title: Council Decision (EU) 2015/1025 of 19 June 2015 abrogating Decision 2013/319/EU on the existence of an excessive deficit in Malta

text:
               30.6.2015

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 163/35

         COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2015/1025
   of 19 June 2015
   abrogating Decision 2013/319/EU on the existence of an excessive deficit in Malta
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 126(12) thereof,
   Having regard to the recommendation from the European Commission,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               By Decision 2013/319/EU (1), on the basis of a recommendation from the Commission, the Council decided that an excessive deficit existed in Malta. The Council noted that the general government deficit in Malta had reached 3,3 % of GDP in 2012, thus exceeding the 3 % of GDP Treaty reference value, while general government gross debt was above the 60 % of GDP Treaty reference value. The Council also noted that Malta had not made sufficient progress towards compliance with the debt reduction benchmark and therefore did not fulfil the requirements of the transition period (2) following the correction of its excessive deficit in 2012 (3).

               (2)

               On 21 June 2013, in accordance with Article 126(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 3(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1467/97, the Council, upon the recommendation from the Commission, addressed a recommendation to Malta with a view to bringing the excessive deficit situation to an end by 2014 at the latest. The recommendation was made public.

               (3)

               In accordance with Article 4 of the Protocol (No 12) on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the TFEU, the Commission provides the data for the implementation of the procedure. As part of the application of that Protocol, Member States are to notify data on government deficits and debt and other associated variables twice a year, namely before 1 April and before 1 October, in accordance with Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 (4).

               (4)

               The Council is to take a decision to abrogate a decision on the existence of an excessive deficit on the basis of notified data. Moreover, decisions on the existence of an excessive deficit are to be abrogated only if the Commission's forecasts indicate that the deficit will not exceed the 3 % of GDP threshold over the forecast horizon (5); and the debt ratio fulfils the forward-looking element of the debt benchmark.

               (5)

               On the basis of the data provided by the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2009, following the April 2015 notification by Malta, the 2015 Stability Programme and the Commission's 2015 spring forecast, the following conclusions are justified:

                           —

                           After peaking at 3,6 % of GDP in 2012, the general government deficit was reduced to 2,6 % of GDP in 2013 and reached 2,1 % of GDP in 2014. The deficit reduction in 2014 was mainly driven by an improvement in the cyclical conditions and budget measures which led to a significant increase in current revenues (by 2,5 % of GDP) which more than offset the increase in current expenditure (by 0,8 % of GDP) and by net capital expenditure (by 0,1 % of GDP) that is explained by a higher absorption rate of EU funds.

                           —

                           The stability programme for 2015-2018, submitted by the Maltese government on 30 April 2015, plans the deficit to decline to 1,6 % of GDP in 2015 and to 1,1 % of GDP in 2016. The Commission's 2015 spring forecast projects a deficit of 1,8 % of GDP in 2015 and 1,5 % of GDP in 2016. Thus, the deficit is set to remain below the Treaty reference value of 3 % of GDP over the forecast horizon.

                           —

                           The structural balance, which is the general government balance adjusted for the economic cycle and net of one-off and other temporary measures, improved by 1,3 % of GDP over the period 2013-2014.

                           —

                           The debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 69,2 % of GDP in 2013, from 67,4 % of GDP in 2012, on account of a temporary debt-increasing stock-flow adjustment. It then decreased to 68,0 % of GDP in 2014. The gross government debt is forecast to continue decreasing to 65,4 % of GDP in 2016 also due to the favourable macroeconomic scenario. In addition, compliance with the forward looking debt rule is ensured in 2014.

               (6)

               As from 2015, which is the year following the correction of the excessive deficit, Malta is subject to the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact and should progress towards its medium-term budgetary objective at an appropriate pace, including respecting the expenditure benchmark, and comply with the debt criterion in accordance with Article 2(1a) of Regulation (EC) No 1467/97. In this context, there appears to be a risk of some deviation from the required adjustment of 0,6 % of GDP towards the medium-term budgetary objective in both 2015 and 2016. In 2015, the improvement in the structural balance is forecast to be 0,1 % of GDP below the requirement. While the adjustment projected for 2016 is in line with the requirement, there is a risk of some deviation over 2015 and 2016 taken together. Therefore, further measures will be needed in 2015 and 2016.

               (7)

               In accordance with Article 126(12) of the TFEU, a Council Decision on the existence of an excessive deficit is to be abrogated when the excessive deficit in the Member State concerned has, in the view of the Council, been corrected.

