kom (2013) 0136 - Bilag 12: Brev fra det hollandske Tweede Kamer vedr. de nationale parlamenters rolle i ratificeringen af handelsaftaler - TTIP specifikt, samt Kommissionens svar herpå.

Erhvervs-, Vækst- og Eksportudvalget 2014-15 (1. samling)
KOM (2013) 0136 Bilag 12
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 16.10.2014

С(2014) 7557final

Dear Presidents, dear Chairmen,

The Commission would like to thank the 20 chambers that are signatories for their Opinion

of 25 June 2014 on the role of national Parliaments in concluding free trade agreements

(FTAs).

The Commission fully agrees with the comments about the economic and political

significance of the ongoing negotiations, in particular the negotiations with the United States

on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). We would not achieve our

Ms Anouchka VAN MILTENBURG

President of the Tweede Kamer, Netherlands

Ms. Ana BLATNIK

President of the Bundesrat, Austria

Mr Jan HAMÁČEK

President of the Poslanecká sněmovna,

Czech Republic

Mr Claude BARTOLONE

President of the Assemblee nationale, France

Mr László KÖVÉR

President of the Országgyűlés, Hungary

Senator Paddy BURKE

President of the Seanad Eireann

Houses of the Oireachtas, Ireland

Mr Mars DI BARTOLOMEO

President of the Chambre des Députés,

Luxembourg

Mr Radosław SIKORSKI

Marshal of the Sejm, Poland

Ms Maria da Assunção Andrade ESTEVES

President of the Assembleia da República,

Portugal

Mr Janko VEBER

President of the Državni Zbor, Slovenia

Lord BOSWELL

Chairman of the European Union Select Committee

House of Lords, United Kingdom

Ms Doris BURES

President of the Nationalrat, Austria

Mr Patrick DEW A EL

President of the Chambre des Representants, Belgium

Mr Milan ŠTĚCH

President of the Senát, Czech Republic

Dr Norbert LAMMERT

President of the Bundestag, Germany

Mr Seán BARRETT T.D.

President of Dáil Eireann, Houses of the Oireachtas,

Ireland

Ms Solvit a ĀBOLTIŅA

President of the Saeima, Latvia

Mr Anġlu FARRUGIA

President of the Kamra tad-Deputati, Malta

Mr Bogdan BORUSEWICZ

President of the Senat, Poland

Mr Pavol PAŠKA

President of the Národná Rada, Slovakia

Mr William CASH MP

Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee

House of Commons, United Kingdom

kom (2013) 0136 - Bilag 12: Brev fra det hollandske Tweede Kamer vedr. de nationale parlamenters rolle i ratificeringen af handelsaftaler - TTIP specifikt, samt Kommissionens svar herpå.

shared objectives if we do not succeed in concluding deep and comprehensive FTAs with

crucial economic partners.

As pointed out in the Opinion, it is indeed a recurring issue whether FTAs should be

concluded by the Union alone, following a decision by the Council further to the consent of

the European Parliament, or whether they should be concluded as "mixed" agreements by

the Union and the Member States, according to their respective national procedures. The

Opinion expresses the view that both TTIP and the Comprehensive Economic Trade

Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada (CETA) should be concluded

as mixed agreements because "they concern policy areas within the competence of the

Member States", including in particular "certain elements of policy areas such as services,

transport and investment protection". In this respect, the Commission's consistent position is

that the nature of every international agreement, and hence every trade agreement, and

whether it is to be concluded as an EU-only or as a mixed agreement, depends on its content.

On both CETA and TTIP the Commission will reflect this determination in its proposal for

signature of the respective agreement.

Regardless of the nature of an agreement, the Commission would like to emphasise that both

the Council and the European Parliament are fully involved in both the negotiation and

conclusion phase thus ensuring full democratic control throughout the process. In the early

stages of a discussion about launching negotiations on trade agreements, the Commission

holds a public consultation on the content and options for any free trade agreement and

conducts an assessment of the impact of any such deal. The Commission also requests formal

authorisation from the Council to open such negotiations. After each negotiation round and

at other key points in the negotiations, the Council and the European Parliament are

simultaneously informed about the state of play. Discussions take place regularly with the

Council and European Parliament at working level but may also take place at Ministers level

or in plenary debates. After a text is finalised by the negotiators and translated, the

Commission submits a proposal on the signature and conclusion of the agreement to the

Council.

After the agreement is formally signed by the two negotiating parties, the Council transmits

the agreement to the European Parliament for consent, which decides by a vote in plenary.

This shows that in the EU institutional framework there are numerous occasions for national

authorities of the Member States to be involved in the negotiation and approval of trade

agreements. National Parliaments have therefore several opportunities throughout this

process to exercise their oversight over such negotiations.

If an agreement requires ratification by the Member States, it will be sent to Member States

for approval in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements after the

Council decision on signature is approved.

The Commission takes note of the request of the chambers that are signatories to the letter

that trade agreements such as CETA and TTIP be ratified by the national Parliaments. As

mentioned before, however, the nature of these agreements can only be fully determined at

the end of the negotiations. The Commission proposed the signature and conclusion of the

kom (2013) 0136 - Bilag 12: Brev fra det hollandske Tweede Kamer vedr. de nationale parlamenters rolle i ratificeringen af handelsaftaler - TTIP specifikt, samt Kommissionens svar herpå.

recent FTA with South Korea as a mixed agreement because it included matters within the

Member States' competence, including in particular some provisions on cultural matters. On

the other hand, in the case of the FTA with Peru and Colombia, the Commission proposed to

sign it as an EU-only agreement, as it considered that all matters covered by that agreement

fell with the EU's competence. The Council, nevertheless, decided to sign it as a mixed

agreement. Given this practice, it is likely that TTIP will also be considered by the Council as

a mixed agreement.

At the same time, it is important that a vigorous and well-founded debate takes place on these

and other agreements. The Commission welcomes debates in national Parliaments on the

merits of trade agreements such as CETA and TTIP, explaining to constituents the

implications of such trade agreements. The Commission services would be most willing to

provide support (including participation) and any pertinent information to feed such debate.

The Commission has already been doing this in several national Parliaments and looks

forward to continuing this valuable cooperation. The Commission welcomes the active

contribution and involvement of national Parliaments irrespective of the nature - "EU-only"

or "mixed" - of such agreements.

The Commission hopes that these clarifications address the concerns raised by the chambers

that are signatories to the Opinion and looks forward to continuing the political dialogue in

the future.

Yours faithfully,

Maroš Šefčovič

Vice-President