Official Journal |
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REGULATION (EU) 2025/13 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 19 December 2024
on the collection and transfer of advance passenger information for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/818
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 133 thereof in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) and Article 300(4) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas:
(1) In May 2003, the European Commission published an EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) which called for measures to address illegal logging through the development of voluntary partnership agreements with timber producing countries. Council Conclusions on the Action Plan were adopted in October 2003 (1) and Parliament passed a resolution in January 2004.
(2) On 5 December 2005, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations on partnership agreements to implement the EU Action Plan for FLEGT.
(3) On 20 December 2005, the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 (2) establishing a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community from countries with which the Community has concluded voluntary Partnership Agreements.
(4) The negotiations with the Republic of Ghana have been concluded, and the voluntary partnership agreement between the Republic of Ghana and the European Community on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products into the Community (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) was initialled on 3 September 2008.
(5) Therefore, it is in the interest of the Community to approve the Agreement,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
2. The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.
(a) ‘import into the Community’ means the release for free circulation of timber products into the Community within the meaning of Article 79 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (5) and which cannot be qualified as ‘goods of a non-commercial nature’ as defined in point 6 of Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (6);
(b) ‘export’ means the physical leaving or taking out of timber products from any part of the geographical territory of Ghana;
(c) ‘timber products’ means the products listed in Annex I;
(d) ‘HS Code’ means a six digit code as set out in the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System established by the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System of the World Customs Organisation;
(e) ‘FLEGT licence’ means a licence which refers to a shipment as being legally produced. A FLEGT licence may be paper-based or based on electronic means;
(f) ‘licensing authority’ means the authority designated by Ghana to issue and validate FLEGT licences;
(g) ‘competent authorities’ means the authorities designated by the EU Member States to receive, accept and verify FLEGT licences;
(h) ‘shipment’ means a quantity of timber products covered by a FLEGT licence that is sent by a consignor or a shipper from Ghana and is presented for release for free circulation at a customs office in the Community;
(i) ‘legally-produced timber’ means timber products harvested or imported and produced in accordance with the legislation as set out in Annex II.
2. The FLEGT licensing scheme shall apply to the timber products listed in Annex IA. The timber products in Annex IB may not be exported from Ghana.
3. The Parties agree to take all measures necessary to implement the FLEGT licensing scheme and in accordance with Article 12.
2. The licensing authority shall verify that timber products have been legally produced in accordance with the legislation identified in Annex II. The licensing authority will issue FLEGT licences covering shipments of legally-produced timber products for export to the Community.
3. The licensing authority shall not issue FLEGT licences for any timber products that are composed of, or include, timber products imported into Ghana from a third country in a form in which the laws of that third country forbid export, or for which there is evidence that those timber products were produced in contravention of the laws of the country where the trees were harvested.
4. The licensing authority will maintain and make publicly available its procedures for issuing FLEGT Licences. The licensing authority will also maintain records of all shipments covered by FLEGT Licences and, consistent with national legislation concerning data protection, will make these records available for the purposes of independent monitoring, while respecting the confidentiality of exporters’ proprietary information.
2. The competent authorities shall verify that each shipment is covered by a valid FLEGT licence prior to releasing that shipment for free circulation in the Community. The release of the shipment may be suspended and the shipment detained where there are doubts regarding the validity of the FLEGT licence. The procedures governing release for free circulation in the Community for shipments covered by a FLEGT licence are described in Annex III.
3. The competent authorities shall not permit any timber product listed in Annex IB to be released for free circulation.
4. The competent authorities shall maintain and publish annually a record of FLEGT licences received.
5. According to national legislation on data protection, the competent authorities shall grant persons or bodies designated by Ghana as independent monitors, access to the relevant documents and data.
6. The Community competent authorities will not perform the action described in paragraph 2 for shipments of timber products derived from species listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as these are covered by the provisions for verification set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (7). The FLEGT licence system will none the less provide assurance of legal harvest of these products.
2. The FLEGT licence shall be laid out and completed in English.
3. The Parties may, by agreement, establish electronic systems for the issue, transmission and receipt of FLEGT licences.
