01998D0704(01) — EN — 24.04.2003 — 001.001

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►B DECISION No 1/98 OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY-FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA COOPERATION COUNCIL of 20 March 1998 concerning the Rules of Procedure of the Cooperation Council established by the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (98/417/EC) (OJ L 190 4.7.1998, p. 48)

Amended by:









▼B

DECISION No 1/98 OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY-FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA COOPERATION COUNCIL

of 20 March 1998

concerning the Rules of Procedure of the Cooperation Council established by the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

(98/417/EC)







THE COOPERATION COUNCIL, Having regard to the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ( 1 ), of the other part, and in particular Articles 33 and 36 thereof, Whereas that Agreement entered into force on 1 January 1998, HAS DECIDED TO ADOPT THE FOLLOWING RULES OF PROCEDURE AND TO ESTABLISH THE WORKING PARTIES PROVIDED FOR UNDER THESE RULES:







Article 1

Chairmanship

The office of Chairman of the Cooperation Council shall be held alternately for periods of twelve months by a representative of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and a representative of the European Community, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Community’. However, the first period shall begin on the date of the first Cooperation Council and end on 31 December of the same year.

Article 2

Meetings

1. The Cooperation Council shall meet once a year. Additional meetings may be held if both Parties so agree, at the request of either Party.

2. Each session of the Cooperation Council shall be held at a time and place agreed by both Parties.

3. Unless otherwise agreed the sessions of the Cooperation Council shall not be public.

Article 3

Delegations

Prior to each session, the Community and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shall agree on the level of representation of the Cooperation Council. They shall also inform the Chairman of the intended composition of their respective delegations.

Article 4

Secretariat, communications

An official of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and an official of the Commission of the European Communities shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Cooperation Council.

All communications to and from the Chairman shall be forwarded to both Secretaries. The two Secretaries shall ensure that communications are forwarded, where appropriate, to their respective representatives in the Cooperation Council.

Article 5

Agenda

1. The Chairman and the Secretaries shall draw up the provisional agenda for each session.

The provisional agenda shall consist of those items in respect of which a request for inclusion has reached the Secretaries not less than 21 days before the beginning of the session.

The only items which may appear on the provisional agenda shall be those in respect of which the relevant documentation has been forwarded to the Secretaries referred to in Article 4 not later than the date of dispatch of such agenda.

The agenda shall be adopted by the Cooperation Council at the beginning of each session. Where both Parties agree, items which do not appear on the provisional agenda may be included.

2. The Chairman may, in agreement with the two Parties, shorten the time limits laid down in paragraph 1 to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

Article 6

Minutes

Minutes shall be taken for each session and shall include the summing up of the proceedings by the Chairman. Upon adoption by the Cooperation Council, the minutes shall be signed by the Chairman and the Secretaries and one original copy filed by each of the Parties.

Article 7

Working parties

1. The working parties established in accordance with Article 36 of the Cooperation Agreement, including their respective terms of reference, are listed in the Annex to these Rules of Procedure. They shall be composed of representatives of both Parties. They shall meet at the request of either Party without prejudice to more specific provisions laid down in their respective terms of reference as annexed to these Rules.

2. The working parties shall work under the authority of the Cooperation Council which shall determine their objectives and the scope of their activities. They shall not take decisions but can make recommendations to the Cooperation Council to which they shall report after each one of their meetings.

3. The Cooperation Council can at any time modify the terms of reference of the working parties and terminate their existence, or establish new working parties.

Article 8

Acts

Decisions adopted by the Cooperation Council within the meaning of Article 33(1) of the Cooperation Agreement shall be signed by the Chairman and the Secretaries.

These Decisions, as well as Resolutions, Recommendations or Opinions of the Cooperation Council formulated within the meaning of Article 33(2) of the Cooperation Agreement, shall be followed by a serial number, by the place and date of their adoption and by a description of their subject.

