When the Treaty of Lisbon came into
force, the European Union succeeded the European
Community as the body required formally to approve the agreement. The purpose of the Council decision is therefore not only to approve the agreement on behalf of the
European Union, but also to give official notification to South Africa that, as from 1 December 2009, the
European Union, having succeeded the
European Community, exercises all rights and assumes all obligations of the Community, in particular tho
...[+++]se deriving from this agreement.