Chapter 3. FREEDOM, SECURITY AND JUSTICE
Subsection 3.1. Legal and Judicial Cooperation
1. The Parties shall enhance existing cooperation on mutual legal assistance and extradition based on relevant international agreements. The Parties shall strengthen existing mechanisms and, as appropriate, consider the development of new mechanisms to facilitate international cooperation in this area. Such cooperation shall include taking steps to sign, ratify, or accede to, as appropriate, and fully implement relevant international instruments, and closer cooperation with Eurojust.
2. The Parties shall develop judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters, in particular, as regards the negotiation, ratification and implementation of multilateral conventions on civil judicial cooperation, including the Conventions of The Hague Conference on Private International Law in the field of international legal cooperation and litigation as well as the protection of children.
Article 3.2. Law Enforcement and the Prevention and Fight Against Corruption and Transnational Organised Crime
1. The Parties shall cooperate and exchange views on preventing and combatting transnational organised crime, trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, trafficking of firearms, including their ammunition, their parts and components, economic and financial crimes, the world drug problem, corruption, and counterfeiting of means of payment in accordance with their respective legislation and international obligations, including as regards mutual legal assistance, exchange of information, best practices and training, and the recovery of assets or funds derived from criminal activities.
2. The Parties shall continue their dialogue and cooperation on law enforcement, including through strategic cooperation with Europol, as well as their strategic judicial cooperation, including through Eurojust and, when relevant, with other national and international institutions.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to collaborate in international fora to promote, as appropriate, adherence to and the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted on 15 November 2000 by the UN Resolution 55/25 (hereinafter referred to as the "Palermo Convention") and the Protocols thereto.
4. The Parties shall promote the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, adopted on 31 October 2003 by the UN Resolution 58/4 and support the Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption established by the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in Doha, 9‑13 November 2009 (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Review Mechanism"), including by adhering to the principle of transparency and the participation of civil society in the Implementation Review Mechanism.
5. The Parties recognise the importance of fighting corruption in international trade and investment and, to that end, commit to the Protocol on the Prevention and Fight against Corruption which is annexed to this Agreement.
Article 3.3. Migration, Asylum and Border Management
1. The Parties shall cooperate and exchange experiences and information on migration issues, within the framework of their respective laws, regulations and competences, including regular and irregular migration, countering migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, migration and development, asylum, readmission, integration, visas, facilitate regular migration, migratory control, and border management. The Parties shall exchange best practices on the protection of migrant women and children, in particular those unaccompanied, as well as other vulnerable groups.
2. The Parties shall cooperate to prevent irregular migration, to counter migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, and to foster safe, regular and orderly migration. To that end, within the framework of their respective laws and regulations:
(a) Mexico shall readmit any of its nationals obliged to return from the territory of a Member State, on request by the latter and without further formalities, unless otherwise provided for by a specific agreement;
(b) each Member State shall readmit any of its nationals obliged to return from the territory of Mexico, on request by the latter and without further formalities, unless otherwise provided for by a specific agreement;
(c) the Member States and Mexico shall provide their nationals with appropriate travel documents for the purposes referred to in points (a) and (b), or accept the use of the Union travel documents for return purposes;
(d) the Parties shall endeavour to negotiate a specific agreement defining obligations on readmission of nationals, including means of evidence regarding nationality. The conditions for the readmission of third-country nationals shall be established by that agreement.
Article 3.4. World Drug Problem
1. The Parties shall cooperate to ensure a balanced and integrated approach on drug issues with a view to:
(a) joining efforts towards achieving the effective implementation of the operational recommendations of the 2016 Special Session of the UN General Assembly on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS 2016);
(b) addressing the health and social consequences of the world drug problem, with policies aimed at achieving sustainable development, through comprehensive, evidence-based demand reduction initiatives at all levels covering in particular prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes;
(c) investing in treatment and increasing awareness on public health responses to drug use amongst the national health systems;
(d) strengthening epidemiological research and further improving the systematic availability and quality of statistical information across all drug domains;
(e) ensuring a public health approach that promotes access to and availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion to the illicit market;
(f) reducing the supply, trafficking and demand for illicit drugs and new psychoactive substances, including through the exchange of information and other cooperation activities as appropriate;
(g) mainstreaming a gender and human rights perspective in all drug policies and programmes;
(h) encouraging the application of alternative to coercive sanctions to persons who have committed drugs-law and drug-related offences;
(i) addressing the diversion of chemical precursors, essential chemicals and products or preparations containing them used for the illicit production of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and new psychoactive substances.
2. The Parties shall collaborate to attain those objectives, including, when possible, by encouraging third countries that have not already done so to ratify and implement existing international drug control conventions and protocols to which they are party. The Parties shall base their actions on their applicable laws and regulations, on commonly accepted principles in line with the relevant UN drug control conventions and on the recommendations set out in the outcome document of the UNGASS 2016 entitled "Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem", as the most recent international consensus on the world drug policy, in order to take stock of the implementation of the commitments made to jointly address and counter the world drug problem, particularly in the light of the 2019 target date.
Article 3.5. Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism
The Parties shall cooperate with a view to preventing and effectively combatting the use of their financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions to launder the proceeds of criminal activities and to finance terrorism. To that end, they shall exchange information in accordance with their respective legislation and cooperate to ensure the effective and full implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the "FATF") recommendations and other standards adopted by relevant international bodies active in this area. Such cooperation may include, among others, the recovery, seizure, confiscation, tracing, identification and return of assets or funds related to proceeds of criminal activity or to terrorist financing.
Article 3.6. Cybercrime
1. The Parties recognise that cybercrime is a global problem requiring a global response. The Parties shall strengthen cooperation to prevent and combat cybercrime through the exchange of information and best practices and trends, in accordance with their respective legislation, and relevant international legal instruments on cybercrime. The Parties shall work together, as appropriate, to provide assistance and support to other States in the development of effective laws, policies and practices to prevent and combat cybercrime.
2. The Parties shall, as appropriate, in accordance with their respective legislation, exchange information, experiences and best practices in areas such as the education and training of cybercrime investigators, the conduct of cybercrime investigations and digital forensics with emphasis on combatting child sexual exploitation and protecting critical infrastructure such as the financial, energy and telecommunications sectors, among others.
Article 3.7. Personal Data Protection
1. The Parties recognise the importance of protecting the fundamental rights to privacy and the protection of personal data. The Parties shall cooperate to ensure the respect of these fundamental rights including in the area of law enforcement and when preventing and combatting terrorism and other serious transnational crimes.
2. The Parties shall cooperate to promote a high level of protection for personal data. Cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels may include capacity building, technical assistance, the exchange of information and expertise, and cooperation through regulatory counterparts in international bodies as mutually agreed by the Parties.
Article 3.8. Consumer Policy
The Parties recognise the importance of ensuring a high level of consumer protection and, to that end, shall endeavour to cooperate in the field of consumer policy. Such cooperation may involve to the extent possible:
(a) exchanging information on their respective consumer protection frameworks, including on consumer laws, consumer product safety, consumer redress and the enforcement of consumer legislation;
(b) encouraging the development of independent consumer associations and contacts between consumer representatives.
Article 3.9. Consular Protection
Mexico agrees that the diplomatic and consular authorities of any represented EU Member State shall provide protection to any national of a EU Member State which does not have a permanent representation in Mexico effectively in a position to provide consular protection in a given case, on the same conditions as to nationals of that EU Member State.
Article 3.10. Disaster Risk Management and Civil Protection
The Parties recognise the need to manage both domestic and global natural and man-made disaster risks. The Parties affirm their common commitment to improving prevention, mitigation, preparedness, early warning, response and recovery measures in order to increase the resilience of their societies and infrastructure, and to cooperate, as appropriate, at a bilateral and multilateral level to improve global disaster risk-management outcomes aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, in coherence with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (hereinafter referred to as the "Paris Agreement") and the New Urban Agenda.
Chapter 4. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Article 4.1. Sustainable Development
1. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to achieve sustainable development, as expressed in the 2030 Agenda. The Parties recognise that sustainable development in the long term requires inclusive economic growth, social well-being and sustainable use of natural resources. Those three dimensions are recognised as deeply interlinked and mutually reinforced.
2. The Parties shall promote sustainable development in its three dimensions, economic, social and environmental, in a balanced manner, including the responsible, efficient use and sustainable management of natural resources, in accordance with their respective priorities and circumstances, as well as raise awareness of the economic and social costs of environmental damage, unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, and its associated impact on human well-being.