Decisions taken by the Cooperation Council shall be published by the Parties in their respective official publications. Each Party may decide, in agreement with the other Party, on the publication of any other act adopted by the Cooperation Council.

Article 9

Languages

The official languages of the Cooperation Council shall be the official languages of the Parties.

The Cooperation Council shall normally base its deliberations on documentation prepared in these languages.

Article 10

Expenses

The Community, on the one hand, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the other, shall defray the expenses that they incur as a result of their participation in meetings of the Cooperation Council and of working parties in respect of staff, travelling and subsistence expenses and also of postal and telecommunications costs.

Expenditure in connection with interpretation at meetings, translation and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Community, with the exception of expenditure in connection with interpretation or translation into or from the official language of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which shall be borne by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of meetings shall be borne by the Party which hosts the meetings.

Article 11

This Decision shall enter into force on the day on which its is adopted.

▼M1

ANNEX

WORKING PARTY ON ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL MATTERS

Terms of reference

1. The general objectives of the working party are a review of economic developments and policies as well as the monitoring and joint analysis of economic, technical and financial cooperation in accordance with Articles 4, 10 and 11 of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Articles 31 and 32 of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part, with a view to contributing to the economic development of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and strengthening economic ties between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the European Community.

2. The working party shall deal in particular with the following specific subjects:

— macroeconomic developments and policies in the European Community and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,

— structural reforms, including financial sector reform,

— development of small and medium-sized enterprises/entrepreneurship,

— facilitation of the movement of capital and its progressive liberalisation,

— statistical systems.

WORKING PARTY ON AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES

Terms of reference

1. The general objective of the working party is to deal with agricultural, processed agricultural and fishery products. The working party shall monitor implementation of the obligations of the Parties in these sectors and conduct a joint analysis of cooperation in agriculture in accordance with Articles 6 and 9 of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Articles 11 to 17, Annexes III, IV and V and Protocol 3 of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part, as well as the Wine Protocol.

2. The working party shall deal in particular with the following subjects:

— examination of problems related to the development of the agricultural sector, agricultural policy and rural development in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in the European Community,

— processed agricultural products,

— fisheries and aquaculture,

— veterinary and phyto-sanitary matters and examination of the possibility of developing cooperation in this area,

— food safety.

WORKING PARTY ON INTERNAL MARKET AND COMPETITION

Terms of reference

1. The general objective of the working party is a review of legislative reform in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The working party shall establish priorities, identify policies, and monitor and analyse alignment of the legislation of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Community legislation, in accordance with Article 68 of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part, and Articles 33 to 35 of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part.

2. The working party shall deal with the gradual approximation of the legislation of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with the Community acquis in the sectors linked to the internal market and in particular in the following specific areas:

— competition and State aid,

— intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights,

— public procurement,

— company law,

— accounting,

— data protection,

— standardisation, certification, conformity assessment and market surveillance,

— consumer protection.

WORKING PARTY ON TRADE, IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTS, CUSTOMS AND TAXATION

Terms of reference

1. The objectives of the working party are to discuss and monitor all matters relating to commercial policy and to cooperation in customs matters, in accordance with Articles 2 to 10, 18 to 30, and 36, Annexes I and II and Protocols 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part.

2. The working party shall deal in particular with the following issues:

— free movement of goods: monitoring of implementation of the obligations of the Parties and discussion of any difficulties which might arise in the commercial regime for industrial products, including textiles and iron and steel products,

— trade-related aspects of intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights,

— trade-related aspects of public procurement,

— trade-related aspects of standardisation, certification, conformity assessment and market surveillance,

— customs cooperation and discussion of all matters relating to the implementation of the rules of origin, and as appropriate the Protocol on mutual assistance, the anti-fraud clause and any other matter relevant to the customs enforcement sector,

— exchange of information on compatibility and developments in the field of taxation.

3. For the purposes of implementing Protocol 2 on steel products of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part, this working party shall convene as the ‘Contact Group on Iron and Steel products’.