AGREEMENT

between the European Community and the Russian Federation on readmission

THE PARTIES,

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,

and

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

DETERMINED to strengthen their co-operation in order to combat illegal immigration more effectively,

REFERRING to the Agreement on Partnership and Co-operation between the Community and its Member States, on the one part, and the Russian Federation, on the other part, concluded in Corfu on 24 June 1994, and in particular Article 84 and the joint declaration in relation to Articles 26, 32 and 37 in the Final Act thereof,

HAVING REGARD to the Joint Statement agreed on the occasion of the St. Petersburg Summit held on 31 May 2003 stating that the European Union and the Russian Federation agree to conclude timely the negotiations on a readmission agreement,

DESIRING to establish, by means of this Agreement and on the basis of reciprocity, rapid and effective procedures for the identification and return of persons who do not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions for entry to, presence in, or residence on the territories of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States of the European Union, and to facilitate the transit of such persons in a spirit of co-operation,

EMPHASIZING that this Agreement shall be without prejudice to the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the Community, the Member States of the European Union and the Russian Federation arising from International Law including International Human Rights law rules, as confirmed, in particular, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 31 January 1967, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950 and Protocol No 4 thereto of 16 September 1963, and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 10 December 1984,

TAKING ACCOUNT of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on the European Union of 7 February 1992 and the Treaty establishing the European Community of 25 March 1957 and confirming that that the provisions of this agreement do not apply to the Kingdom of Denmark,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1 Definitions For the purpose of this Agreement: (a) ‘Readmission’ shall mean the transfer by the requesting State and admission by the requested State of persons (own nationals of the requested State, third-country nationals or stateless persons) who have been found illegally entering to, being present in or residing in the requesting State, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement; (b) ‘Member State’ shall mean any Member State of the European Union with the exception of the Kingdom of Denmark; (c) ‘National of a Member State’ shall mean any person who holds the nationality, as defined for Community purposes, of a Member State; (d) ‘National of the Russian Federation’ or ‘Russian National’ shall mean any person who holds the nationality of the Russian Federation in accordance with its legislation; (e) ‘Third-country national’ shall mean any person holding a nationality other than that of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States; (f) ‘Stateless person’ shall mean any person who does not hold the nationality of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States, and who has no evidence of holding the nationality of any other State; (g) ‘Residence authorisation’ shall mean an official permit of any type issued by the Russian Federation or one of the Member States entitling a person to reside on the territory of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States. This shall not include temporary permissions to remain on the territory of the said States in connection with the processing of an asylum application or an application for a residence authorisation; (h) ‘Visa’ shall mean an authorisation issued or a decision taken by the Russian Federation or one of the Member States, which is required with a view to entry in, or transit through, the territory of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States. This shall not include the specific category of airport transit visa; (i) ‘Requesting State’ shall mean the State (Russian Federation or one of the Member States) submitting a readmission application pursuant to section III or a transit application pursuant to section IV of this Agreement; (j) ‘Requested State’ shall mean the State (Russian Federation or one of the Member States) to which a readmission application pursuant to section III or a transit application pursuant to section IV of this Agreement is addressed; (k) ‘Competent Authority’ shall mean any national authority of the Russian Federation or one of the Member States entrusted with the implementation of this Agreement, as designated in the bilateral implementing Protocol concluded between the Russian Federation and individual Member States in accordance with Article 20(1) lit. a) of this Agreement; (l) ‘Border region’ shall mean an area which extends up to 30 kilometres from the common land border between a Member State and the Russian Federation, as well as the territories of seaports including custom zones, and International airports of the Member States and the Russian Federation; (m) ‘Border crossing point’ shall mean any crossing-point authorised by the Member States or the Russian Federation for the crossing of their respective land and sea borders, including at International airports and seaports; (n) ‘Transit’ shall mean the passage of a third country national or a stateless person through the territory of the requested State while travelling from the requesting State to the country of destination.

