Council Decision (EU) 2022/983 of 17 June 2022 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the World Customs Organization Council in relation to the approval of draft amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Harmonized System Committee

• Published date: 24 June 2022
• Subject Matter: Customs Cooperation,External relations
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 167, 24 June 2022

24.6.2022 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 167/100

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COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2022/983

of 17 June 2022

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the World Customs Organization Council in relation to the approval of draft amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Harmonized System Committee

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 31, Article 43(2) and Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (‘the Convention’) was concluded by the Union by Council Decision 87/369/EEC (1) and entered into force on 1 January 1988.

(2) Pursuant to Article 6(6) of the Convention, the Harmonized System Committee (‘the HS Committee’) is to draw up its own Rules of Procedure by decision taken by not less than two-thirds of the votes attributed to its members. The Rules of Procedure so drawn up are to be approved by the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council.

(3) The WCO Council is expected to approve draft amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the HS Committee at its June sessions (139th and 140th sessions on 23-25 June 2022). Such draft amendments are to be approved on the basis of a proposal drawn up by the HS Committee and finalised during its 64th (18-27 September 2019) and 68th (6-28 September 2021) sessions. The amendments are to enter into force upon their adoption.

(4) It is of utmost importance that the HS Committee take its decisions in a transparent and efficient way, and that such decisions receive maximum support from the members of the HS Committee.

(5) Since the draft amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the HS Committee are to be approved by the WCO Council, it is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the WCO Council, as once approved, the amended Rules of Procedure will have legal effects in the Union and be capable of influencing the content of Union law, in particular Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (2).

(6) The Union’s position should be to support the draft amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the HS Committee, as well as any minor editorial or linguistic adaptations that may be deemed necessary,

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