Rules of procedure of the Cooperation Council between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part, as established on 27 January 1998 - Rules of procedure of the Cooperation Committee
21. 3. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 87/17 RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COOPERATION COUNCIL between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part, as established on 27 January 1998 (98/228/EC) THE COOPERATION COUNCIL, Having regard to the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation establishing a partnership between the Euro- pean Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part, signed at Corfu on 24 June 1994, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’, and in particular Articles 90 to 93 thereof (1), Having regard to the Protocol to the Agreement, signed in Brussels on 21 May 1997, Whereas December 1997, the Agreement entered into force on 1 or the Head of the Permanent Representation to the EU or a senior official. In all other cases, a member wishing to be represented shall notify the Chairman of the name of his representa- tive before the meeting at which he is to be so rep- resented. The representative of a member of Council shall exercise all the rights of that member. the Cooperation Article 4 Delegations HAS ESTABLISHED THE FOLLOWING RULES OF PRO- CEDURE: The members of the Cooperation Council may be accom- panied by officials. Article 1 Presidency The Cooperation Council shall be presided over altern- the ately for periods of 12 months by a member of Council of the the European Union, on behalf of Communities and their Member States, and a member of the Government of the Russian Federation. However, the first period shall begin on the date of the first Coopera- tion Council meeting and end on 31 December of the same year. Before each meeting, the Chairman shall be informed of the intended composition and of the head of the delega- tion of each Party. The Cooperation Council may invite other persons to attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects. Article 5 Secretariat Article 2 Meetings An official of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and an official appointed by the Russian Federation shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Cooperation Council. The Cooperation Council shall meet regularly at minis- terial level once a year. At the request of either Party, special sessions of the Cooperation Council may be held if the Parties so agree. The meetings of the Cooperation Council, as agreed by the Parties, are convened jointly by the Secretaries. Article 3 Members and their representation in the Coopera- tion Council the Cooperation Council as defined in Members of Article 91 of the Agreement may be represented by a designated minister or official if they are prevented from attending. The official should normally be the Head of the Mission of the Russian Federation to the European Communities, (1) OJ L 327, 28. 11. 1997, p. 1. Article 6 Documents When the deliberations of the Cooperation Council are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated as documents of the Cooperation Council by the two Secretaries. Article 7 Correspondence communications All addressed to the Cooperation Council or to the Chairman of the Cooperation Council shall be forwarded to both Secretaries of the Cooperation Council. The two Secretaries shall ensure that correspondence is forwarded to the Chairman of the Cooperation Council and, where appropriate, circulated as documents referred L 87/18 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 3. 98 to in Article 6 to other members of the Cooperation Council. Correspondence circulated shall be sent to the Secretariat-General of the Commission, the Permanent Representations of the EU Member States and the Mission of the Russian Federation in Brussels. Communications from the Chairman of the Cooperation Council shall be sent to the recipients by the respective Secretary and, where appropriate, circulated as documents referred to in Article 6 to the other members of the Cooperation Council at the addresses indicated in the preceding paragraph. Article 8 Agenda for the meetings 1. A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be agreed with the two Parties. It shall be forwarded to the addressees referred to in Article 7 not later than 15 days before the beginning of the meeting by the respective Secretary. The provisional agenda shall include the items in respect of which a request for inclusion in the agenda has been received by either of the two Secretaries not later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting, save that items shall not be written into the provisional agenda unless the supporting documentation has been received by the Sec- retaries not later than the date of dispatch of the agenda. The agenda shall be adopted by the Cooperation Council at the beginning of each meeting. An item other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda only if the two Parties so agree. 2. In agreement with the Parties, the time limits speci- fied in paragraph 1 may be shortened in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case. Article 9 Minutes Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up jointly by the Secretaries in two authentic copies. The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate in respect of each item on the agenda: — the documentation submitted to the Cooperation Council, — statements the entry of which has been requested by a member of the Cooperation Council, — the recommendations made, the statements agreed upon and the conclusions adopted on specific items. The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Cooperation Council or their representatives who parti- cipated at the meeting. The draft minutes shall be submitted not later than one month after each meeting to the Cooperation Council for approval. When approved, two authentic copies of the minutes shall be signed by the two Secretaries and be filed by the Parties. A copy of the minutes shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 7 above. Article 10 Recommendations The Cooperation Council shall make its recom- 1. mendations by common agreement between the Parties. the During inter-sessional period the Cooperation Council may make recommendations or approve minutes by written procedure if Parties so agree. A written pro- cedure consists of an official exchange of letters between the two Secretaries, acting in agreement with the Parties. 2. The recommendations of the Cooperation Council within the meaning of Article 90 of the Agreement shall be serial number, by the date of their adoption and by a general description of their subject. entitled ‘recommendation’, followed by a The recommendations of the Cooperation Council shall be authenticated by the two Secretaries and two authentic copies signed by Heads of delegation of the two Parties. Recommendations shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 7 above as documents of the Cooperation Council. Article 11 Publicity Unless otherwise decided, operation Council shall not be public. the meetings of the Co- Each Party may decide on the publication of the recom- mendations of the Cooperation Council in its respective official publication. Article 12 Languages The official languages of the Cooperation Council shall be the official languages of the Parties. The Cooperation Council shall normally base its delibera- tions on documentation prepared in these languages. Article 13 Expenses The European Communities and the Russian Federation shall each bear their expenses incurred by reason of their participation in the meetings of the Cooperation Council, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expend- iture and to postal and telecommunications expenditure. 