Council Decision (EU) 2015/1988 of 22 October 2015 on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy C...

COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2015/1988 of 22 October 2015 on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo (*), of the other part THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 37 in conjunction with Article 31(1) thereof, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 217, in conjunction with Article 218(5) and the second subparagraph of Article 218(8) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, Whereas: (1) On 21 June 2013 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with Kosovo for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (‘the Agreement’). The negotiations were successfully concluded by the initialling of the Agreement on 25 July 2014. (2) The Union and Kosovo have strong links and share values and a desire to strengthen those links and establish a close and lasting relationship based on reciprocity and mutual interest, which should allow Kosovo to further strengthen and extend its relations with the Union. (3) The ‘First agreement on principles governing the normalisation of relations’ was reached on 19 April 2013 in the framework of the EU-facilitated dialogue. (4) The Agreement provides for the establishment of an association between the Union and Kosovo involving reciprocal...