Cooperation Agreement

between the European Atomic Energy Community and the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of nuclear safety

THE EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY,

hereinafter referred to as "The Community",

of the one part, and

the REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN,

hereinafter referred to as "Kazakhstan",

of the other part,

both also generally referred to hereinafter as the "Party" or "Parties", as appropriate,

RECALLING that a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the other part, was signed on 23 January 1995;

RECALLING that Kazakhstan and the Member States are Parties to the Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and members of the International Atomic Energy Agency;

RECALLING that the Commission of the European Communities, hereinafter referred to as "the Commission", has responsibilities, inter alia, for laying down basic standards for radiation protection, for ensuring their implementation and for collecting and monitoring radiation data at Community level;

RECALLING that protection of the environment and cooperating in this connection with third parties at Community level are of importance;

CONSIDERING that the Commission implements a Community research programme in nuclear safety, including reactor safety, radiation protection, waste management and nuclear plant decommissioning and dismantling, as well as in safeguards for nuclear materials, and intends to develop scientific and technological cooperation with third countries on these subjects with a view to contributing towards internationally accepted nuclear safety principles and guidelines;

CONSIDERING that Kazakhstan operates a nuclear power plant and three research reactors which could be used as a part of a research and development programme to increase the safety of nuclear power plants;

RECALLING that Kazakhstan's regulatory activity for the nuclear sector is intended to ensure the protection of the environment and population in general, as well as the protection of workers, against radiation on the basis of internationally accepted guidelines and principles;

RECOGNISING that the future contribution of nuclear energy to meet the energy needs of Kazakhstan and of the Community, with due consideration for diversification, the economy, the environment and population in general also depends on developing satisfactory answers to the safety related issues aforementioned;

MINDFUL of the various forms of coordinated action on nuclear safety envisaged by the Community and Kazakhstan,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Cooperation under this Agreement shall be for peaceful purposes only and shall, on the basis of mutual benefit, contribute to the improvement of nuclear safety, including the definition and application of scientifically warranted and internationally accepted nuclear safety guidelines.

Article 2

The Parties shall endeavour to promote cooperation in the following areas.

(a) Reactor safety research

Review and analysis of safety issues; identification of appropriate techniques to improve reactor safety, inter alia, on the basis of research and development and evaluation studies on nuclear reactors in operation and planned.

(b) Radiation protection

Research, regulatory aspects, development of safety standards, public information, training and education. Particular attention shall be paid to the study of low-dose effects and of remedying contaminated areas, to industrial and medical exposure and post-accident management.

(c) Nuclear waste management

Assessment and optimisation of geological disposal, scientific aspects of the management of long life waste and strategies concerning site recovery.

(d) Decommissioning, decontamination and dismantling of nuclear installations

Strategies for decommissioning, decontamination, and dismantling nuclear installations, in particular radiological aspects.

(e) Research and development on safeguards of nuclear material

Development and evaluation of nuclear material measurement techniques and characterisation of reference materials for safeguard activities and development of the systems of accounting for and control of nuclear materials.

(f) Prevention of illicit trafficking of nuclear material

Cooperation shall relate to the promotion of methods and techniques of control of nuclear material.

Article 3

1. Cooperation shall be implemented in particular through:

- exchange of technical information by means of reports, visits, seminars, technical meetings, etc.,

- exchange of personnel including for training purposes between laboratories and/or bodies involved on both sides; this cooperation may also take place between persons and undertakings established in the respective territories of the Parties,

- exchange of samples, materials, instruments and apparatus for experimental purposes,

- balanced participation in joint studies and activities.

2. To the extent necessary, implementing arrangements to set out the scope, terms and conditions to implement specific cooperation activities, may be entered into by the Parties and/or by bodies which either Party may eventually entrust with the aforementioned activities.

Such implementing arrangements may, inter alia, cover financing provisions, assignment of management responsibilities and detailed provisions on dissemination of information and intellectual property rights.

3. In order to minimise duplication of efforts, the Parties shall coordinate their activities under this Agreement with other international activities related to nuclear safety in which they are participants.

Article 4

1. Each Party's obligations under this Agreement shall be subject to the availability of the required funds.

2. All costs resulting from cooperation shall be borne by the Party that incurs them.

3. The financing of industrial activities shall be excluded from the scope of this Agreement.

Article 5

1. Insofar as the Community is concerned, this Agreement shall apply to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community applies.

2. Cooperation under this Agreement shall be in accordance with the laws and regulations in force as well as with the international agreements entered into by the Parties.

3. Each Party shall use its best endeavours, within the framework of the laws and regulations applicable, to facilitate the accomplishment of formalities involved in the movement of persons, the transfer of materials and equipment and the transfer of currency required to conduct the cooperation.

4. Compensation for damages incurred during the implementation of this Agreement shall be in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable.

Article 6

Utilisation and diffusion of information and intellectual property rights including industrial property, patents and copyrights connected with the cooperation activities under this Agreement shall be in accordance with the Annexes, which form an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 7

Subject to the laws and regulations applicable, the Parties shall endeavour to settle all questions connected with this Agreement through consultations between themselves.