21. 3. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 87/19 Expenditure in connection with interpretation at meetings and translation of documents shall be borne by the European Communities, with the exception of ex- penditure in connection with interpretation or translation the European from one of Communities into Russian which shall be borne by the Russian Federation. languages of the official Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of the meetings, including expenditure in connection with reproduction of the those documents meetings, shall be borne by the Party which hosts the meeting. circulated at Article 14 Cooperation Committee The Cooperation Committee is hereby established 1. in accordance with Article 92 of the Agreement in order its to assist in carrying out the duties. It shall be composed of representatives of the Cooperation Council Commission of the European Communities and of rep- resentatives of the members of the Council of the Euro- pean Union on the one hand, and of representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation on the other, normally at senior civil servant level. and the deliberations of The Cooperation Committee shall prepare the 2. meetings the Cooperation Council, monitor the implementation of the recommen- dations of the Cooperation Council where appropriate and, in general, ensure continuity of the Partnership and the proper functioning of the Agreement. It shall submit any proposals or draft recommendations for adoption to the Cooperation Council. 3. Consultations referred to in Articles 16, 17 and 53 as well as in Annex 2 of the Agreement shall take place within the Cooperation Committee. The consultations may continue in the Cooperation Council if the Parties agree. The 4. the Cooperation Committee are annexed to the present rules of procedure. of procedure rules of L 87/20 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 3. 98 ANNEX RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COOPERATION COMMITTEE Article 1 Presidency Article 6 Agenda for the meetings The Cooperation Committee shall be presided over alter- nately for periods of 12 months by a representative of the Commission of the European Communities, on behalf of the Communities and their Member States, and a rep- resentative of the Government of the Russian Federation. The first period shall begin on the date of the first Cooperation Council meeting and end on 31 December of the same year. For that period and thereafter for each 12-month period, the Cooperation Committee shall be chaired by the Party which holds the Presidency of the Cooperation Council. Article 2 Meetings The Cooperation Committee shall meet once a year and when circumstances require with the agreement of the Parties. Each meeting of the Cooperation Committee shall be held at a time and place agreed by the Parties. The meetings of the Cooperation Committee are jointly convened by the two Secretaries. Article 3 Delegations Before each meeting, the President shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegation of each Party. Article 4 Secretariat An official of the Commission of the European Commu- nities and an official of the Government of the Russian Federation shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Coopera- tion Committee. All communications to and from the President of the Cooperation Committee provided for in this Annex shall the Cooperation be forwarded to the Secretaries of the Cooperation Committee and to the Secretaries of Council and to the President of the Cooperation Council. Article 5 Publicity Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Coopera- tion Committee shall not be public. A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be 1. the Secretaries of the Cooperation drawn up by Committee. shall be forwarded to the addressees It referred to in Article 4 not later than 15 days before the beginning of the meeting. The provisional agenda shall include the items in respect of which the Chairman has received a request for inclu- sion in the agenda not later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting, save that items shall not be written into the provisional agenda unless the supporting documentation has been received by the Secretaries not later than the date of dispatch of the agenda. The agenda shall be adopted by the Cooperation Committee at the beginning of each meeting. An item other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the two Parties so agree. 2. In agreement with the Parties the time limits speci- fied in paragraph 1 may be shortened in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case. 3. The Cooperation Committee may ask experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects. Article 7 Minutes Minutes shall be taken for each meeting. Minutes shall sum up the conclusions arrived at by the Cooperation Committee. the Upon adoption by the Cooperation Committee, minutes shall be signed by the President and by the Secretaries and filed by each of the Parties. A copy of the minutes shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 4 of the present Annex. Article 8 Recommendations The Cooperation Committee shall not make recommen- dations except in the specific cases where it is empowered by the Cooperation Council under Article 92. 2 of the Agreement. In such cases, these acts shall be entitled ‘recommendation’, followed by a serial number, by the date of their adoption and by description of their subject. Recommendations shall be made by common agreement between the Parties. 21. 3. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 87/21 Recommendations of the Cooperation Committee shall be forwarded to the addressees referred to in Article 4 of the present Annex. The Cooperation Committee may decide on the publication of such recommendations. The recommendations of shall be signed by the President and the Secretaries. the Cooperation Committee Article 9 Expenses The Community and the Russian Federation shall each bear their expenses incurred by reason of their participa- tion in the meetings of the Cooperation Committee and of its subcommittees and working groups, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and to postal and telecommunications expenditure. in connection with interpretation at Expenditure meetings and translation of documents shall be borne by the European Communities, with the exception of expen- diture in connection with interpretation or translation the European from one of languages of the official Communities into Russian which shall be borne by the Russian Federation. Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of the meetings, including expenditure in connection with reproduction of the those documents meetings, shall be borne by the Party which hosts the meeting. circulated at Article 10 Subcommittees and working groups The Cooperation Committee may set up subcommittees and working groups to assist it in carrying out its duties. They shall be considered to work under the authority of the Cooperation Committee, to which they shall report after each one of their meetings. Subcommittees and working groups shall not make recommendations. The Cooperation Committee may modify the terms of reference of any subcommittees or working groups, or eliminate any of them, or set up further subcommittees or working groups