Definition of the Parties
For the purposes of this Agreement:
– "Party" means the European Union or its Member States or the European Union and its Member States in accordance with their respective areas of competence (the "EU Party"), or Mexico;
– "Parties" means, on the one hand, the EU Party and, on the other hand, Mexico.
ARTICLE 2.2
Territorial Application
1. Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement shall apply with respect to the European Union, to the territories to which the TEU and the TFEU apply and under the conditions laid down in those Treaties. The provisions concerning the tariff treatment of goods, rules of origin and origin procedures, also apply to the customs territory of the European Union not covered by the first sentence. The term "territory" in Chapter 4 (Customs and Trade Facilitation) and Articles 2.7 (Goods re-entered after Repair or Alteration), 2.13 (Temporary Admission of Goods) and 25.66 (Border Enforcement Measures Related to Intellectual Property Rights) of Part III shall be understood, in relation to the EU Party, to refer to the customs territory of the European Union. The customs territory of the European Union is the territory referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code 2 .
2. Unless otherwise specified, this Agreement shall apply with respect to Mexico, to the land territory, air space, internal waters, territorial sea and any areas beyond the territorial seas of Mexico within which Mexico may exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction, as determined by its domestic law, consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982.
ARTICLE 2.3
Fulfilment of Obligations
1. Each Party is responsible for the observance of the provisions of this Agreement. To that end, the Parties shall take any general or specific measures required to fulfil their obligations under this Agreement.
2. If either Party considers that the other Party has failed to fulfil any of the obligations under Part III of this Agreement, the specific mechanisms provided for in that Part of the Agreement shall apply.
3. If either Party considers that the other Party has failed to fulfil any of the obligations that are described as essential elements in Article 2 of Part I and Article 1.4 of Part II, it may take appropriate measures. For the purpose of this paragraph, "appropriate measures" may include the suspension, in part or in full, of this Agreement.
4. If either Party considers that the other Party has failed to fulfil any obligation in this Agreement, save those falling within the scope of paragraphs 2 and 3 above, it shall notify the other Party and provide all relevant information. The Parties shall hold consultations under the auspices of the Joint Council with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution. Where the Joint Council is unable to reach a mutually acceptable solution, the notifying Party may take appropriate measures. For the purpose of this paragraph, "appropriate measures" may include the suspension only of Parts I, II and IV of this Agreement.
5. "Appropriate measures" referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 above shall be taken in full respect of international law and shall be proportionate to the failure to implement obligations under this Agreement. Priority must be given to those which least disturb the functioning of this Agreement. It is understood that suspension, in part or in full, of this Agreement would be a measure of last resort.
ARTICLE 2.4
Amendment
1. This Agreement may be amended by written agreement between the Parties. Any amendment shall enter into force on the date agreed by the Parties and upon completion of their respective legal requirements and procedures.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, this Agreement may be amended in the cases specified in this Agreement by a decision of the Joint Council or, if delegated, the Joint Committee, to modify provisions of or annexes to this Agreement.
ARTICLE 2.5
Entry into Force and Provisional Application
1. This Agreement shall be signed and approved by the Parties in accordance with their respective internal procedures.
2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Parties have notified each other of the completion of the internal procedures for that purpose.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2 and pending its entry into force, the European Union and Mexico may apply this Agreement provisionally in whole or in part, in accordance with their respective internal procedures, as applicable.
4. The provisional application shall begin on the first day of the second month following the date on which:
(a) the European Union has notified Mexico of the completion of its the internal procedures, indicating the parts of this Agreement that are to be provisionally applied; and
(b) Mexico has notified the European Union of the completion of its internal procedures.
5. During the period of provisional application, the provisions of the Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United Mexican States, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 8 December 1997, continue to apply in so far as they are not covered by the provisional application of this Agreement.
6. The European Union or Mexico may notify the other Party in writing of its intention to terminate the provisional application of this Agreement. The termination shall take effect on the first day of the second month following that notification.
7. If this Agreement is, or certain provisions of this Agreement are provisionally applied in accordance with paragraph 4, the Parties shall understand the term "date of entry into force of this Agreement" as meaning the date of provisional application. The Joint Council and other bodies established under this Agreement may exercise their functions during the provisional application of this Agreement. Any decisions or recommendations adopted in the exercise of their functions shall cease to be effective if the provisional application of this Agreement is terminated pursuant to paragraph 6.
8. Notifications made in accordance with this Article shall be sent, for the European Union, to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and, for Mexico, to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who shall be the depositories of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 2.6
Relation to Other Agreements
1. The Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United Mexican States, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 8 December 1997 including any subsequent decision by its institutional bodies except for Decision No 5/2004 of the EU-Mexico Joint Council of 15 December 2004 adopting, pursuant to Article 17(3) of Decision No 2/2000, an Annex to the said Decision on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters, shall be repealed and replaced by this Agreement.