3. The Parties shall promote human inclusive sustainable development through dialogue, joint action, sharing of best practices, good governance at all levels, and the mobilisation of financial resources, making the best possible use of existing financial instruments and exploring the viability of establishing new ones.
Article 4.2. Sustainable Development Cooperation
1. The main objective of development cooperation is to implement the 2030 Agenda, in its multidimensional and human-centered perspective, and to achieve the SDGs. The principles of effective development cooperation as outlined by the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, building on the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, adopted at the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Paris on 2 March 2005 and the Accra Agenda for Action, endorsed at the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra on 4 September 2008, are important tools to maximise its development impact.
2. The Parties shall address the challenges linked to achieving the SDGs by giving priority to each Party's needs and national ownership, taking into account regional context, and building synergies and development partnerships with a range of stakeholders on the field, including the civil society, local governments, private sector or non-profit organisations. While recognising the central role of Governments in promoting development, the Parties shall also cooperate to promote the uptake by the private sector, in particular SME's, of sustainable development policies in its practices.
3. The Parties shall cooperate to progressively improve global resource efficiency and sustainability in consumption and production patterns, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and shall endeavour to take actions aimed at decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation.
4. The Parties shall hold a regular policy dialogue on sustainable development and the achievement of the SDGs, based on common priorities in order to enhance the quality and effectiveness of their development cooperation, in line with internationally accepted principles of aid and development effectiveness.
5. The Parties recognise that mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into sectoral and cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies across relevant sectors, and strengthening of legal, institutional and regulatory domestic frameworks can contribute to generating positive impacts on biological diversity and its ecosystem services as well as to achieving sustainable development. As such, the Parties shall cooperate to integrate biodiversity mainstreaming into relevant sectors, as applicable, to enhance efforts to halt biodiversity loss and improve human well-being.
6. The Parties shall cooperate and carry out joint activities, including through bilateral coordination in relevant multilateral fora, as well as regional and triangular cooperation preferably based on existing mechanisms and initiatives, in light of their sustainable development dialogue and their commitment to the 2030 Agenda. The areas of cooperation may include:
(a) implementation of the goals and targets of the SDGs;
(b) environmental protection, at all levels, including conservation and sustainable use of natural resources;
(c) climate change, resilience, disaster risk management and sustainable energy;
(d) the security-development nexus, including building stability and security, supporting the rule of law, countering the world drug problem and transnational organised crime;
(e) inclusive growth and job creation;
(f) governance, including strengthening fiscal, economic, environmental and social governance;
(g) education, including higher education, technical and vocational training, capacity building, innovation, and exchanges in these areas; and
(h) private sector participation strategies.
7. The Parties shall continue developing triangular cooperation activities in order to support third countries in their implementation of SDGs, including Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other developing countries in situations of vulnerability, such as Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In that regard, the Parties shall explore innovative engagement modalities, including for more advanced developing countries, as appropriate. Triangular cooperation shall consist of supporting tailor-made strategies and commonly agreed actions based on the needs of third countries. To that end, the Parties shall develop coordinated cooperation activities such as technical assistance, training, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and other forms of cooperation jointly defined between the Parties and with the recipient third country.
8. Such cooperation may be undertaken through, among others:
(a) capacity building and knowledge sharing through training courses, workshops and seminars, the exchange of experts, studies, and joint research;
(b) mobilising financial resources through blending operations in partnership with the European Investment Bank and other eligible European development finance institutions;
(c) considering other forms of development financing as appropriate, with a focus on innovative financing mechanisms, such as triangular cooperation; and
(d) exchanging information on best practices of development effectiveness.
9. The Parties shall work together to strengthen accountability and transparency with a focus on improving development results and cooperate to strengthen national systems to deliver sustainable services and mainstream gender considerations across programmes and instruments.
10. Development cooperation shall be carried out in line with the relevant internationally agreed principles and policies to which both Parties have adhered to.
Article 4.3. Sustainable Urban Agenda
The Parties shall cooperate in the implementation of policies promoting sustainable urban settlements, including those derived from the New Urban Agenda, aiming to achieve cities and human settlements where all persons are able to enjoy equal rights and opportunities, as well as their fundamental freedoms, in line with the SDGs and targets, in particular Goal 11: "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable".