SECTION I

READMISSION OBLIGATIONS BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Article 2 Readmission of Russian nationals (1) The Russian Federation shall admit, upon application by a Member State and in accordance with the procedure provided for in this Agreement, any person who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on the territory of the requesting Member State provided it is established, in accordance with Article 9 of this Agreement, that such person is a national of the Russian Federation. The same shall apply to illegally present or residing persons who possessed the nationality of the Russian Federation at the time of entering the territory of a Member State but subsequently renounced the nationality of the Russian Federation in accordance with the national laws of the latter, without acquiring the nationality or a residence authorisation of that Member State or any other State. (2) After the Russian Federation has given a positive reply to the readmission application, the competent diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation shall irrespective of the will of the person to be readmitted, as necessary and without delay, issue a travel document required for the return of the person to be readmitted with a period of validity of 30 calendar days. If, for any reason, the person concerned cannot be transferred within the period of validity of that travel document, the competent diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation shall issue a new travel document with a period of validity of the same duration without delay.

Article 3 Readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons (1) The Russian Federation shall admit, upon application by a Member State and in accordance with the procedure provided for in this Agreement, any third-country national or stateless person who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on the territory of the requesting Member State provided that evidence can be furnished, in accordance with Article 10 of this Agreement, that such person: (a) holds, at the time of submission of the readmission application, a valid visa issued by the Russian Federation entering the territory of a Member State directly from the territory of the former; or (b) holds, at the time of submission of the readmission application, a valid residence authorisation issued by the Russian Federation; or (c) unlawfully entered the territory of the Member States directly from the territory of the Russian Federation. (2) The readmission obligation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply if: (a) the third-country national or stateless person has only been in airside transit via an International airport of the Russian Federation; or (b) the requesting Member State or another Member State has issued to the third country national or stateless person a visa or residence authorisation unless that person is in possession of a visa or residence authorisation, issued by the Russian Federation, which has a longer period of validity; (c) the third-country national or stateless person enjoyed visa-free access to the territory of the requesting Member State. (3) After the Russian Federation has given a positive reply to the readmission application, the requesting Member State issues to the person concerned a travel document recognised by the Russian Federation (EU standard travel document for expulsion purposes in line with the form set out in EU Council recommendation of 30 November 1994).

SECTION II

READMISSION OBLIGATIONS BY THE COMMUNITY

Article 4 Readmission of nationals of the Member States (1) A Member State shall admit, upon application by the Russian Federation and in accordance with the procedure provided for in this Agreement, any person who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on, the territory of the Russian Federation provided that it is established, in accordance with Article 9 of this Agreement, that such person is a national of that Member State. The same shall apply to illegally present or residing persons who possessed the nationality of the Member State at the time of entering the territory of the Russian Federation but subsequently renounced the nationality of the Member State in accordance with the national laws of the latter, without acquiring the nationality or a residence authorisation of the Russian Federation or any other State. (2) After a Member State has given a positive reply to the readmission application, the competent diplomatic mission or consular office of the Member State concerned shall irrespective of the will of the person to be readmitted, as necessary and without delay, issue a travel document required for the return of the person to be readmitted with a period of validity of 30 calendar days. If, for any reason, the person concerned cannot be transferred within the period of validity of that travel document, the Member State concerned shall issue a new travel document with a period of validity of the same duration without delay.