2. The EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade shall be repealed and replaced by this Agreement upon entry into force of this Agreement.
3. References to the aforementioned agreements in all other agreements between the Parties shall be construed as referring to this Agreement.
4. The Parties may complement this Agreement by concluding specific agreements in any area of cooperation falling within the scope of this Agreement. Such specific agreements shall form an integral part of the overall bilateral relations as governed by this Agreement and shall be subject to the common institutional framework established under this Agreement.
5. Existing agreements relating to specific areas of cooperation falling within the scope of this Agreement shall be considered to form an integral part of the overall bilateral relations governed by this Agreement and shall be subject to the common institutional framework established under this Agreement.
6. Upon entry into force of the Agreement, any decisions adopted by the Trade Council established by the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade, signed on X, shall be deemed to have been adopted by the Joint Council established by Article 1.2. Any decisions adopted by the Trade Committee established by the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade shall be deemed to have been adopted by the Joint Committee established by Article 1.3.
7. Notwithstanding Article 2.6(2):
(a) temporary measures adopted pursuant to Articles 2.24(7) and 20.4 of the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade, which are in place on the date of entry into force of this Agreement, shall remain applicable until their natural expiration;
(b) bilateral safeguard measures adopted pursuant to Section C of Chapter 5 of the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade which are in place on the date of entry into force of this Agreement, shall remain applicable until their natural expiration;
(c) dispute settlement procedures already initiated pursuant to Article 31.6 of the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade shall, as from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, be deemed to be a dispute under this Agreement and shall continue until their completion; and
(d) the binding outcome of any dispute settlement procedure initiated pursuant to Article 31.6 of the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade shall remain binding on the Parties after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
8. The Parties shall not be able to bring dispute settlement proceedings under this Agreement on matters that have been the subject of a final panel report under Chapter 31 of the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade.
9. Transitional periods already completely or partially elapsed under the EU-Mexico Interim Agreement on Trade shall be taken into account when calculating transitional periods provided for in equivalent provisions under this agreement. Such transitional periods under this Agreement shall be calculated starting from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 2.7
Annexes, Protocols and Joint Declarations
1. The annexes, including their appendices, protocols and notes, and joint declarations to this Agreement shall form an integral part thereof.
2. Each Annex to this Agreement, including its appendices, identified by a code starting with an Arabic number, shall form an integral part of the chapter of Part III of this Agreement that is identified with the same Arabic number and in which reference is made to that particular Annex.
3. Annexes I to VII to this Agreement, including their appendices, which are identified by a Roman number, shall form an integral part of Chapters 10 to 19 of Part III of this Agreement. Unless otherwise provided, the definitions set out in Chapters 10 to 19 apply equally to those annexes.
ARTICLE 2.8
Security Exception
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:
(a) to require a Party to furnish or allow access to any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests; or
(b) to prevent a Party from taking an action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests:
(i) connected to the production of or traffic in arms, ammunition and implements of war and to such traffic or transactions in other goods and materials, carried out directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment;
(ii) relating to the supply of services and technology, and to economic activities, carried out directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment;
(iii) relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;
(iv) taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations;
(c) to prevent a Party from taking any action in order to carry out its international obligations under the UN Charter for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
ARTICLE 2.9
Accession of New Member States to the European Union
1. The European Union shall promptly inform Mexico of any request by a third country to accede the European Union.
2. The European Union shall notify Mexico of the entry into force of any treaty concerning the accession of a third country to the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the "Accession Treaty").
3. During the negotiations between the European Union and the third country seeking accession, the European Union shall:
(a) provide, on request of Mexico, and to the extent possible, any information regarding any matter covered by this Agreement; and
(b) take into account any concerns expressed by Mexico in relation to the matters covered under this Agreement.
4. A new Member State of the European Union shall accede to this Agreement in accordance with the terms decided by the Joint Council. That accession shall take effect from the date of accession of the new Member State to the European Union. The Joint Council shall amend by a decision this Agreement and thereby establish the terms of accession.
5. Notwithstanding paragraph 4, as regards Part III of this Agreement, the Joint Committee meeting in trade configuration shall:
(a) examine, sufficiently in advance of the date of accession, any effects of such accession on this Agreement; and
(b) before the entry into force of the accession of the third country to the European Union, address the effects of such accession on this Agreement and agree on any necessary amendments, adjustments or transitional measures relating to Part III of this Agreement, to allow for the application of that Part by the Parties to the extent possible as of the date of accession of the new Member State to the European Union.
