Proposal for a Council Decision on the accession of the European Union to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) entered into force in 1975 and has now 178 Parties (including all EU Member States). Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. It covers about 35,000 species, which are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need. All import, export, re-export and introduction from the sea of species covered by the Convention has to be authorized through a licensing system.

The initial text of the Convention foresaw that CITES membership would be limited to States only. At the second extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the CITES Parties in Gaborone, Botswana, on 30 April 1983, an amendment to the Convention was agreed. This amendment (“the Gaborone amendment”) entered into force on 29 November 2013, after its ratification by two-thirds of the 80 countries that were Parties at the time of adoption of the amendment. The European Union has been to date an observer to CITES and the entry into force of the Gaborone amendment now allows the European Union to become a Party to CITES.

The matters covered by CITES relate to areas (protection of the environment, trade, internal market, customs) which are subject to Union law. CITES provisions have been implemented in a harmonized manner at EU level since 1984 and are now regulated through Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and various Commission Regulations. The accession of the European Union to CITES is a logical and necessary step to ensure that the European Union is fully able to pursue its objectives under its environmental policy.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)867: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:867:FIN

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