               (8)

               In the view of the Council, the excessive deficit in Malta has been corrected and Decision 2013/319/EU should therefore be abrogated,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   From an overall assessment it follows that the excessive deficit situation in Malta has been corrected.
   Article 2
   Decision 2013/319/EU is hereby abrogated.
   Article 3
   This Decision is addressed to Malta.

      Done at Luxembourg, 19 June 2015.

            For the Council

            The President

         J. REIRS

      (1)  Council Decision 2013/319/EU of 21 June 2013 on the existence of an excessive deficit in Malta (OJ L 173, 26.6.2013, p. 52).

      (2)  Following the abrogation of the EDP in December 2012, in line with the Stability and Growth Pact, Malta benefited from a three-year transition period to comply with the debt reduction benchmark, starting in 2012. The requirements during the transition period are laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 2(1a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 of 7 July 1997 on speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure (OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, p. 6) and further detailed in the ‘Specifications on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact and Guidelines on the format and content of Stability and Convergence Programmes’ of 3 September 2012 (See: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/economic_governance/sgp/pdf/coc/code_of_conduct_en.pdf). The Minimum Linear Structural Adjustment (MLSA) required for 2012 was equal to 0,4 pps of GDP, while the structural deficit worsened by 0,5 pp. of GDP in 2012.

      (3)  The general government deficit and debt for 2012 were subsequently revised to currently 3,6 % of GDP and 67,4 % of GDP, respectively.

      (4)  Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community (OJ L 145, 10.6.2009, p. 1).

      (5)  In line with the Specifications on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact and Guidelines on the format and content of Stability and Convergence Programmes.


title: Council Decision of 6 April 2009 on the signing and provisional application of the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Mauritius on the short-stay visa waiver (2009/480/EC)

text:
               30.6.2009

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 169/16

         COUNCIL DECISION
   of 6 April 2009
   on the signing and provisional application of the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Mauritius on the short-stay visa waiver
   (2009/480/EC)
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular point (2)(b)(i) of Article 62, in conjunction with the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Council Regulation (EC) No 1932/2006 (1) amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 (2) listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the European Union (negative list), and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (positive list) by, inter alia, transferring the Republic of Mauritius (hereinafter referred to as Mauritius) from the negative to the positive list. Furthermore, Regulation (EC) No 1932/2006 provides that the exemption is to be applied only from the date of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemption to be concluded between the European Community and Mauritius.

               (2)

               By decision of 5 June 2008, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate an agreement between the European Community and Mauritius on the short-stay visa waiver.

               (3)

               Negotiations on the agreement were opened on 11 July 2008 and concluded on 16 October 2008.

               (4)

               The Agreement initialled in Brussels on 12 November 2008, should be signed and the attached declarations approved. The Agreement should be applied on a provisional basis, pending the completion of the procedures for its formal conclusion.

               (5)

               In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and without prejudice to Article 4 of the said Protocol, these Member States are not taking part in the adoption of this Decision and are not bound by it or subject to its application,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The signing of the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Mauritius on the short-stay visa waiver (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) is hereby approved on behalf of the Community, subject to its conclusion.
   The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.
   Article 2
   The Declarations attached to this Decision shall be approved on behalf of the Community.
   Article 3
   The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement on behalf of the Community, subject to its conclusion.
   Article 4
   The Agreement shall be applied on a provisional basis as from the date of signature thereof (3), pending the completion of the procedures for its formal conclusion.

      Done at Luxembourg, 6 April 2009.

            For the Council

            The President

         J. POSPÍŠIL

      (1)  OJ L 405, 30.12.2006, p. 23.

      (2)  OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1.

      (3)  The date of signature of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.
   JOINT DECLARATIONWITH REGARD TO ICELAND, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND AND LIECHTENSTEIN
   The Contracting Parties take note of the close relationship between the European Community and Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, particularly by virtue of the Agreements of 18 May 1999 and 26 October 2004 concerning the association of these countries with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis.
   In such circumstances it is desirable that the authorities of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, on the one hand, and Mauritius, on the other hand, conclude, without delay, bilateral agreements on the short-stay visa waiver in similar terms as this Agreement.
   JOINT DECLARATION ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE CATEGORY OF PERSONS TRAVELLING FOR THE PURPOSE OF CARRYING OUT A PAID ACTIVITY AS PROVIDED IN ARTICLE 3(2) OF THIS AGREEMENT
   Desiring to ensure a common interpretation, the Contracting Parties agree that, for the purpose of this Agreement, the category of persons carrying out a paid activity covers persons entering for the purpose of carrying out a gainful occupation/remunerated activity in the territory of the other Contracting Party as an employee or as a service provider.
   This category should not cover:

               —

               businesspersons, i.e. persons travelling for the purpose of business deliberation (without being employed in the country of the other Contracting Party),

               —

               sportspersons and artists performing an activity on an ad-hoc basis,

               —

               journalists sent by the media of their country of residence, and

               —

               intra-corporate trainees.

