30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/41 
 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1934/2006 
of 21 December 2006 
establishing a financing instrument for cooperation 
with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories  
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro pean Community, and in particular Article 181a 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of  the European Parliament, 
L 405/42 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Whereas: 
(1) Over the past decade, the Community has consis tently strengthened its bilateral relations 
with a broad range of industrialised and othe r high-income countries and territories across 
different regions of the world, primarily in North America, Ea st Asia and Australasia, but 
also in South-East Asia and the Gulf region. Furthermore, these relations have developed 
to embrace a widening array of subjects and areas in the economic sphere and beyond. 
(2) It is in the Community's intere st to further deepen its relati ons with industrialised countries 
and territories with which it often shares similar political, economic and institutional 
structures and values and whic h are important bilateral politic al and trading partners as 
well as players in multilateral fora and in global governance. This will be an important 
factor in strengthening the European Union' s role and place in the world, consolidating 
multilateral institutions and in contributi ng to balance and in developing the world 
economy and the international system. 
(3) The European Union and industrialised and ot her high-income countries and territories 
have agreed to strengthen thei r relationship and to cooperate across the areas in which they 
have shared interests through a variety of bilateral instru ments such as agreements, 
declarations, action plans and other similar documents.  
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/43 
 (4) In accordance with the principles  laid down in those bilatera l instruments, the Community 
implements a cooperation policy aimed at creat ing an environment conducive to pursuing 
and developing its relations with those countri es and territories. Cooperation activities will 
help to strengthen the European presence and visibility in these c ountries and encourage 
economic, commercial, academic, cultural and ot her exchanges and interaction between a 
diversified range of actors on each side. 
(5) The European Union is founded on the princi ples of democracy, the rule of law, good 
governance, respect for human rights and funda mental freedoms. Co mmunity action under 
this Regulation should contribute  to the general objective of  developing and consolidating 
these principles in partner countries and regions through dialogue and cooperation. 
(6) The promotion of diversified bilateral coopera tion initiatives with i ndustrialised and other 
high-income countries and territories within a single instrument will allow economies of 
scale, synergy effects, greater effectiven ess and visibility for the Community action. 
(7) In order to achieve the objectives of th is Regulation it is n ecessary to pursue a 
differentiated approach and to design coopera tion with partner countries taking account of 
their economic, social and po litical contexts as well as of the Community's specific 
interests, strategies and priorities.  
(8) This Regulation makes it necessary to re peal Council Regulation (EC) No 382/2001 of 
26 February 2001 concerning the implementati on of projects promoting cooperation and 
commercial relations between the European Union and the industrialised countries of 
North America, the Far East and Australasia1. 
                                                 
1 OJ L 57, 27.2.2001, p. 10. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1900/2005 
(OJ L 303, 22.11.2005, p. 22). 
L 405/44 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 (9) Since the objectives of this Regulation, name ly to promote enhanced cooperation between 
the Community and industrialised and other high-income countries and territories, cannot 
be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by re ason of the scale of 
the action, be better achieved at Community le vel, the Community may adopt measures, in 
accordance with the principle of  subsidiarity as set out in  Article 5 of the Treaty. In 
accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Ar ticle, this Regulation 
does not go beyond what is necessary in  order to achieve those objectives. 
(10) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in 
accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of impl ementing powers conferred on the Commission
1, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Objective 
1. Community financing shall support economic , financial and techni cal cooperation and 
other forms of cooperation falling within its s pheres of competence, wi th industrialised and 
other high-income countries and territories. 
2. The primary objective of cooperation  with the countries and te rritories referred to in 
paragraph 1 shall be to provide a specific re sponse to the need to strengthen links and to 
engage further with them on a bilateral, regi onal or multilateral basis in order to create a 
more favourable environment for the developmen t of the relations of  the Community with 
these countries and territories and promote dialogue while fost ering Community's interests. 
                                                 
1 OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC  (OJ L 200, 
22.7.2006, p. 11).  
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/45 
 Article 2 
Scope 
1. The cooperation with industrial ised and other high-income countries and territories shall be 
aimed at engaging with partners which shar e similar political, economic and institutional 
structures and values to th e Community and which are impor tant bilateral partners and 
players in multilateral fora and in global governance. The cooperation also covers newly 
industrialised or high-income countries and territories with which the Community has a 
strategic interest in promoting links. 
2. For the purpose of this Regulation, industr ialised and other high-income countries and 
territories shall comprise count ries and territories listed in the Annex and are hereinafter 
referred to as "partner countries ". However, in duly justified circumstances and in order to 
foster regional cooperation, the Commi ssion may decide when adopting action 
programmes referred to in Article 6 that count ries not listed in the Annex are eligible, 
where the project or programme to be implemen ted is of regional or cross-border nature. 