6. Decisions of the Joint Council and of the Joint Committee shall be adopted in accordance with Article 1.2 (Joint Council).
ARTICLE 2.10
Future Accessions to this Agreement
This Agreement is open to accession by any State that is prepared to comply with the obligations set out in this Agreement, subject to such terms and conditions as may be agreed between the State and the Parties, and following approval in accordance with the applicable legal procedures of each Party and the acceding State.
ARTICLE 2.11
Private Rights
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as conferring rights or imposing obligations on persons other than those created between the Parties under public international law or, without prejudice to the domestic legislation of Mexico, as permitting this Agreement to be directly invoked in the domestic legal systems of the Parties.
ARTICLE 2.12
Authentic Texts
This Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages, each text being equally authentic.
ARTICLE 2.13
Duration and Termination
1. This Agreement shall remain in force for an unlimited period.
2. The European Union or Mexico may notify, in writing, the other Party of its intention to terminate this Agreement. The termination shall take effect six months after the date of receipt of that notification.
PROTOCOL ON THE PREVENTION OF AND FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
SECTION A
General Provisions
ARTICLE 1
Objectives
1. The Parties affirm their commitment to prevent and fight corruption in international trade and investment and recall that corruption in trade and investment undermines good governance and economic development and distorts international competitive conditions.
2. The Parties recognise that corruption can affect international trade and investment as it may compromise market access opportunities and erode commitments aimed at creating a level playing field. Corruption affecting trade and investment can act as a non-tariff barrier for investors and enterprises seeking to participate in international trade and investment.
3. The Parties recognise the importance of fighting against corruption of public officials and in the private sector affecting international trade and investment.
4. The Parties recognise that corruption is a transnational issue linked to other forms of transnational and economic crime, including money-laundering, and should be addressed with a multi-disciplinary approach and close cooperation at the international level.
5. The Parties recognise the need to build integrity and enhance transparency within both the public and private sectors and that each sector has complementary responsibilities in that regard.
6. The Parties recognise the importance of regional and multilateral initiatives, including at the United Nations, the WTO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (hereinafter referred to as "OECD"), the Financial Action Task Force (hereinafter referred to as "FATF"), the Council of Europe and the Organisation of American States, to prevent and fight corruption in matters affecting international trade and investment and commit to working jointly to encourage and support appropriate initiatives.
7. The Parties reiterate their shared commitment pursuant to Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
8. The Parties recognise the important work undertaken by the G20 Working Group on Anticorruption and reaffirm their support to the relevant High Level Principles agreed in the G20.
9. The objective of these provisions is to set a bilateral framework of commitments to prevent and fight corruption affecting international trade and investment in the relationship between the Parties.
ARTICLE 2
Scope
This Protocol applies to the prevention of and fight against corruption with respect to any matter covered by Part III of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 3
Relation to Other Agreements
Nothing in this Protocol shall affect the rights and obligations of the Parties under the United Nations Convention against Corruption, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 31 October 2003 at United Nations Headquarters in New York (hereinafter referred to as "UNCAC"); the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, done at Paris on 21 November 1997; the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, done at Caracas on 29 March 1996; the relevant legal instruments adopted by the Council of Europe; and any other relevant international legal instruments adopted by each Party.
SECTION B
Measures to Fight Corruption
ARTICLE 4
Active and Passive Bribery of Public Officials
The Parties recognise the importance of fighting against active and passive bribery of public officials affecting international trade and investment. To that end, they reaffirm in particular their commitments pursuant to Articles 15 and 16 of UNCAC to adopt or maintain such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences active and passive bribery of public officials and active bribery of foreign public officials and officials of public international organisations, when committed intentionally, and to consider adopting such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish passive bribery of foreign public officials and officials of public international organisations as criminal offences, when committed intentionally.
ARTICLE 5
Active and Passive Bribery in the Private Sector
1. The Parties recognise the importance of fighting against active and passive bribery in the private sector affecting international trade and investment. To that end, they recall the need to comply with their commitments under UNCAC and reaffirm in particular their commitments pursuant to Article 21 of UNCAC to consider adopting such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences active and passive bribery in the private sector, when committed intentionally in the course of economic, financial or commercial activities.
2. The Parties recognise that facilitation payments made to public officials constitute a form of bribery, hinder efforts to fight corruption and incentivise bribery in foreign countries. To that end, the Parties reaffirm their commitment pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article 12 of UNCAC to disallow the tax deductibility of expenses that constitute bribes and, where appropriate, other expenses incurred in furtherance of corrupt conduct.
ARTICLE 6
Corruption and Money Laundering
The Parties, recognising the interlinkage between corruption and money laundering, reaffirm their commitments pursuant to Article 23 of UNCAC.
