction: Introductory text

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

Council Decision (EU) 2017/876
of 18 May 2017
on the accession of the European Union to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(3) and (4), in conjunction with Article 218(6) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,
Whereas:
(1)
The Union is a member of a number of international commodity bodies, but it is not a member of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (‘ICAC’).
(2)
On 27 April 2004, 27 May 2008 and 10 May 2010 the Council, in its Conclusions on the EU Action Plan on agricultural commodity chains, dependency and poverty, on the EU-Africa Partnership in support of cotton-sector development and on enhancing Union action in the area of commodities, respectively, invited the Commission to consider Union membership of the ICAC.
(3)
On 16 September 2013 the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the Union, the accession of the Union to the ICAC in accordance with Sections 1 and 2 of Article II of the ICAC Rules and Regulations, stating that membership of the ICAC is in the interest of the Union, owing to the significance of cotton to the Union's agricultural and industrial economy and trade businesses. The Union is a producer of cotton and has evolved from a net cotton importer to, as of 2009, a net cotton exporter. Furthermore, the Union textiles and clothing industry is a major user of cotton cloth. Cotton is also an important area for European development cooperation, the Union remaining one of the main donors to the African cotton sector.
(4)
The Union will pay a contribution in accordance with Section 2 a.(2)(c) of Article II of the ICAC Rules and Regulations. The Union cannot be held liable for any current or future financial arrears of any members of the ICAC.
(5)
It is necessary for Protocol 4 on cotton, annexed to the 1979 Act of Accession, to continue to be taken into account after the Union's accession to the ICAC.
(6)
The Union should therefore accede to the ICAC,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2017/876/introduction (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2017-876/introduction
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.