Council Decision (EU) 2020/135Show full title

Article 4 U.K.

1. On a duly justified request from Ireland, the Republic of Cyprus or the Kingdom of Spain, respectively, the Council may authorise those Member States to negotiate bilateral agreements with the United Kingdom in areas of exclusive competence of the Union. Such authorisation may only be granted if:

(a) the Member State concerned has provided information showing that the agreement in question is necessary for the proper functioning of the arrangements set out, respectively, in the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, the Protocol relating to the Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Cyprus and the Protocol on Gibraltar, and that the agreement in question complies with the principles and objectives of the Agreement;

(b) on the basis of the information provided by the Member State, it appears that the envisaged agreement is compatible with Union law; and

(c) the envisaged agreement would neither put at risk the attainment of an objective of the Union’s external action in the area concerned nor be otherwise prejudicial to the Union’s interests.

2. An authorisation granted pursuant to paragraph 1 may be conditional upon the inclusion in or removal from the agreement in question of any provision or may be conditional upon the suspension of the application of any provision of that agreement, where necessary to ensure the consistency with the conditions set out in paragraph 1.

3. The Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of its intention to enter into negotiations with the United Kingdom. The Commission shall promptly inform the Council thereof. The Member State concerned shall provide the Commission with all the information necessary to assess whether the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are fulfilled.

4. The Commission shall be invited by the Member State concerned to closely follow the negotiations.

5. Before signing the bilateral agreement, the Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of the outcome of negotiations and shall transmit the text of the prospective agreement to the Commission which shall promptly inform the Council. The Member State concerned may only express its consent to be bound by the bilateral agreement in question if the Council has authorised it to do so.

6. The Council shall adopt the decisions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 5 by means of implementing acts, on a proposal from the Commission.

The Commission’s proposal shall include an assessment as to whether the conditions set out in paragraph 1 and referred to in paragraph 2 are fulfilled. If information provided by the Member State concerned is not sufficient for the assessment, the Commission may request additional information.

7. When the Council grants an authorisation pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 5, the Member State concerned shall notify the Commission of the entry into force of the bilateral agreement concerned, as well as any subsequent changes concerning the status of that agreement.

8. The Council shall inform the European Parliament of any decisions taken pursuant to paragraph 1 and 5.