Article 8

1. A Coordinating Committee consisting of members appointed in equal numbers by the two Parties shall be established to supervise the implementation of this Agreement.

2. The Coordinating Committee shall meet as needed, alternately in the Community and in Kazakhstan, for regular sessions in order to:

- review and assess the cooperation under this Agreement and prepare annual reports thereon,

- determine by mutual agreement the specific tasks to be undertaken under this Agreement, without prejudice to the taking of autonomous decisions by the Parties on their respective programmes.

3. If mutually agreeable, extraordinary sessions may be held for dealing with particular topics, or in particular circumstances.

Article 9

1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date which the Parties, by an exchange of diplomatic notes, specify for its entry into force and shall remain in force for an initial period of 10 years(1).

2. Thereafter, this Agreement shall be automatically renewed for five-year periods, unless either Party, by written notice, requests its termination or renegotiation not later than six months prior to the expiry date.

3. In the event of termination or renegotiation, this Agreement shall remain in force in its previous form with respect to cooperation activities effectively entered into prior to the request for termination or renegotiation until the end of such activities and related implementing arrangements or for one calendar year after the expiry of this Agreement in its previous form, whichever is the earlier.

4. Termination of this Agreement shall not affect rights and obligations under Article 6.

Article 10

This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Russian and Kazakh languages, each text being equally authentic.

Hecho en Bruselas, el diecinueve de julio de mil novecientos noventa y nueve./Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den nittende juli nitten hundrede og nioghalvfems./Geschehen zu Brüssel am neunzehnten Juli neunzehnhundertneunundneunzig./Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις δεκαεννέα Ιουλίου χίλια εννιακόσια ενενήντα εννέα./Done at Brussels on the nineteenth day of July in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine./Fait à Bruxelles, le dix-neuf juillet mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf./Fatto a Bruxelles, addì diciannove luglio millenovecentonovantanove./Gedaan te Brussel, de negentiende juli negentienhonderdnegenennegentig./Feito em Bruxelas, em dezanove de Julho de mil novecentos e noventa e nove./Tehty Brysselissä yhdeksäntenätoista päivänä heinäkuuta vuonna tuhatyhdeksänsataayhdeksänkymmentäyhdeksän./Utfärdat i Bryssel den nittonde juli nittonhundranittionio.

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Por la Comunidad Europea de la Energía Atómica/For Det Europæiske Atomenergifællesskab/Für die Europäische Atomgemeinschaft/Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα Ατομικής Ενέργειας/For the European Atomic Energy Community/Pour la Communauté européenne de l'Énergie atomique/Per la Comunità europea dell'energia atomica/Voor de Europese Gemeenschap voor Atoomenergie/Pela Comunidade Europeia da Energia Atómica/Euroopan atomienergiayhteisön puolesta/På Europeiska atomenergigemenskapens vägnar

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Por la República de Kazajistán/For Republikken Kasakhstan/Für die Republik Kasachstan/Για τη Δημοκρατία του Καζακστάν/For the Republic of Kazakhstan/Pour la République du Kazakhstan/Per la Repubblica del Kazakistan/Voor de Republiek Kazachstan/Pela República do Cazaquistão/Kazakstanin tasavallan puolesta/På Republiken Kazakstans vägnar

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(1) This Agreement entered into force on 1 June 2003.

ANNEX I

GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON THE ALLOCATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS(1) RESULTING FROM JOINT RESEARCH UNDER THE COOPERATION AGREEMENT IN THE FIELD OF NUCLEAR SAFETY

I. OWNERSHIP, ALLOCATION AND EXERCISE OF RIGHTS

1. All research carried out pursuant to this Agreement shall be "joint research". The participants shall jointly develop joint technology management plans (TMPs)(2) in respect of the ownership and use, including publication, of information and Intellectual Property (IP) to be created in the course of joint research. Those plans shall be approved by the Parties before the conclusion of any specific R & D cooperation contracts to which they refer. The TMPs shall be developed taking into account the aims of the joint research, the relative contributions of the participants, the advantages and disadvantages of licensing by territory or for fields of use, requirements imposed by laws applicable and other factors deemed appropriate by the participants. The rights and obligations concerning the research generated by visiting researchers in respect of IP shall also be addressed in the joint technology management plans.

2. Information or IP created in the course of joint research and not addressed in the technology management plan shall be allocated, with the approval of the Parties, according to the principles set out in the technology management plan. In case of disagreement, such information or IP shall be owned jointly by all the participants involved in the joint research from which the information or IP results. Each participant to whom this provision applies shall have the right to use such information or IP for his own commercial exploitation with no geographical limitation.

3. Each Party shall ensure that the other Party and its participants may have the rights to IP allocated to them in accordance with these principles.

4. While maintaining the conditions of competition in areas affected by the Agreement, each Party shall endeavour to ensure that rights acquired pursuant to this Agreement are exercised in such a way as to encourage in particular:

(i) the dissemination and use of information created, disclosed, or otherwise made available, under the Agreement;

(ii) the adoption and implementation of international standards.