Article 4.4. Regional and Urban Policy Development
1. The Parties recognise the importance of policies to promote balanced and sustainable territorial and urban development as a means to contribute effectively to the implementation of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda.
2. The Parties shall promote cooperation and partnership involving all the key actors in the fields of regional and territorial development and sustainable urban development, in particular, on ways to address territorial and urban challenges in an integrated and comprehensive manner.
3. The Parties shall develop, wherever possible, concrete opportunities for region-to-region and city-to-city cooperation on sustainable solutions to regional and urban challenges with a view to improving capacity building through exchanges of experience and practice, and mutual learning.
Chapter 5. ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY
Article 5.1. Environment
1. The Parties recognise the need to protect, conserve, restore and sustainably manage natural resources and biological diversity, including soil, land, forests, water, oceans, seas and marine resources, as a basis for sustainable development supporting the needs of current and future generations.
2. The Parties recognise the importance of global environmental governance and international rules, including multilateral environmental agreements, to tackle environmental challenges of common concern. Each Party reaffirms its commitment to implement the multilateral environmental agreements to which it is a party.
3. The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in mutually agreed priority areas on environmental protection, conservation, responsible, efficient use and sustainable management of natural resources, and on mainstreaming environmental considerations in all sectors of cooperation, including in an international and regional context. Those priority areas may include:
(a) promoting good environmental governance, including policy dialogue and cooperation areas such as the implementation of UN Environment Assembly resolutions and multilateral environmental agreements, as well as promoting compliance with environmental law;
(b) identifying bilateral priorities and, fostering the exchange of information, technical expertise, technology and knowledge transfer, and best practices in areas such as:
(i) implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation;
(ii) green growth, including sustainable consumption and production, resource efficiency, circular economy, and green finance;
(iii) biodiversity mainstreaming into economic and productive sectors;
(iv) protection, conservation and sustainable management of forests;
(v) protection, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity including the mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services, their valuation, and other economic instruments for the protection of biodiversity, as well as access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization;
(vi) land degradation and desertification;
(vii) prevention and the combat against illegal harvest and trade in wildlife, forest resources, genetic resources, and support for their legal sustainable and traceable trade;
(viii) sound management of chemicals and waste;
(ix) integrated Water Resource Management (hereinafter referred to as the "IWRM"), air and soil policy;
(x) coastal and marine environment conservation and management and sustainable blue economy;
(xi) designation, representativeness, effective management and connectivity of protected areas, as well as other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), including marine protected areas; and
(xii) collaboration with the private sector in the areas referred to in this point, where possible.
Article 5.2. Climate Change
1. The Parties acknowledge that the urgent threat of climate change requires collective action for low-emission and climate-resilient development, as well as adaptation measures.
2. The Parties recognise the importance of international rules and agreements in the area of climate change, in particular the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, done at New York on 9 May 1992 (hereinafter referred to as the "UNFCCC") and the Paris Agreement, and stress that their implementation is irreversible and reaffirm their commitments under these agreements.
3. The Parties shall work together to strengthen their cooperation under the UNFCCC, to implement the Paris Agreement and their nationally determined contributions (hereinafter referred to as the "NDCs"), as well as to invite other countries to do so and to develop their long-term low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies.