4. The procedure for issuing FLEGT licences and the technical specifications are set out in Annex IV.
2. The system for verification that shipments of timber products have been legally produced is set out in Annex V.
2. Where persistent disagreements or difficulties arise in consultations concerning FLEGT licences, the matter may be referred to the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism.
2. The Independent Monitor shall be an entity that has no conflict of interest arising from any organisational or commercial relationship with the Community, or Ghana’s forest sector regulatory authorities, its licensing authority, any bodies engaged by its licensing authority to verify legal timber production, or any commercial operators in its forest sector.
3. The Independent Monitor shall operate in accordance with a documented management structure and with published policies and procedures that meet internationally-accepted best practices defined by ISO 17021 (requirements for conformity assessment bodies) and ISO 19011 (guidelines for auditing procedures) or equivalent standards.
4. The Independent Monitor shall refer complaints arising from its work to the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism.
5. The Independent Monitor will regularly prepare full and summary reports as outlined in Annex VI.
6. The Parties will facilitate the work of the Independent Monitor including by ensuring that the Monitor has access to information as required in territories of both Parties in order to carry out its functions. However, the Parties, in accordance with their national legislation on data protection, may withhold any information which they are not permitted to communicate.
(a) circumvention of trade, including by the re-direction of trade from Ghana to the Community via a third country, where there is reason to believe that this is done with the intention of avoiding licensing;
(b) FLEGT licences being issued to timber products that include imports of suspect sources from third countries; or
(c) fraud in the obtaining or use of FLEGT licences.
2. The Parties, through the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism, shall commission an independent assessment of the scheme using the criteria set out in Annex VII. The assessment will determine that the legality assurance underpinning the FLEGT licensing scheme as described in Annex V adequately fulfils its functions and that the systems in place in the Community for receiving, verifying and accepting FLEGT licences, as set out in Article 5 and Annex III, are in place in the Community.
3. On the basis of the recommendations of the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism, the two Parties shall agree on a date from which the FLEGT Licensing Scheme should start full operation.
4. Both Parties shall consider the recommendation and notify each other in writing of their agreement with the recommendation.
2. In support of such endeavours, the Community shall encourage, where appropriate and in dialogue with interested parties, the use of the systems developed for the implementation of this Agreement.
2. The Parties, working through the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism, will evaluate progress made in implementation with reference to the schedule set out in Annex VIII.
2. The Parties have identified the areas set out in Annex IX as those in which there is a need for technical and financial resources in order to implement this Agreement.
3. The provision of such resources shall be subject to the procedures governing the Community assistance as foreseen in the Cotonou Agreement and in those governing the bilateral EU Member States’ assistance to Ghana.
4. The Parties shall ensure that activities implemented under this Agreement are coordinated with existing and future relevant development programmes and initiatives.
2. Ghana, in line with its principle of participatory management and protection of forest and wildlife resources, will promote appropriate strategies, modalities and programmes in consultation with relevant stakeholders in the implementation of this Agreement.
3. The Community will hold regular consultations with stakeholders on the implementation of this Agreement, taking into account its obligations under the 1998 Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters.
2. The Parties will monitor the impacts of this Agreement on those communities and other actors identified in paragraph 1, while taking reasonable steps to mitigate any adverse impacts. The Parties may agree on additional measures to address adverse impacts.
(a) the encouragement of public and private procurement policies that recognise efforts to ensure a supply of legally harvested forest produce; and
(b) the promotion of FLEGT-licensed products to the European timber market.
2. Each Party shall nominate its representatives. The composition of the JMRM shall respect the principles of equality and parity.
3. The JMRM shall consider any matter relating to effective implementation of the Agreement through dialogue and exchange of information between the Parties. In particular the JMRM shall:
(a) recommend the date upon which the FLEGT licensing scheme should be fully operational;
(b) review reports issued by the Independent Monitor and any complaint about the operation of the FLEGT licensing scheme in the territory of either of the Parties;
(c) monitor, when applicable, actions taken to address the problems identified by the Independent Monitor;
(d) assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of this Agreement, in accordance with relevant good practice and criteria to be agreed by the Parties and address any issues raised as a result of the assessment;
(e) address matters of concern raised by either of the Parties and attempt to resolve any conflict that may arise, to the extent possible;
(f) provide appropriate recommendations on capacity-building needs for the successful implementation of the Agreement;
(g) review developments in public procurement policies;
(h) monitor and report on the market situation at regular intervals, commissioning studies as necessary and recommending actions to be taken arising from market intelligence reports;
(i) review and agree on annual reports on the progress of implementation, and
(j) regularly issue public summary reports based on the findings of the Independent Monitor as explained in Annex VI.
