B3-0081, 0082, 0083 and 0124/94

Resolution on GATT

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Commission's statement of 16 December 1993 on the outcome of the GATT negotiations,

-having regard to its President's statement of 16 December 1993 on the conclusion of the Uruguay Round negotiations and his letter to the Council of 21 December 1993,

-having regard to the statement by the Commission of 19 January 1994 on the legal base to be used for the GATT Agreement concluded on behalf of the European Community,

A.recalling the obligation imposed upon the Heads of State and Government, pursuant to the Solemn Declaration on European Union signed in Stuttgart in 1983,

B.recalling the statement by the President of the Commission to Parliament on the 1990 legislative programme, confirming that the European Parliament should be consulted upon and give its assent to international agreements of major importance,

1.Calls on the Commission not to submit the results of the negotiations concluding the Uruguay Round to the Council, on behalf of the European Union, solely pursuant to Article 113 of the EC Treaty, since this legal basis covers only the trade policy sections of the comprehensive agreement;

2.Points out that it should be consulted pursuant to Article 228(3), second subparagraph, of the EC Treaty, since the GATT Agreement provides for an international agreement with important budgetary implications for the Community and also for the creation of independent institutional structures (World Trade Organization) and will thus involve the modification of internal Community legislation, which must be adopted in accordance with the codecision procedure;

3.Calls on the Council formally to submit the Agreement to Parliament before the signing of the Final Act scheduled for 15 April 1994 at the Ministerial Conference in Marrakech to enable it to apply the assent procedure before the end of the present parliamentary term;

4.Demands that the Commission do everything possible to enable Parliament to hold a debate on the contents of the GATT Agreement at its March part-session and then give its assent at the final part-session of its current term;

5.Calls on the Commission and the Council to take the necessary steps to enable Parliament to take part in the European Union delegation and participate in the Ministerial Conference in Marrakech, as it did in the GATT Ministerial Conference held in Montreal in December 1988 and Brussels in December 1990;

6.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the General Secretariat of GATT.