PURPOSE: to conclude, on behalf of the European Union, of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2010/655/EU concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution.

CONTENT: the European Union is a Party to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution approved by Council Decision 93/550/EEC (Lisbon Agreement).

A political dispute over the borders in Western Sahara prevented Spain and Morocco from ratifying the Lisbon Agreement. This dispute has now been resolved by the Additional Protocol to the Lisbon Agreement modifying Article 3(c) thereof.

Following the adoption of the Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Community, of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North- East Atlantic against Pollution on 12 December 2008, the Additional Protocol was signed, on behalf of the Community, on 25 March 2009.

By this Decision, the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution is hereby approved on behalf of the European Union.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 19/10/2010. The date of entry into force of the Additional Protocol shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution approving the conclusion of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution.

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Anna ROSBACH (EFD, DK) recommending that the European Parliament give its consent to the conclusion of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution.

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, amended the EU's two core treaties, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). The latter was renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

These changes had various consequences for many ongoing procedures. First of all, the articles of the TEU and of the old EC Treaty that constitute the legal basis of all the proposals founded on those Treaties were renumbered in accordance with the table of equivalences mentioned in Article 5 of the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition, some proposals underwent a change to their legal basis going beyond a mere change to their numbering, and this resulted in changes to the type of procedure .

The Lisbon Treaty also introduced new concepts of decision-making procedure . The old "codecision procedure" was extended to new areas and renamed the "ordinary legislative procedure". A new "consent procedure" replaced the old "assent procedure". New interinstitutional procedures were also set up for the adoption of certain non-legislative acts, for example the conclusion of some international agreements.

The ongoing proposals concerned by these changes were formally modified by the Commission in a Communication published on 2 December 2009 ( COM(2009)0665 ).

In the case of the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution, the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty had the following impacts :

· the old legal basis – EC Treaty Art. 175 (1), in conjunction with the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300 (2) and the first subparagraph of Article 300 (3), – became Art. 196 (2) and Art. 218 (6) of the TFEU. Please note that the numbering of the old legal basis corresponds to the consolidated version of the Treaty that was applicable immediately before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and may differ from the references in the original Commission proposal ;

· the proposal, which had previously fallen under the old consultation procedure (CNS), was classified as an interinstitutional non-legislative procedure (NLE).

PURPOSE: to conclude the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution on behalf of the European Community.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

CONTENT: the European Community is a party to regional agreements on marine pollution, such as the Bonn Agreement, the Barcelona Convention and the Helsinki Convention, which facilitate mutual assistance and cooperation between Member States in this field in the North, Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. After tanker ship Aragon caused a major oil spill off the coast of Madeira in 1990, Portugal initiated the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution (Lisbon Agreement), which creates a mechanism to ensure the cooperation between the Contracting Parties in case of pollution accidents, and obliges them to establish and implement their own emergency structures and plans. It applies to the north-east region of the Atlantic Ocean, defined by the external boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone of each Contracting State, and by the boundaries of other regional agreements such as the Agreement for cooperation in dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances (Bonn Agreement) and the Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution (Barcelona Convention).

The Lisbon Agreement was signed on 17 October 1990 by Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco and the European Community. Although ratification followed by Portugal, France and the European Community, a political dispute over the borders in Western Sahara prevented Spain and Morocco from ratifying the Agreement because of Article 3 (c) on the geographical scope of the Agreement, which stipulated: "to the south by the southern limit of the waters covered by the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Morocco."

After agreement was reached on an Additional Protocol amending Article 3 (c) of the Lisbon Agreement, the Protocol was signed by Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco on 20 May 2008 in Lisbon. The Community was invited to sign the Protocol together with other contracting parties. The Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Community, of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution was adopted on 12 December 2008.

The Additional Protocol was co-signed on behalf of the European Community by the Czech Presidency and the Head of the European Commission Representation in Portugal on 25 March 2009.

Accordingly, this draft Decision provides for the Community to conclude the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution.

PURPOSE: to conclude the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution on behalf of the European Community.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

CONTENT: the European Community is a party to regional agreements on marine pollution, such as the Bonn Agreement, the Barcelona Convention and the Helsinki Convention, which facilitate mutual assistance and cooperation between Member States in this field in the North, Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. After tanker ship Aragon caused a major oil spill off the coast of Madeira in 1990, Portugal initiated the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution (Lisbon Agreement), which creates a mechanism to ensure the cooperation between the Contracting Parties in case of pollution accidents, and obliges them to establish and implement their own emergency structures and plans. It applies to the north-east region of the Atlantic Ocean, defined by the external boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone of each Contracting State, and by the boundaries of other regional agreements such as the Agreement for cooperation in dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances (Bonn Agreement) and the Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution (Barcelona Convention).

The Lisbon Agreement was signed on 17 October 1990 by Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco and the European Community. Although ratification followed by Portugal, France and the European Community, a political dispute over the borders in Western Sahara prevented Spain and Morocco from ratifying the Agreement because of Article 3 (c) on the geographical scope of the Agreement, which stipulated: "to the south by the southern limit of the waters covered by the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Morocco."

After agreement was reached on an Additional Protocol amending Article 3 (c) of the Lisbon Agreement, the Protocol was signed by Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco on 20 May 2008 in Lisbon. The Community was invited to sign the Protocol together with other contracting parties. The Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Community, of the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution was adopted on 12 December 2008.

The Additional Protocol was co-signed on behalf of the European Community by the Czech Presidency and the Head of the European Commission Representation in Portugal on 25 March 2009.

Accordingly, this draft Decision provides for the Community to conclude the Additional Protocol to the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution.