Attachment

The European Parliament and the Commission agree on the importance of close cooperation in monitoring the implementation of Part IV of the Agreement and Regulation (EU) No 20/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 implementing the bilateral safeguard clause and the stabilisation mechanism for bananas of the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other^f1. To that end they agree on the following:

• Upon request by the responsible committee of the European Parliament, the Commission shall report to it on any specific concerns relating to the implementation by Central American countries of their commitments on trade and sustainable development.

• If the European Parliament adopts a recommendation to initiate a safeguard investigation, the Commission will carefully examine whether the conditions under Regulation (EU) No 20/2013 for ex-officio initiation are fulfilled. If the Commission considers that the conditions are not fulfilled, it will present a report to the responsible committee of the European Parliament including an explanation of all the factors relevant to the initiation of such an investigation.