Article 5 Readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons (1) A Member State shall admit, upon application by the Russian Federation and in accordance with the procedure provided for in this Agreement, any third-country national or stateless persons who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry to, presence in, or residence on the territory of the Russian Federation provided that evidence can be furnished in accordance with Article 10 of this Agreement that such person: (a) holds, at the time of submission of the readmission application, a valid visa issued by the requested Member State entering the territory of the Russian Federation directly from the territory of the former; or (b) holds, at the time of submission of the readmission application, a valid residence authorisation issued by the requested Member State; or (c) unlawfully entered the territory of the Russian Federation directly from the territory of the requested Member State. (2) The readmission obligation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply if: (a) the third-country national or stateless person has only been in airside transit via an International airport of the requested Member State; (b) the Russian Federation has issued to the third country national or stateless person a visa or residence authorisation unless that person is in possession of a visa or residence permit, issued by the requested Member State, which has a longer period of validity. (c) the third-country national or stateless person enjoyed visa-free access to the territory of the Russian Federation. (3) The readmission obligation in paragraph 1 of this Article is for the Member State that issued a visa or residence authorisation. If two or more Member States issued a visa or residence authorisation, the readmission obligation in paragraph 1 of this Article is for the Member State that issued the document with a longer period of validity or, if one or several of them have already expired, the document that is still valid. If all of the documents have already expired, the readmission obligation in paragraph 1 of this Article is for the Member State that issued the document with the most recent expiry date. (4) After the requested Member State has given a positive reply to the readmission application, the Russian Federation issues to the person to be readmitted a travel document recognised by the Member State concerned.

SECTION III

READMISSION PROCEDURE

Article 6 Readmission application (1) Subject to paragraph 2, any transfer of a person to be readmitted on the basis of one of the obligations contained in Articles 2 to 5 of this Agreement shall require the submission of a readmission application to the competent authority of the requested State. (2) By derogation of Articles 2 to 5 of this Agreement, no readmission application shall be needed where the person to be readmitted is in possession of a valid national passport and, in case such person is a third-country national or stateless person, also holds a valid visa or residence authorisation of the State which has to admit this person. (3) If a person has been apprehended in the border region of the requesting State after illegally crossing the border coming directly from the territory of the requested State, the requesting State may submit a readmission application within two working days following this persons apprehension (accelerated procedure).

Article 7 Content of readmission applications (1) Any readmission application is to contain the following information: (a) the particulars of the person concerned (e.g. given names, surnames, date of birth, and — where possible — place of birth, and the last place of residence); (b) indication of the evidence regarding nationality, unlawful entry and residence, and the grounds for the readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons as set forth in Articles 3(1) and 5(1) of this Agreement. (2) To the extent possible, the readmission application should also contain the following information: (a) a statement indicating that the person to be transferred may need help or care, provided the person concerned has explicitly consented to the statement; (b) any other protection or security measure which may be necessary in the individual transfer case. (3) A common form to be used for readmission applications is attached as Annex 1 to this Agreement.

Article 8 Reply to the readmission application A reply to the readmission application shall be given in writing.

Article 9 Evidence regarding nationality (1) Nationality pursuant to Article 2(1) and Article 4(1) of this Agreement can be established by means of at least one of the documents listed in Annex 2 to this Agreement, even if its period of validity has expired. If such documents are presented, the Member States and the Russian Federation shall mutually recognise the nationality without further verification being required. (2) If none of the documents listed in Annex 2 to this Agreement can be presented, nationality pursuant to Article 2(1) and Article 4(1) of this Agreement can be established by means of at least one of the documents listed in Annex 3 to this Agreement, even if its period of validity has expired — if documents listed in Annex 3 A to this Agreement are presented, the Member States and the Russian Federation shall mutually deem the nationality to be established unless they can prove otherwise, — if documents listed in Annex 3 B to this Agreement are presented, the Member States and the Russian Federation shall mutually deem it as a ground to start an appropriate verification. (3) Nationality cannot be established by means of false documents. (4) If none of the documents listed in Annexes 2 or 3 to this Agreement can be presented, the competent diplomatic representation or consular post of the Russian Federation or the Member State concerned shall, upon request, make arrangements with the competent authority of the requesting State to interview the person to be readmitted without undue delay in order to establish his or her nationality. The procedure for such interviews is to be established in the implementing Protocols provided for in Article 20 of this Agreement.

Article 10 Evidence regarding third-country nationals and stateless persons (1) Proof of the grounds for the readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons laid down in Article 3(1) and Article 5(1) of this Agreement can be furnished through at least one of the documents listed in Annex 4 to this Agreement. Any such proof shall be mutually recognised by the Member States and the Russian Federation without any further verification being required. (2) Indirect evidence of the grounds for the readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons pursuant to Article 3(1) and Article 5(1) of this Agreement can be furnished through at least one of the documents listed in Annex 5 to this Agreement — if means of evidence listed in Annex 5 A to this Agreement are presented, the Member States and the Russian Federation shall deem the conditions to be established unless they can prove otherwise, — if means of evidence listed in Annex 5 B to this Agreement are presented, the Member States and the Russian Federation shall deem it as a ground to start an appropriate verification. (3) Proof of the grounds for readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons cannot be furnished through false documents. (4) The unlawfulness of entry, presence or residence shall be established by means of the travel documents of the person concerned in which the necessary visa or residence authorisation for the territory of the requesting State is missing. A duly motivated statement by the requesting State that the person concerned has been found not having the necessary travel documents, visa or residence authorisation shall likewise provide prima facie evidence of the unlawful entry, presence or residence.

Article 11 Time limits (1) The application for readmission must be submitted to the competent authority of the requested State within a maximum of 180 calendar days from the date when the requesting State’s competent authority has gained knowledge that a third-country national or a stateless person does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry, presence or residence. (2) A readmission application must be replied to within a maximum of 25 calendar days from the date of confirmed receipt of the readmission application. Without prejudice to specific arrangements to be agreed upon in the framework of implementing protocols concluded in accordance with Article 20, where there are legal or factual obstacles to the application being replied to in time, the time limit shall, upon duly motivated request, be extended up to 60 calendar days. (3) In the case of a readmission application submitted under the accelerated procedure in accordance with Article 6(3) of this Agreement, a reply has to be given within two working days (defined in accordance with the legislation of the requested State) from the confirmed receipt of the readmission application. (4) Upon expiry of the time limits referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, the readmission shall be deemed to have been agreed to. (5) The person concerned shall be transferred within 90 calendar days. In the case of a transfer under the accelerated procedure in accordance with Article 6(3) of this Agreement, the person concerned shall be transferred within two working days. Upon duly motivated request, this time limit may be extended by the time taken to deal with legal or practical obstacles. The time limits provided for in this paragraph begin to run with the date of receipt of a positive reply to the readmission application.

Article 12 Refusal of a readmission application Reasons shall be given for refusal of a readmission application.

Article 13 Transfer modalities and modes of transportation (1) Before transferring a person, the competent authorities of the Russian Federation and the Member State concerned shall make arrangements in writing and in advance regarding the transfer date, the border crossing point and possible escorts. (2) All means of transportation, whether by air, land or sea, shall be allowed for the purpose of transfer. Return by air is not restricted to the use of the national carrier or the staff of the requesting State and may take place by using scheduled flights as well as charter flights.

SECTION IV

TRANSIT OPERATIONS

Article 14 General principles (1) The Member States and the Russian Federation shall restrict the transit of third-country nationals or stateless persons to cases where such persons cannot be returned to the State of destination directly. (2) The Russian Federation shall allow the transit of third-country nationals or stateless persons if a Member State so requests, and a Member State shall authorise the transit of third-country nationals or stateless persons if the Russian Federation so requests, if the onward journey through other States of transit and the admission by the State of destination is assured. (3) Transit can be refused by the Russian Federation or a Member State: (a) if the third-country national or the stateless person runs the risk of being subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or the death penalty or of persecution because of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political conviction in the State of destination or another State of transit; or (b) if the third-country national or the stateless person shall be subject to criminal prosecution or sanctions in the requested State or in another State of transit; or (c) on grounds of public health, domestic security, public order or other national interests of the requested State. (4) The Russian Federation or a Member State may revoke any authorisation issued if circumstances referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article subsequently arise or come to light which stand in the way of the transit operation, or if the onward journey in possible States of transit or the readmission by the State of destination is no longer assured. In this case, the requesting State shall take back the third-country national or the stateless person, as necessary and without delay.

Article 15 Transit procedure (1) An application for transit operations must be submitted to the competent authorities in writing and is to contain the following information: (a) type of transit (by air, land or sea), possible other States of transit and intended final destination; (b) the particulars of the person concerned (e.g. given name, surname, date of birth and — where possible — place of birth, nationality, type and number of travel document); (c) envisaged border crossing point, time of transfer and possible use of escorts; (d) a declaration that from the viewpoint of the requesting State the conditions pursuant to Article 14(2) of this Agreement are met, and that no reasons for a refusal pursuant to Article 14(3) of this Agreement are known of. A common form to be used for transit applications is attached as Annex 6 to this Agreement. (2) The requested State shall, in writing, inform the competent authorities of the requesting State of the consent to admission, confirming the border crossing point and the envisaged time of admission, or inform it of the admission refusal and of the reasons for such refusal. (3) If the transit operation is effected by air, the person to be readmitted and possible escorts shall be exempted from having to obtain a specific airport transit visa. (4) The competent authorities of the requested State shall, subject to mutual consultations, support the transit operations, in particular through the surveillance of the persons in question and the provision of suitable amenities for that purpose.

SECTION V

COSTS

Article 16 Transport and transit costs Without prejudice to the right of the competent authorities to recover the costs associated with the readmission from the person to be readmitted or third parties, all transport costs incurred in connection with readmission and transit as far as the border-crossing point of the requested State shall be borne by the requesting State.

SECTION VI

DATA PROTECTION

Article 17 Data Protection The communication of personal data shall only take place if such communication is necessary for the implementation of this Agreement by the competent authorities of the Russian Federation or a Member State as the case may be. When communicating, processing or treating personal data in a particular case, the competent authorities of the Russian Federation shall abide by the relevant legislation of the Russian Federation, and the competent authorities of a Member State shall abide by the provisions of Directive 95/46/EC and by the national legislation of that Member State adopted pursuant to this directive. Additionally the following principles shall apply: (a) personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully; (b) personal data must be collected for the specified, explicit and legitimate purpose of implementing this Agreement and not further processed in a way incompatible with that purpose; (c) personal data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which they are collected and/or further processed; in particular, personal data communicated may concern only the following: — the particulars of the person to be readmitted (e.g. surname, given name, any previous names, other names used/by which known or aliases, date and place of birth, sex, current and any previous nationality), — identity card or passport (type, number, period of validity, date of issue, issuing authority, place of issue), — stop-overs and itineraries, — other information needed to identify the person to be readmitted or to examine the readmission requirements pursuant to this Agreement; (d) personal data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; (e) personal data must be kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than it is necessary for the purpose for which the data were collected or for which they are further processed; (f) both the competent authority communicating personal data and the competent authority receiving personal data shall take every reasonable step to ensure as appropriate the rectification, erasure or blocking of personal data where its processing does not comply with the provisions of lit. c) and d) of this Article, in particular because that data are not adequate, relevant, accurate, or they are excessive in relation to the purpose of processing. This includes the notification of any rectification, erasure or blocking of such data to the other Party; (g) upon request, the competent authority receiving personal data shall inform the competent authority communicating personal data of the use of the communicated data and of the results obtained therefrom; (h) personal data may only be communicated to the competent authorities entrusted with the implementation of this Agreement. Further communication to other bodies requires the prior consent of the competent authority communicating personal data; (i) the competent authority communicating personal data and the competent authority receiving personal data are under the obligation to make a written record of the communication and receipt of personal data.

