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THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,Whereas:
(1)The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other partnote (the ‘Association Agreement’) entered into force on 1 March 2000.
(2)The Association Agreement includes Protocol 4 concerning the definition of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation (‘Protocol 4’), which lays down the rules of origin.
(3)Pursuant to Article 39 of Protocol 4, the Association Council established by Article 78 of the Association Agreement (the ‘Association Council’) may decide to amend the provisions of Protocol 4. Pursuant to Article 80, second paragraph, of the Association Agreement, the decisions taken by the Association Council are to be binding on the Parties, which shall take the measures necessary to implement those decisions.
(4)The Association Council, during its next meeting or by exchange of letters, is to adopt a decision on a proposed amendment of Protocol 4.
(5)It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken, on behalf of the Union, within the Association Council as the decision of the Association Council will have legal effects.
(6)As a result of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ‘Court’) in Case C-104/16 Pnote of 21 December 2016, in order to establish a legal basis to grant the tariff preferences laid down in the Association Agreement to goods originating in Western Sahara, the Union and the Kingdom of Morocco concluded an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Association Agreementnote (the ‘Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters’), which was signed on 25 October 2018.
(7)As a result of the judgment of the Court in Joined Cases C-779/21 P and C-799/21 Pnote of 4 October 2024, to ensure that the flows of trade which have developed over the years are not disrupted, and that the tariff preferences under the Association Agreement apply to goods originating in Western Sahara, the European Union and Morocco negotiated a new Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters that replaces the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters (the ‘new Agreement’). The new Agreement was signed on 3 October 2025 and has applied on a provisional basis since 4 October 2025.
(8)The Joint Declaration contained in the new Agreement, inserted after Protocol 4, specifies that products originating in Western Sahara which are subject to controls by the customs authorities of the Kingdom of Morocco benefit from the same trade preferences as those granted by the Union to the products covered by the Association Agreement, and that Protocol 4 applies mutatis mutandis for the purposes of defining the originating status of those products, including with regard to proof of origin.
(9)Within the framework of the new Agreement, Protocol 4 should be amended in order to ensure both its applicability to products originating in Western Sahara and the continuation of trade, in particular for the fruit and vegetables sector and the fisheries sector.
(10)The position of the Union within the Association Council should therefore be based on the attached draft Decision,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1#
The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Association Council established by the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, with regard to the amendment of Protocol 4 shall be based on the draft Decision of the Association Council attached to this Decision.
Specimen of movement certificate EUR.1
1.Exporter (Name, address, country)(No change) | EUR.1 | No A | 000.000See notes overleaf before completing this form.2.Certificate used in preferential trade between.......................................andAgreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part(Insert appropriate countries, groups of countries or territories)3.Consignee (Name, address, country) (Optional)(No change)4.Country, group of countries or territory in which the products are considered as originating(Leave blank) | 5.Country, group of countries or territory of destination(No change)6.Transport details (Optional)(No change) | 7.RemarksReference to the regional origin (Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, Dakhla Oued Ed-Dahab)8.Item number; Marks and numbers; Number and kind of packages (1);Description of goods (2)(No change) | 9.Gross mass (kg) or other measure (litres, m3, etc.)(No change) | 10.Invoices (Optional)(No change)
Specimen of the origin declaration
English version
The exporter of the products covered by this document (customs authorisation No …(1)) declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of preferential origin.
Reference to the regional origin (Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, Dakhla Oued Ed-Dahab)(2).
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(Place and date) (3)
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(Signature of the exporter; in addition, the name of the person signing the declaration has to be indicated in clear script) (4)
(1)When the origin declaration is made out by an approved exporter, the authorisation number of the approved exporter must be entered in this space. When the origin declaration is not made out by an approved exporter, the words in brackets shall be omitted or the space left blank.(2)Origin of products to be indicated. When the origin declaration relates, in whole or in part, to products originating in Ceuta and Melilla, the exporter must clearly indicate them in the document on which the declaration is made out, by means of the symbol ‘CM’.(3)These indications may be omitted if the information is contained on the document itself.(4)In cases where the exporter is not required to sign, the exemption of signature also implies the exemption of the name of the signatory.
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