CYIL 2012

EDITA ŠEDOVÁ ȃ DAVID MÜLLER CYIL 3 ȍ2012Ȏ publication of the strategy, the Commission proposed to launch negotiation of the free trade agreement with Korea and, in compliance with Art. 218, para. 2, which lays down the procedure for opening the negotiation, was authorized by the Council on April, 23, 2007, to conclude such agreement. The negotiations themselves took about two years and were conducted by the Commission and the Presidency, which consulted Trade Policy Committee. The first round of talks took place in May 2007 and within 26 months, the convergence of the views between the EU and Korea was reached, resulting in the joint announcement of the successful conclusion of talks on July 13, 2009. The text of the draft Agreement was later that year, in October, initialed in Brussels, and consequently submitted to the respective internal procedures. Following the EU Trade Commission Catherine Ashton announcement, the Agreement was deemed to be “the first 21 st century free trade agreement for the EU, creating deep economic ties with another developed economy”. 6 On behalf of the EU on the occasion of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, the Council issued on September 16, 2010, its decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part. 7 This provided the legal basis for the FTA signature, which took place on October 6 on the sideline of the 8th ASEM 8 Summit. Nevertheless, in the post-Lisbon era, the Council decision has simply not been enough to finalize the deal as the new power of European Parliament became applicable. 9 The Agreement’s entry into force was subject to the European Parliament consent under Art. 218, para. 6 of the TFEU. 10 The consent was granted on February 17, 2011 by a strong majority 11 and the provisional application of the FTA started on July 1, 2011. On behalf of Korea, the National Assembly passed the FTA ratification bill on May 4, 2011. The full entry into force is pending, being subject to ratification by all EU member states under their own constitutional procedures, which might take a few years. 6 EU and South Korea initial free trade deal, EU Press Release, October 15, 2009. 7 Council Decision of 16 September 2010 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, . 8 The Asia-Europe Meeting. 9 For detailed discussion see Richardson L., European Parliament in the EU’s Common Commercial Policy: Implications for Bilateral Trade Negotiations, EU Diplomacy Paper, 2012, . 10 From the legal point of view, the role of the European Parliament remained limited to the final consent only, however this will not be the case in future agreements, where the Parliament tends to interpret the execution of its powers as widely as possible. 11 European Parliament, EU/Korea Free Trade Agreement: conclusion, .

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