         The implementation of this Declaration shall be monitored by the Joint Committee within its responsibility under Article 6 of this Agreement, which may propose modifications when, on the basis of the experiences of the Contracting Parties, it considers it necessary.
   JOINT DECLARATION ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PERIOD OF THREE MONTHS DURING A SIX MONTHS PERIOD FOLLOWING THE DATE OF FIRST ENTRY AS SET OUT IN ARTICLE 4 OF THIS AGREEMENT
   The Contracting Parties agree that the maximum period of three months during a six months period following the date of first entry into the territory of Mauritius or the Schengen area as provided by Article 4 of this Agreement means either a continuous visit or several consecutive visits, the duration of which does not exceed three months in any six months period in total.
   JOINT DECLARATION ON THE INFORMATION OF THE CITIZENS ABOUT THE VISA WAIVER AGREEMENT
   Recognising the importance of transparency for the citizens of the European Union and Mauritius, the Contracting Parties agree to ensure full dissemination of information about the content and consequences of the visa waiver agreement and related issues, such as the entry conditions.
    ---documentbreak---

               30.6.2009

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 169/17

         AGREEMENT
   between the European Community and the Republic of Mauritius on the short-stay visa waiver
   THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’, and
   THE REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS, hereinafter referred to as ‘Mauritius’,
   hereinafter referred to jointly as ‘the Contracting Parties’;
   WITH A VIEW to further developing friendly relations between the Contracting Parties and desiring to facilitate travel by ensuring visa-free entry and short stay for their citizens;
   HAVING REGARD to Council Regulation (EC) No 1932/2006 of 21 December 2006, amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (1) by, inter alia, transferring six third countries, including Mauritius to the list of third countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement for short stays in the Member States of the European Union (EU);
   BEARING IN MIND that Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1932/2006 states that for these six countries, the exemption from the visa requirement is to be applied only from the date of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemptions which is to be concluded by the European Community with the country in question;
   RECOGNISING that the citizens of all Member States are exempted from the visa requirement when travelling to Mauritius for a period of sixty days;
   DESIRING to safeguard the principle of equal treatment of all EU citizens;
   TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that persons travelling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity during their short stay are not covered by this Agreement and therefore for this category the relevant rules of Community law and national law of the Member States and the national law of Mauritius on the visa obligation or exemption and on the access to employment continue to apply;
   TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland and the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community and confirming that the provisions of this agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland,
   HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   Purpose
   This Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Mauritius when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of three months during a six months period.
   Article 2
   Definitions
   For the purpose of this Agreement:

               (a)

               ‘Member State’ shall mean any Member State of the European Union, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland;

               (b)

               ‘a citizen of the European Union’ shall mean a national of a Member State as defined in point (a);

               (c)

               ‘a citizen of Mauritius’ shall mean any person who holds the citizenship of the Mauritius;

               (d)

               ‘Schengen area’ shall mean the area without internal borders comprising the territories of the Member States as defined in point (a) applying the Schengen acquis in full.

