Ref. Ares(2017)6342017 - 22/12/2017
Ref. Ares(2018)1672124 - 27/03/2018
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Trade
The Director General
Brussels,
E1/
(201
Art 4.1(b) 7)
NOTE FOR THE ATTENTION OF
J.B. PLEWA, Director General AGRI
L. EVANS, DIRECTOR GENERAL GROW
S. QUEST, DIRECTOR GENERAL TAXUD
X. PRATS MONNE, DIRECTOR GENERAL SANTE
R. J. SMITS, DIRECTOR GENERAL RTD
O. GUERSENT, DIRECTOR GENERAL FISMA
R. VIOLA, DIRECTOR GENERAL CNECT
Subject: EU-Canada CETA committees – co-chairs and practical arrangements
Further to the feedback received in response to DG TRADE's consultation of 26 October
2017 on the subject of CETA committee co-chairs and contact points, please find
attached a revised list of EU contact points and co-chairs for CETA committees and/ or
dialogues. The revised list incorporates the suggestions received from your services and
also proposes practical arrangements to implement the Agreement effectively.
CETA foresees twenty one committees and dialogues to govern its multiple aspects.
Effective coordination among the different co-chairs and contact points on the EU side
will therefore be of paramount importance to ensure a coherent implementation of the
Agreement.
The complex ratification process and the continued public debate also underline the need
to make all necessary efforts to ensure a correct implementation of the Agreement. We
expect that there will be a greater interest and demand for information on the functioning
of the institutional structures under CETA within the EU institutions and more generally
from civil society. In light of these expectations and the comprehensive nature of the
Agreement, delivering successfully on these expectations will require a high degree of
coordination amongst the different services. DG Trade is strongly committed to ensuring
an optimal collaboration between Commission services to contribute to implementing
CETA successfully.
CETA requires each Party to appoint an (overall) CETA contact point entrusted with the
task of
monitoring the work of all institutional bodies established under the Agreement
and
coordinating preparations for committee meetings. The CETA contact point on the
EU side will be DG TRADE's Unit E1
).
Art 4.1(b)
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Office: CHAR 07/067 - Tel. direct line +32 229-56126
In order to ensure a coherent approach on the EU side in the different CETA
Committees, it will be important for services to agree on some
practical working
arrangements. The text below has been discussed with the Sec-Gen with the intention to
guide the work amongst the different Commission services:
Calendar and agendas: The EU co-chairs of the specialised committees, dialogues
and other bodies should communicate (through their respective contact points) to
the CETA contact point planned meeting dates to facilitate early coordination on
the calendar, including the possibility of clustering of meetings, and securing the
availability of experts from other relevant services. Furthermore, draft meeting
agendas should be sent to the CETA contact point sufficiently in advance of the
meetings, to allow for a useful coordination and sequencing on substance. The
CETA contact point should convey any comments/ suggestions promptly to avoid
delays in the subsequent consultation with Canadian co-chairs and finalisation of
the agendas and schedules.
Meetings: The EU co-chairs should associate (through their respective contact
points) relevant services in drawing up the agenda of Committee meetings to
ensure involvement. This consultation should be done sufficiently in advance to
allow appropriate coordination and preparation. Unless agreed otherwise, the
services concerned should participate in the meetings and lead the discussion on
the topic for which they are competent.
Reporting: The respective EU committee/body contact points should prepare the
overall report/minutes for their committee/body meetings. Provided they were
present at the meetings, associated services should provide the responsible contact
point with the necessary input relating to the topics for which they are competent.
Draft reports/ minutes should be communicated to the CETA contact point to
allow appropriate horizontal coordination.
Preparatory Inter-service Group meetings: in order to plan and prepare for the
annual CETA Joint Committee meeting, a preparatory Inter-service Group
meeting will be organised, including all responsible contact points to take stock
of the activities of the committees and/or dialogues/other bodies (including on
issues such as the topics discussed and proposed for discussion, conclusions of
past meetings, recommendations or decisions proposed for adoption by the Joint
Committee, scheduling of next meetings etc.). As the case may be, such Inter-
Service Group meeting could also be organized at co-chairs level;
Transparency: In order to comply with the Commission's commitment to ensure a
greater level of transparency, agendas of all dialogues and committee meetings
should be made public before the meeting takes place. Similarly, public reporting
should be envisaged after these meetings. The CETA contact point shall be
entrusted with the task of coordinating publication of these agendas and ex post
reporting. The transparency section of the DG TRADE website will house all
agendas and meeting reports.
Correspondence: the CETA contact point is tasked with steering the
implementation of the Agreement and will therefore require an overview on the
work of all institutional structures established under the Agreement. The contact
points of all committees and dialogues should ensure that the CETA contact point
is in copy of relevant incoming and outgoing correspondence with their Canadian
counterparts.
2
This will allow the EU to 'speak with one voice' in our communications with
various interlocutors in the Canadian government involved in the implementation
of CETA.
Finally, I would like to inform you that Commissioner Malmström and the Canadian
Trade Minister have agreed to hold the first CETA Joint Committee in
2018.
Art 4.1(a) 3'
This timeline implies that the different specialised committees will need to agree on the
sequencing of their meetings in advance of this date. DG Trade will reach out to the
respective committee contact points in the coming days to establish a more precise
calendar for the different specialised committee meetings.
An effective implementation of CETA is the right signal in the current political context
but it is also a clear expectation of EU citizens and stakeholders. Your support and co-
operation will be essential to make this a reality. I would request you to share the above-
mentioned practical working arrangements with relevant colleagues in your services to
ensure a smooth implementation of the CETA.
My services and I stand ready in case you would have questions or comments on the
above arrangements.
[e-signed]
Jean-Luc DEMARTY
Annex: Revised table of EU Co-Chairs and Contact Points for all institutional structures
under CETA.
C.C.: A. Italianer (Secretary-General), T. Astola (JUST), N. Calviño (BUDG), V.
Radermacher (ESTAT), N. Ilett (OLAF), M. Būti (ECFIN), M. Reicherts (EAC), H.
Hololei (MOVE), D. Ristori (ENER), , M. Ruete (HOME), M. Lemaître (REGIO), S.
Manservisi (DEVCO), C. Danielsson (NEAR), M. Pariat (ECHO), M Björklund
(MOVE), L. Romero Requena (SJ), J. Laitenberger (COMP), J. Delbeke (CLIMA), M.
Servoz (EMPL), D. Calleja Crespo (ENV), J. Aguiar Machado (MARE)
(AGRI),
(SANTE),
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(FISMA),
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(GROW),
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(CNECT),
(R
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(TAXUD),
(MOVE),
(RTD),
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(SG)
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(EEAS);
(EEAS-
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OTTAWA)
J. Korte,
, M. Petriccione,
P. Sandler,
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M. Martin-Prat, H. Konig, S. Gallina, I. Garcia Bercero, D. Redonnet, S. Ratso, L.
Rubinacci,
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Unit E.1 (TRADE);
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Electronically signed on 22/12/2017 12:07 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563