International Olive Council

The International Olive Council (IOC) (formerly the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC)) is an intergovernmental organisation of states that produce olives or products derived from olives, such as olive oil.

The IOOC had its genesis in the International Agreement on Olive Oil, which was concluded in Geneva on 17 October 1955. After this treaty was amended and the amended version came into force, the IOOC was established under this treaty in 1959, with headquarters in Madrid. This first agreement remained in force until 1963, when a second agreement was negotiated. The organisation was governed by the following agreements during the time spans indicated:

A new Agreement was negotiated and concluded In October 2015 and will be open for signature throughout 2016. In 2006, the International Olive Oil Council changed its name to the International Olive Council in recognition of the fact that the Council is also involved in the field of table olives (the name of its governing Agreement had recognised this since 1986).

The IOC currently has 17 state members plus the European Union. These states account for over 98 per cent of the world's olive production. The following states of the IOC are below (the year of the state's first ratification of one of the Agreements is included; an asterisk indicates that the state was a founding member of the IOOC):

Because the IOC is an international, intergovernmental organisation, membership is only open to the Governments of States or to international organisations with responsibilities in the negotiation, conclusion and application of international agreements, especially commodity agreements. If a country is interested in joining, its government submits an application to the Council of Members, usually through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs or another ministry, or through its Embassy in Spain. The Council of Members examines the application and determines the conditions of accession of the applicant country. This includes fixing the number of participation shares in the IOC budget and setting a time limit for the country to file its instrument of accession with the depository of the Agreement. As soon as the applicant deposits its instrument it becomes a Member. Private companies or individuals cannot join the IOC.

Three categories of observer are allowed to attend all or part of IOC sessions, provided they have the prior consent of the Council of Members.

The IOC has been headquartered in Madrid since it was founded in 1959. The rights, immunities and privileges of the IOC headquarters, staff and representatives are stipulated in a Headquarters Agreement signed with the Kingdom of Spain, which is the host country of the Organisation.

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