4. The JMRM shall:
(a) meet at least once a year on a date agreed by the Parties;
(b) together develop the agenda and terms of reference for joint actions;
(c) establish its own rules of procedures;
(d) preside over its meetings either in turns by representatives of each Party or by a co-chair arrangement; and
(e) if necessary, establish working groups or other subsidiary bodies for areas of work requiring specific expertise.
2. The JMRM shall conduct regular joint missions to review the effectiveness of the Agreement as well as its impact based on the information available. It shall record the efforts Ghana has made to be transparent by, inter alia, making publicly available information about harvest rights, areas designated for harvesting, harvesting schedules, timber rights fees, and harvest related payments, and information on social responsibility agreements and crop damage compensation awards.
3. On the basis of information from the Parties, the JMRM shall make public a yearly report. The report should include, inter alia, details on:
(a) the quantities of timber products exported to the Community under the FLEGT licensing scheme, according to the relevant HS headings;
(b) the number of FLEGT licences issued by Ghana;
(c) progress in the achievement of the objectives and the time-bound actions in the Agreement and matters relating to the implementation of the Agreement;
(d) actions to prevent illegally-produced timber products being exported to non-Community markets or traded on the domestic market;
(e) actions taken to prevent imports of illegally-produced timber products and maintain the integrity of the FLEGT licensing Scheme;
(f) quantities of timber products imported to the Community under the FLEGT licensing scheme, according to the relevant HS headings and EU Member State in which importation into the Community took place;
(g) number of FLEGT licences received by the Community;
(h) number of cases and quantities of timber products involved where Article 9(1) has been applied.
For Ghana:
For the Community:
Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines
Head of Delegation, EC in Ghana
2. The Parties shall communicate to one another in a timely manner the information necessary for implementing this Agreement.
2. Subject to paragraph 1, the following information shall not be considered confidential:
(a) the number and type of FLEGT licences issued by Ghana and received by the Community and the volume of timber products exported from Ghana and received by the Community under such licences;
(b) the name and address of the licence holder and of the importer.
2. If a dispute has not been settled by means of consultations within two months from the date of the initial request for consultations, either Party may refer the dispute to the JMRM which shall endeavour to settle the dispute. The JMRM shall be provided with all relevant information for an in-depth examination of the situation with a view to finding an acceptable solution. To this end, the JMRM shall be required to examine all possibilities for maintaining the good functioning of this Agreement.
3. In the event that the JMRM is unable to settle the dispute within two months, the Parties may jointly seek the good offices of, or request mediation by, a third party.
4. In the event of it not being possible to settle the dispute in accordance with paragraph 3, either Party may notify the other of the appointment of an arbitrator; the other party must then appoint a second arbitrator within 30 calendar days of the appointment of the first arbitrator. The Parties jointly shall appoint a third arbitrator within two months of the appointment of the second arbitrator.
5. The arbitrator’s decisions shall be taken by majority vote within six months of the third arbitrator being appointed.
6. The award shall be binding on the Parties and it shall be without appeal.
7. The JMRM shall establish the working procedures for arbitration.
2. The conditions of this Agreement will cease to apply 30 calendar days after such notice is given.
3. Application of this Agreement shall resume 30 calendar days after the Party that has suspended its application informs the other Party that the reasons for the suspension no longer apply.
2. Any amendment so approved by both Parties shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which the Parties notify each other of the completion of the procedures necessary for this purpose.
3. The JMRM may adopt amendments to the Annexes to this Agreement.
4. Notification of any amendment shall be sent to the joint depositaries for this Agreement.
2. Notification shall be sent to the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and to the Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who shall be the joint depositaries for the Agreement.
(1) OJ C 268, 7.11.2003, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p. 1.
(3) The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the Secretary General of the Council.
(5) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1.
(1) OJ C 268, 7.11.2003, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p. 1.
(3) The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the Secretary General of the Council.
(5) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2010/151/oj