15/04/2020 (Agence Europe) – The Council of the European Union gave its green light on Wednesday 15 April for the EU to participate in a scheme to overcome the paralysis of the Appellate Body (AB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has lasted since December 2019. The text submitted to it by the European Commission at the end of March has not been modified (see EUROPE 12456/5). Modelled on the WTO’s appeal mechanism, this “interim” arrangement will allow the 18 participating courts to benefit from a “binding” dispute settlement mechanism, based on “independent” examination of reports by panels on the cases submitted, the EU Council said in a statement. This arrangement will be operational once all parties have notified their domestic measures to the WTO. See the text of the arrangement: https://bit.ly/2RGBWDX (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)