Council between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part of 9 June 1998 - Rules of procedure of the Cooperation Committee
10. 7. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 194/25 RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COOPERATION COUNCIL between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part of 9 June 1998 (98/435/EC) THE COOPERATION COUNCIL, Having regard to the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Communities and their Member States of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, signed in Luxembourg on 14 June 1994, here- inafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’ and in particular Articles 85 to 88 thereof (1), Having regard to the Protocol to the Agreement, signed in Brussels on 10 April 1997, Whereas that Agreement entered into force on 1 March 1998, HAS ESTABLISHED THE FOLLOWING RULES OF PRO- CEDURE: Article 3 Representation The members of the Cooperation Council may be rep- resented if they are prevented from attending. Each member may normally be represented by the Head of Mission to the European Communities or the Per- manent Representation to the European Union or senior official. In all other cases, a member wishing to be represented shall notify the chairman of the name of his represent- ative 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 1 Presidency Article 4 Delegations 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 its Member States, and a member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. However, the first period of the Presidency shall begin on the date of the first Council meeting and end on 31 December of the same year. The members of the Cooperation Council may be accom- panied by officials. Before each meeting, the chairman of the Cooperation Council shall be informed of the intended composition and of the Head of the delegation of each Party. The Cooperation Council may invite non-members to attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects. Article 2 Meetings Article 5 Secretariat The Cooperation Council shall meet regularly at minis- terial level once a year. At the request of either Party, special sessions of the Council may be held if the Parties so agree. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties each session of the Cooperation Council shall be held at the usual venue for meetings of the Council of the European Union at a date agreed by both Parties. The meetings of convened by the Secretaries of the Cooperation Council. the Cooperation Council are jointly (1) OJ L 49, 19. 2. 1998, p. 1. An official of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and an official of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Communities shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Cooperation Council. 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. L 194/26 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 7. 98 Article 7 Correspondence All correspondence addressed to the Cooperation Council or to the chairman of the 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 to in Article 6 to other members of the Cooperation Council. Correspondence circulated shall be sent to the General Secretariat of the Commission, the Permanent Representations of the European Union Member States and the Mission of Ukraine to the European Commun- ities. Correspondence 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 drawn up by the Secretaries of the Cooperation Council on the basis of suggestions by the Parties. It shall be forwarded by the corresponding secretary to the addres- sees referred to in Article 7 not later than 15 days before the beginning of the meeting. 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 begin- ning of the meeting, save that items shall not be written into the provisional agenda unless the supporting docu- mentation has been forwarded to the Secretaries not later than the date of dispatch of the provisional 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 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 as soon as possible jointly by the two Secretaries. — 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. for approval at The draft minutes shall be submitted to the Cooperation Council its next meeting. The draft minutes also can be agreed in writing by both Parties. When approved, 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. two authentic copies of Article 10 Recommendations The Cooperation Council shall make its recom- 1. mendations by common agreement between the Parties. inter-sessional period, During the the Cooperation Council may make recommendations by written pro- cedure if both Parties so agree. A written procedure consists of an exchange of notes between the two Secreta- ries, acting in agreement with the Parties. 2. The recommendations of the Cooperation Council within the meaning of Article 85 of the Agreement shall serial be number, by the date of their adoption and by a descrip- tion 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 addresses referred to in Article 7 above as documents of the Cooperation Council. Article 11 Publicity Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Coopera- tion Council shall not be public. Each Party may decide on the publication of the recom- mendations of the Cooperation Council in its respective official publication. Article 12 Languages The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate in respect of each item on the agenda: — the documentation submitted to the Cooperation Council, 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. 10. 7. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 194/27 Article 13 Expenses The European Communities and Ukraine shall each defray the expenses they incur by reason of their parti- cipation in the meetings of the Cooperation Council, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expend- iture and to postal and telecommunications expenditure. in connection with interpretation at Expenditure meetings, translation and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the European Communities, with the excep- tion of expenditure in connection with interpretation or translation from one of the official languages of the Euro- pean Communties into Ukranian and from Ukrainian into the one of the official languages of the European Communities, which shall be borne by Ukraine. Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of meetings shall be borne by the Party which hosts the meetings. Article 14 Committee 1. The Cooperation Committee is hereby established in accordance with Article 87 of the Agreement in order the Cooperation Council its to assist in carrying out duties. It shall be composed of representatives of the 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 Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the other, normally at senior civil servant level. the implementation of and the deliberations of The Cooperation Committee shall prepare the 2. the Cooperation meetings the recom- Council, monitor mendations of the Cooperation Council where appro- priate and, in general, ensure continuity of the Partner- ship and the proper functioning of the Agreement. It shall consider any matter referred to it by the Cooperation Council as well as any other matter which may arise in the course of the Agreement. It shall submit any proposals of recommenda- tions for adoption to the Cooperation Council. the day-to-day implementation of 3. Consultations referred to in Articles 18 and 49 as well as in Annex 2 to the Agreement shall take place within the committee. The consultations may continue in the Cooperation Council if the Parties agree. The rules 4. the Cooperation Committee are attached as Annexed to the present rules of procedure. of procedure of L 194/28 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 7. 98 ANNEX RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COOPERATION COMMITTEE between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part Article 1 Presidency Article 5 Publicity 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 Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The first period of the Presidency 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 both Secretaries. Article 3 Delegations Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Coopera- tion Committee shall not be public. Article 6 Agenda for the meetings the A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be 1. drawn up by the Cooperation Secretaries of Committee. It shall be forwarded to the chairman and Secretaries of the Cooperation Council as well as to the members of the Cooperation Committee 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 forwarded to the Secretaries not later than the date of dispatch of the provisional 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. The Cooperation Committee may ask experts to 3. attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects. Before each meeting, the chairman of the Cooperation Committee shall be informed of the intended composi- tion and the Head of the delegation of each Party. Article 7 Minutes Article 4 Secretariat An official of the Commission of the European Com- munities and an official of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Cooperation Committee. All correspondence to and from the chairman of the Cooperation Committee provided for in this Annex shall the Cooperation be forwarded to the Secretaries of Committee and to the Secretaries and the chairman of the Cooperation Council and where appropriate, to the members of the Cooperation Committee. Minutes shall be taken for each meeting and shall be based on a summing up by the chairman of the conclu- sions arrived at by the Cooperation Committee. Upon adoption by the Cooperation Committee, the minutes shall be signed by the chairman and by the Secretaries and filed by each of the Parties. A copy of the minutes shall be forwarded to the chairman and Secret- aries of the Cooperation Council and to the members of the Cooperation Committee. Article 8 Recommendations The Cooperation Committee shall not make recom- mendations except in the specific cases where it is em- 10. 7. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 194/29 powered by the Cooperation Council pursuant to Article 87(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 a description of their subject. Recommendations shall be made by common agreement between the Parties. Recommendations of the Cooperation Committee shall be forwarded to the chairman and Secretaries of the Cooperation Council and to the members of the Coopera- tion Committee. Each Party may decide on the publica- tion of the Cooperation Committee in its respective offical publication. recommendations of the The recommendations of shall be signed by the chairman and the Secretaries. the Cooperation Committee Article 9 Expenses The European Communities and Ukraine shall each defray the expenses they incur by reason of their parti- cipation in the meetings of the Cooperation Committee and of its sub-committees and working groups, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and to postal and telecommunications expenditure. Expenditure in connection with interpreting at meetings, translation and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the European Communities, with the exception of expenditure in connection with interpretation or transla- tion from one of the official languages of the European Communities into Ukrainian and from Ukrainian into the one of the official languages of the European Commu- nities, which shall be borne by Ukraine. Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of meetings shall be borne by the Party which hosts the meetings. Article 10 Sub-committees and working groups The Cooperation Committee may establish sub-commit- tees and working groups and define their terms of reference. They shall be considered to work under the authority of the Cooperation Committee, to which they shall report after each one of their meetings. Sub-commit- tees and working groups shall not make recommenda- tions. The Cooperation Committee may modify the terms of reference of any sub-committees or working groups or set up further sub-committees or working groups to assist it in carrying out its duties