Council Decision (EU) 2020/2234
of 23 October 2020
on the signing, on behalf of the Union and its Member States, and provisional application of the Protocol to the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America, on the other, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 217, in conjunction with Article 218(5) thereof,
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Croatia, and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 6(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1) The Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America, on the other (‘the Agreement’), was signed on 29 June 2012 and Part IV (Trade) thereof, with the exception of Article 271 thereof, has been applied pursuant to Article 353(4) of the Agreement between the Union and Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama since 1 August 2013; between the Union and Costa Rica and El Salvador since 1 October 2013; and between the Union and Guatemala since 1 December 2013.
OJ L 346, 15.12.2012, p. 3.
(2) On 24 September 2012, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with Central America in order to conclude a protocol to the Agreement to take account of the accession of Croatia to the Union (‘the Protocol’).
(3) The negotiations were successfully completed on 27 June 2019.
(4) The Protocol should be signed and applied, on a provisional basis, pending the completion of the procedures for its entry into force,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 The signing on behalf of the Union and its Member States of the Protocol to the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Central America, on the other, to take account of the accession of Croatia to the European Union, is hereby authorised, subject to the conclusion of the said Protocol.
See page … of this Official Journal.
Article 2 The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Protocol on behalf of the Union and its Member States.
Article 3 The Protocol shall be applied on a provisional basis in accordance with Article 12(3) thereof, pending the completion of the procedures necessary for its entry into force.
The date from which the Protocol will be provisionally applied will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.
Article 4 This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Done at Luxembourg, 23 October 2020.
For the Council
The President
S. Schulze