ARTICLE 7
Liability of Legal Persons
The Parties recognise that establishing the liability of legal persons and ensuring effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal or non-criminal sanctions are necessary to advance the global fight against corruption in international trade and investment. To that end, the Parties reaffirm their commitments pursuant to Article 26 of UNCAC and recall their support to the G20 High Level Principles on the Liability of Legal Persons for Corruption.
SECTION C
Measures to Prevent Corruption in the Private Sector
ARTICLE 8
Responsible Business Conduct
1. The Parties recognise the importance of preventive measures and responsible business conduct, including financial and non-financial reporting obligations and corporate social responsibility practices in averting corruption; and the role of trade in pursuing this objective.
2. The Parties recognise the necessity of taking into account the needs and constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises (hereinafter referred as "SMEs") in terms of reporting obligations.
3. The Parties recall their support to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in relation to the fight against corruption.
ARTICLE 9
Financial and Non-Financial Reporting
1. In line with their commitments under UNCAC and in accordance with the fundamental principles of their law, the Parties recognise the importance of enhancing accounting and auditing standards in the private sector as a means of preventing corruption and recognise in particular that the following measures, among others, could achieve this objective:
(a) ensuring that private enterprises, taking into account their structure and size, and notably the specific needs of SMEs, implement measures to assist in preventing and detecting acts of corruption, which may include compliance with a corporate governance code, internal audit function or sufficient internal controls; and
(b) ensuring that the accounts and required financial statements of those private enterprises are subject to appropriate auditing and certification procedures.
2. The Parties shall encourage listed enterprises, banks and insurance companies to report on the measures they have taken to prevent and fight corruption. The Parties shall take such measures as may be necessary on the disclosure of such reports.
3. The Parties shall take any measures that may be necessary, in accordance with their laws and regulations, on the disclosure of financial statements and maintenance of accounting and auditing standards.
4. Each Party shall endeavour to consider adopting or maintaining measures requiring external auditors to report to the competent authorities any suspected acts regarding the offenses specified in Articles 4, 5 and 6. If that reporting is required, the Parties shall ensure that external auditors making those reports reasonably and in good faith are protected from legal action regarding breaches of any contractual or legal restriction on the disclosure of information.
ARTICLE 10
Transparency in the Private Sector
1. The Parties recognise that transparency can contribute to prevent corruption in the field of international trade and investment and to that end recall their commitments pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 12 of UNCAC. In particular, the following measures could achieve the objective of ensuring greater transparency in the private sector involved in commercial activities relating to trade and investment under Part III of this Agreement:
(a) promoting the development of standards and procedures designed to safeguard the integrity of relevant private entities, including codes of conduct for the correct, honourable and proper performance of the activities of business and all relevant professions and the prevention of conflicts of interest, and for the promotion of the use of good commercial practices among businesses and in the contractual relations of businesses with the State;
(b) preventing the misuse of procedures regulating private entities, including procedures regarding subsidies and licences granted by public authorities for commercial activities; and
(c) promoting measures to prevent conflicts of interest by imposing restrictions, as appropriate and for a reasonable period of time, on the professional activities of former public officials or on the employment of public officials by the private sector after their resignation or retirement, if such activities or employment relate directly to the functions held or supervised by those public officials during their tenure.
ARTICLE 11
Measures to Prevent Money Laundering
1. Recognising the importance of preventing money laundering and its potential impact on international trade and investment, the Parties confirm their commitment to adopting or maintaining a comprehensive domestic regulatory and supervisory regime for financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (hereinafter referred to as "DNFBPs"), in accordance with existing commitments under UNCAC and the FATF Recommendations. The Parties shall promote the implementation of the FATF Recommendations 24 and 25 on Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and on Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements, and the G20 High Level Principles on Beneficial Ownership Transparency.
2. In accordance with the UNCAC commitments, FATF Recommendations and G20 High Level Principles referred to in paragraph 1, the Parties shall adopt or maintain measures that:
(a) ensure that their domestic laws include a definition of "beneficial owner" that captures the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a customer or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted, including also those natural persons who exercise ultimate effective control over a legal person or arrangement;
(b) ensure that legal persons incorporated in their territory are required to obtain and hold adequate, accurate and current information on their beneficial ownership;
(c) ensure that trustees of express trusts or other legal arrangements with a structure or function similar to express trusts maintain adequate, accurate and current information on their beneficial ownership, including of settlors, any protector, trustees and beneficiaries or class of beneficiaries, and any other natural person exercising ultimate effective control over the trust;
(d) require financial institutions and DNFBPs, understood to be those defined by the FATF Recommendations, to identify the customer and verify that customer's identity, as well as to identify the beneficial owner and take reasonable measures to verify the identity of the beneficial owner, so that the financial institution or DNFBP is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner is;