Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken in the EU-CTC Joint Committee established by the Convention of 20 May 1987 on a common transit procedure

Summary:

On 22 August 2018 the European Commission presented a proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the Union regarding amendments to the Convention on a common transit procedure.

Further information:

The Convention on a common transit procedure aims to facilitate the movement of goods between the European Union and other countries which are contracting parties to the Convention. It entered into force on 1 January 1988. The task of the Joint Committee is to administer the Convention and to ensure its proper implementation. The Committee adopts, by means of decisions, amendments to the Appendices to the Convention.

The United Kingdom has applied the Convention since its entry into force. However, when the United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union, the Convention will automatically cease to apply to the United Kingdom. Therefore, if the United Kingdom wishes to use a common transit procedure for movement of goods between the contracting parties and the United Kingdom after the withdrawal from the European Union, it must accede to the Convention as a separate contracting party.

The proposed position is to amend the Annexes in Appendix III to the Convention which refer to the United Kingdom as a Member State of the Union in order to reflect that the United Kingdom, as from its effective accession to the Convention, is a separate contracting party.