SECTION VII

IMPLEMENTATION AND APPLICATION

Article 18 Relation to other International obligations (1) This Agreement shall be without prejudice to the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the Community, the Member States and the Russian Federation arising from International Law, and in particular from: (a) the Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the Status of Refugees; (b) the European Convention of 4 November 1950 for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; (c) the Convention of 10 December 1984 against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; (d) international treaties on extradition and transit; (e) multilateral international treaties containing rules on the readmission of foreign nationals, such as the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 7 December 1944. (2) The provisions of this Agreement shall take precedence over the provisions of any bilateral treaties or arrangements on readmission which have been or may, under Article 20 of this Agreement, be concluded between individual Member States and the Russian Federation insofar as the provisions of the latter treaties or arrangements cover issues that are dealt with by the present Agreement. (3) Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the return of a person under other formal or informal arrangements.

Article 19 Joint readmission committee (1) The Parties shall set up a joint readmission committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) which will, in particular, have the task: (a) to monitor the application of this Agreement; (b) to decide on arrangements necessary for the uniform execution of this Agreement; (c) to have a regular exchange of information on the implementing Protocols concluded by individual Member States and the Russian Federation pursuant to Article 20 of this Agreement; (d) to decide on amendments to the Annexes to this Agreement; (e) to propose amendments to this Agreement; (f) to examine and, if deemed necessary, propose amendments to this Agreement in case of new accessions to the European Union. (2) The decisions of the Committee shall be binding on the Parties. (3) The Committee shall be composed by representatives of the Community and the Russian Federation; the Community shall be represented by the European Commission, assisted by experts from Member States. (4) The Committee shall meet where necessary at the request of one of the Parties. (5) The Committee shall establish its rules of procedures.

Article 20 Implementing Protocols (1) The Russian Federation and Member States shall conclude implementing Protocols which shall cover rules on: (a) the competent authorities, the border crossing points, the exchange of information on contact points and the languages in communication; (b) the modalities for readmission under the accelerated procedure; (c) the conditions for escorted transfers, including the transit of third-country nationals and stateless persons under escort; (d) proofs and evidence additional to those listed in the Annexes 2 to 5 to this Agreement; (e) the procedure for interviews provided for in Article 9 of this Agreement; (f) where necessary, specific arrangements concerning time limits for the handling of readmission applications in accordance with Article 11(2) of this Agreement. (2) The implementing Protocols referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall enter into force only after the Committee has been notified. (3) The Russian Federation shall agree to apply any provision of an implementing Protocol concluded with one Member State also in its relations with any other Member State, upon request of the latter and subject to the practical feasibility of its application to the Russian Federation. The Member States shall agree to apply any provision of an implementing Protocol concluded by one of them also in their relations with the Russian Federation, upon request of the latter and subject to the practical feasibility of its application to other Member States. This shall not apply to provisions containing specific arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 lit. (f) of this Article.

SECTION VIII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 21 Territorial application (1) Subject to paragraph 2 of this Article, this Agreement shall apply to the territory of the Russian Federation and to the territory in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applicable. (2) This Agreement shall not apply to the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Article 22 Annexes Annexes 1 to 6 shall form an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 23 Entry into force, duration and termination (1) This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Parties in accordance with their internal procedures. (2) Subject to paragraph 3 of this Article, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Parties notify each other that the procedures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article have been completed. If this date is before the date of the entry into force of the agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Community on the facilitation of the issuance of visas to the citizens of the Russian Federation and the European Union, this Agreement shall only enter into force on the same date as the latter. (3) The obligations set out in Articles 3 and 5 of this Agreement shall only become applicable three years after the date referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. During that 3-year period, they shall only be applicable to stateless persons and nationals from third-countries with which the Russian Federation has concluded bilateral treaties or arrangements on readmission. (4) This Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period. (5) Each Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by officially notifying the other Contracting Party. This Agreement shall cease to be in force six months after the date of receipt of such notification.