II. COPYRIGHT WORKS

Copyright belonging to the Parties or to their participants shall be accorded treatment consistent with the Berne Convention (1971 Paris Act).

III. SCIENTIFIC LITERARY WORKS

Without prejudice to section IV, unless otherwise agreed in the TMP, publication of results of research shall be made jointly by the Parties or participants to that joint research. Subject to the foregoing general rule, the following procedures shall apply.

1. In the case of publication by a Party or public bodies of that Party of scientific and technical journals, articles, reports, books, including video and software, arising from joint research pursuant to this Agreement, the other Party shall be entitled to a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to translate, reproduce, adapt, transmit and publicly distribute such works.

2. The Parties shall ensure that literary works of a scientific character arising from joint research pursuant to this Agreement and published by independent publishers shall be disseminated as widely as possible.

3. All copies of a copyright work to be publicly distributed and prepared under this provision shall indicate the names of the author(s) of the work unless an author or authors expressly declines or decline to be named. They shall also bear a clearly visible acknowledgement of the cooperative support of the Parties.

IV. UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION

A. Documentary undisclosed information

1. Each Party or its participants, as appropriate, shall identify at the earliest possible moment, and preferably in the technology management plan, the information that it wishes to remain undisclosed in relation to this Agreement, taking account, inter alia, of the following criteria:

- secrecy of the information in the sense that the information is not, as a body or in the precise configuration or assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible by lawful means to experts in the field,

- the actual or potential commercial value of the information by virtue of its secrecy,

- previous protection of the information in the sense that it has been subject to steps that were reasonable under the circumstances by the person lawfully in control, to maintain its secrecy.

The Parties and the participants may in certain cases agree that, unless otherwise indicated, parts or all of the information provided, exchanged or created in the course of joint research pursuant to the Agreement may not be disclosed.

2. Each Party shall ensure that undisclosed information under this Agreement and its ensuing privileged nature is readily recognisable as such by the other Party, for example by means of an appropriate marking or restrictive legend. This also applies to any reproduction of the said information, in whole or in part.

A Party receiving undisclosed information pursuant to the Agreement shall respect the privileged nature thereof. These limitations shall automatically terminate when this information is disclosed by the owner without restriction to experts in the field.

3. Undisclosed information communicated under this Agreement may be disseminated by the receiving Party to persons within or employed by the receiving Party, and other concerned departments or agencies in the receiving Party authorised for the specific purposes of the joint research under way, provided that any undisclosed information so disseminated shall be pursuant to an agreement of confidentiality and shall be readily recognisable as such, as set out above.

4. With the prior written consent of the Party providing undisclosed information under this Agreement, the receiving Party may disseminate such undisclosed information more widely than otherwise permitted in paragraph 3. The Parties shall cooperate in developing procedures for requesting and obtaining prior written consent for such wider dissemination, and each Party will grant such approval to the extent permitted by its domestic policies, regulations and laws.

B. Non-documentary undisclosed information

Non-documentary undisclosed or other confidential or privileged information provided in seminars and other meetings arranged under this Agreement, or information arising from the attachment of staff, use of facilities, or joint projects, shall be treated by the Parties or their participants according to the principle specified for documentary information in the Agreement, provided, however, that the recipient of such undisclosed or other confidential or privileged information has been made aware of the confidential character of the information communicated at the time such communication is made.

C. Control

Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that undisclosed information received by it under this Agreement shall be controlled as provided therein. If one of the Parties becomes aware that it will be, or may reasonably be expected to become, unable to meet the non-dissemination provisions of paragraphs A and B, it shall immediately inform the other Party. The Parties shall thereafter consult to define an appropriate course of action.

(1) Definitions of the concepts referred to in these guiding principles are set out in Annex II.

(2) The indicative features of such TMPs are set out in Annex III.

ANNEX II

DEFINITIONS

1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: shall have the meaning found in Article 2 of the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation, done at Stockholm on 14 July 1967.

2. PARTICIPANT: any natural or legal person, including the Parties themselves, participating in a project under this Agreement.

3. JOINT RESEARCH: research implemented and/or funded by the joint contributions of the Parties and with collaboration from participants of both Parties, where appropriate.

4. INFORMATION: scientific or technical date, results or methods of research and development stemming from the JOINT RESEARCH and any other information deemed necessary by the Parties and/or participants engaged in the JOINT RESEARCH to be provided or exchanged under this Agreement or research pursuant thereto.

ANNEX III

INDICATIVE FEATURES OF A TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT PLAN (TMP)

The TMP is a specific agreement to be concluded between the participants, about the implementation of joint research and the respective rights and obligations of the participants. With respect to IP, the TMP will normally address, inter alia: ownership, protection, user rights for R & D purposes, exploitation and dissemination, including arrangements for joint publication, the rights and obligations of visiting researchers and dispute settlement procedures. The TMP may also address foreground and background information, licensing and deliverables.