         Article 3
   Scope of application
   1.   The citizens of the European Union holding a valid ordinary, diplomatic or service/official passport issued by a Member State may enter and stay without a visa in the territory of Mauritius for the period of stay as defined in Article 4(1).
   The citizens of Mauritius holding a valid ordinary, diplomatic or service/official passport issued by Mauritius may enter and stay without a visa in the territory of the Member States for the period of stay as defined in Article 4(2).
   2.   Paragraph 1 does not apply to persons travelling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.
   For this category of persons, each Member State individually may decide to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of Mauritius or to withdraw it according to Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.
   For this category of persons, Mauritius may decide on the visa requirement or the visa waiver for the citizens of each Member State individually in accordance with its national law.
   3.   The visa waiver provided by this Agreement shall apply without prejudice to the laws of the Contracting Parties relating to the conditions of entry and short stay. The Member States and Mauritius reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met.
   4.   The visa waiver applies regardless of the mode of transport used to cross the borders of the Contracting Parties.
   5.   Issues not covered by this Agreement shall be governed by Community law, national law of the Member States or by national law of Mauritius.
   Article 4
   Duration of stay
   1.   The citizens of the European Union may stay in the territory of Mauritius for a maximum period of three months during a six months period following the date of first entry into the territory of the country.
   2.   The citizens of Mauritius may stay in the Schengen area for a maximum period of three months during a six months period following the date of first entry into the territory of any Member State fully applying the Schengen acquis. This period of three months during a period of six months shall be calculated independently of any stay in a Member State which does not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full.
   The citizens of Mauritius may stay for a maximum period of three months during a six months period following the date of first entry in the territory of each of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full, independently of the period of stay calculated for the Schengen area.
   3.   This Agreement does not affect the possibility for Mauritius and the Member States to extend the period of stay beyond three months in accordance with national law and Community law.
   Article 5
   Territorial application
   1.   As regards the French Republic, the provisions of this Agreement shall apply only to the European territory of the French Republic.
   2.   As regards the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the provisions of this Agreement shall apply only to the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
   Article 6
   Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement
   1.   The Contracting Parties shall set up a Joint Committee of experts (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), composed of representatives of the European Community and representatives of Mauritius. The Community shall be represented by the European Commission.
   2.   The Committee shall have, inter alia, the following tasks:

               (a)

               monitoring the implementation of this Agreement;

               (b)

               suggesting amendments or additions to this Agreement;

               (c)

               settling disputes arising from the interpretation or application of the provisions of this Agreement.

         3.   The Committee shall be convened whenever necessary at the request of one of the Contracting Parties.
   4.   The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
   Article 7
   Relation between this Agreement and existing bilateral visa waiver agreements between the Member States and Mauritius
   This Agreement shall take precedence over the provisions of any bilateral agreements or arrangements concluded between individual Member States and Mauritius, in so far as their provisions cover issues falling within the scope of this Agreement.
   Article 8
   Final provisions
   1.   This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective internal procedures and shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Contracting Parties notify each other that the procedures referred to above have been completed.
   2.   This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time, unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 5.
   3.   This Agreement may be amended by written agreement of the Contracting Parties. Amendments shall enter into force after the Contracting Parties have notified each other of the completion of their internal procedures necessary for this purpose.
   4.   Each Contracting Party may suspend in whole or in part this Agreement, in particular, for reasons of public policy, protection of national security or protection of public health, illegal immigration or the reintroduction of the visa requirement by either Contracting Party. The decision on suspension shall be notified to the other Contracting Party not later than two months before its entry into force. The Contracting Party that has suspended the application of this Agreement shall immediately inform the other Contracting Party once the reasons for suspension no longer exist.
   5.   Each Contracting Party may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to the other Party. This Agreement shall cease to be in force 90 days after the date of such notification.
   6.   Mauritius may suspend or terminate this Agreement only in respect of all the Member States.
   7.   The Community may suspend or terminate this Agreement only in respect of all of its Member States.

      Done at Brussels, in duplicate, on 28 May 2009 in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

         За Европейската общност
         Por la Comunidad Europea
         Za Evropské společenství
         For Det Europæiske Fællesskab
         Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
         Euroopa Ühenduse nimel
         Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα
         For the European Community
         Pour la Communauté européenne
         Per la Comunità europea
         Eiropas Kopienas vārdā
         Europos bendrijos vardu
         Az Európai Közösség részéről
         Għall-Komunità Ewropea
         Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
         W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej
         Pela Comunidade Europeia
         Pentru Comunitatea Europeană
         Za Európske spoločenstvo
         Za Evropsko skupnost
         Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
         För Europeiska gemenskapen

         За Република Мавриций
         Por la República de Mauricio
         Za Mauricijskou republiku
         For Republikken Mauritius
         Für die Republik Mauritius
         Mauritiuse Vabariigi nimel
         Για τη Δημοκρατία του Μαυρίκιου
         For the Republik of Mauritius
         Pour la République de Maurice
         Per la Repubblica di Mauritius
         Maurīcijas Republikas vārdā
         Mauricijaus Respublikos vardu
         A Mauritiusi Köztársaság részéről
         Għar-Repubblika tal-Mawrizju
         Voor de Republiek Mauritius
         W imieniu Republiki Mauritiusu
         Pela República da Maurícia
         Pentru Republica Mauritius
         Za Maurícijskú republiku
         Za Republiko Mauritius
         Mauritiuksen tasavallan puolesta
         För Republiken Mauritius

      (1)  OJ L 405, 30.12.2006, p. 23.