4. Such cooperation may include:
(a) facilitating further action, to contribute to national debates and policy work;
(b) supporting low carbon economic development in accordance with the Paris Agreement;
(c) extending the NDCs into national sector policies and measures that cover transport, energy, infrastructure, urban planning, land use and investment sector strategies, including the integration of the adaptation processes in the sectorial development strategies;
(d) supporting the facilitative dialogue and the early definition of measures to review climate action in all countries;
(e) developing the transparency agenda under the Paris Agreement, including policy dialogue and cooperation in mutually agreed priority areas;
(f) enhancing other processes such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (hereinafter referred to as the "ICAO") stabilisation of international aviation emissions at 2020 levels, the adoption and formulation of the "Comprehensive strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships" by the International Maritime Organisation (hereinafter referred to as the "IMO"), or the ambitious phase-down of hydroflurocarbons (hereinafter referred to as the "HFCs") under the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, adopted in Kigali on 15 October 2016 including its ratification and ensuring its swift implementation to achieve an ambitious global phase-down of consumption and production of HFCs;
(g) Promoting domestic climate policies and programmes in the framework of the Paris Agreement, including the promotion of emissions monitoring and market and non-market mechanisms, sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure development, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport as well as those which address the adverse effects of deforestation, forest, soil and all ecosystems degradation on climate.;
(h) strengthening synergies with entrepreneurs, civil society organisations and local authorities, which complement the efforts made by States;
(i) participation of the private sector towards a low-carbon economy;
(j) promoting market-based measures to introduce carbon pricing and the "polluter pays" principle;
(k) enhancing the development and deployment of commercially viable low-emission and other climate-friendly technologies;
(l) progressively eliminating subsidies for fossil fuels, and promoting the development of a sustainable and low-carbon economy, such as investment in renewable energies and energy efficient solutions;
(m) enhancing bilateral dialogue and measures on adaptation, mitigation and means of implementation, including technology transfer, capacity building and finance;
(n) fostering the consideration of the cross-cutting approaches of gender and youth in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement;
(o) promoting policies on climate impacts on water resources;
(p) implementing the Paris Pact on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Basins of Rivers, Lakes and Aquifers, presented at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on 2 December 2015 as well as the Lima-Paris Action Agenda launched at the Climate Summit in New York on 23 September 2014;
(q) strengthening cooperation schemes to ensure more ambitious future NDCs while taking into account the global stocktake process.
Article 5.3. Energy
1. The Parties recognise the importance of the energy sector to economic prosperity and international peace and stability and underline that the transformation of the energy sector is key to achieving the goals set out in Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement. They recognise the need to improve and diversify energy supplies (including the promotion of renewable energies), promote innovation, research, development and training of human resources, as well as increase energy efficiency in order to strengthen energy productivity, energy security, and safe, sustainable and affordable energy. The Parties shall work towards those objectives.
2. The Parties shall maintain information exchanges on energy and collaborate bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally to foster open and competitive markets, share best practices, promote science-based, transparent regulation, and discuss areas of cooperation on energy issues, such as within the framework of international fora, mechanisms and initiatives.
Chapter 6. AGRICULTURE, MARITIME AFFAIRS AND FISHERIES
Article 6.1. Cooperation In Agriculture and Rural Development
The Parties shall cooperate in, among others:
(a) agricultural and rural development policy;
(b) agricultural market outlook;
(c) sustainable management of natural resources and climate action;
(d) sustainable and resilient agriculture by promoting awareness for the "Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems" and the "Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security" of the Committee on World Food Security;
(e) fostering rural development through capacity building on trade related issues, including geographical indications as an intellectual property right;
(f) organic farming;
(g) research and innovation;
(h) organisation and development of sustainable production processes in the agrifood sector (agriculture and livestock);
(i) organisation and productive development of rural communities;
(j) food security;
(k) prevention of postharvest loss and food waste;
(l) applied research for the production and management of agricultural and animal products; and
(m) processing of agricultural and food products.
Article 6.2. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
1. The Parties recognise the importance of the conservation and the sustainable and responsible management of fisheries, aquaculture and other maritime activities and their contribution to providing economic, social and environmental, opportunities for present and future generations.
2. The Parties shall strengthen dialogue and cooperation on issues of mutual interest in the areas of fisheries and maritime affairs.
3. The Parties shall, in a manner consistent with their international obligations:
(a) contribute to improving the global ocean governance system, including by filling regulatory and implementation gaps and promoting the ratification and implementation of relevant instruments in the maritime and fisheries sectors with third countries;
(b) adopt effective monitoring, control and surveillance measures, such as observer schemes, vessel monitoring schemes, transhipment control, inspections at sea and port state measures and associated sanctions, aimed at the conservation of fish stocks and the prevention of overfishing;
(c) maintain or adopt actions and cooperate to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (hereinafter referred to as "IUU") fishing, including, where appropriate, the exchange of information on IUU activities in their waters and the implementation of policies and measures to exclude IUU products from trade flows and fish farming operations;
(d) cooperate with, and where appropriate in, regional fisheries management organisations to which both Parties are either members, observers, or cooperating non-contracting parties, with the aim of achieving good governance, including by advocating for science-based decisions and compliance with such decisions in those organisations;
(e) promote the development of sustainable production processes, which are environmentally responsible and economically competitive, in the freshwater and marine aquaculture industry;
(f) strengthen the safety and security of the oceans;
(g) reduce pressures on the oceans including through the fight against marine litter;