Provisions may be made for this in the multi- annual cooperation programmes referred to in 
Article 5. The Commission shall amend the list  in the Annex in accordance with regular 
OECD/DAC reviews of its List of developi ng countries and inform the Council thereof. 
L 405/46 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 3 
General principles 
1. The European Union is founded on the principl es of liberty, democracy, respect for human 
rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of  law and seeks to promote commitment to 
these principles in partner count ries through dialogue and cooperation. 
2. In the implementation of this Regulati on a differentiated approach in designing 
cooperation with partner countries shall be pu rsued, where appropriate, to take account of 
their economic, social and po litical contexts as well as of the Community's specific 
interests, strategies and priorities. 
3. Measures financed under this Regulation shall cover areas of cooperati on set out notably in 
the instruments, agreements, declarations a nd action plans between the Community and the 
partner countries as well as areas pertai ning to the Community's specific interests. 
4. For measures financed under this Regul ation, the Community shall aim to ensure 
coherence with other areas of its external action as well as other relevant Community 
policies. This shall be ensured by form ulating policy, strategic planning and the 
programming and implementation of measures. 
5. Measures financed under this Regulation sha ll complement and bring added value to the 
efforts undertaken by Member States and Comm unity public bodies, including in the area 
of commercial relations. 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/47 
 Article 4 
Areas of cooperation 
Community financing shall support cooperation acti ons in accordance with Article 1 and shall be 
consistent with the overall purpose, scope, objecti ves and general principles of this Regulation. 
Specific attention shall be paid to actions, which may include a regional dimension, in the following 
areas of cooperation: 
1) the promotion of cooperation, partnershi ps and joint undertaki ngs between economic, 
academic and scientific actors in the Community and partner countries; 
2) the stimulation of bilateral trade, in vestment flows and economic partnerships; 
3) the promotion of dialogues between polit ical, economic and social actors and other 
non-governmental organisations in relevant sectors in the Community and partner 
countries; 
4) the promotion of people-to-people li nks, education and training programmes and 
intellectual exchanges and th e enhancement of mutual unde rstanding between cultures and 
civilisations;  
5) the promotion of cooperative projects in ar eas such as research, science and technology, 
energy, transport and environmental matters  – including climate change, customs and 
financial issues and any other matter of mutu al interest between the Community and the 
partner countries; 
6) the enhancement of awareness about and unde rstanding of the European Union and of its 
visibility in partner countries; 
L 405/48 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 7) support for specific initiatives , including research work, st udies, pilot schemes or joint 
projects destined to respond in  an effective and flexible ma nner to cooperation objectives 
arising from developments in the Community 's bilateral relationship with the partner 
countries or aiming to provide impetus to the further deepening and broadening of bilateral 
relationships with them. 
Article 5 
Programming and allocation of funds 
1. Actions to promote cooperation under this Regula tion shall be carried out in the framework 
of multi-annual cooperation programmes covering cooperation with all or  with a selection 
of the partner countries. The Commission shall draw-up the mu lti-annual cooperation 
programmes and specify their scope.  
2. Multi-annual cooperation programme s shall cover no more than the period of validity of 
this Regulation. They shall set out the Commun ity's strategic interests and priorities, the 
general objectives and the expected results. They  shall also set out the areas selected for 
financing by the Community and outline th e indicative financial allocation of funds, 
overall, per priority area a nd per partner country or group of partner countries for the 
period concerned. Where appropriate, this may be given in the form of a range. 
Multi-annual cooperation programmes shall be reviewed at mid-term, or ad hoc if 
necessary. 
3. Multi-annual cooperation programmes and any re views thereof shall be adopted by the 
Commission in accordance with the pr ocedure set out in Article 15(2). 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/49 
 Article 6 
Implementation 
1. The Commission shall adopt annual ac tion programmes based on the multi-annual 
cooperation programmes referred to in Article 5. 
2. Annual action programmes shall specify, for all or for a selection of partner countries, the 
objectives pursued, the fields of interven tion, the expected results, the management 
procedures and the total amount of financing planned. They sh all contain a description of 
the operations to be financed, an indication of the amounts allocated for each operation and 
an indicative implementation timetable. 
3. Annual action programmes shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the 
procedure set out in Article 15(2). This pro cedure needs not be used for amendments to 
action programmes, such as those making technical adjustments, extending the 
implementation period, reassigning funds be tween the planned ope rations within the 
forecast budget, or increasing or reducing th e size of the budget by less than 20 % of the 
initial budget, provided these amendments are cons istent with the initial objectives set out 
in the action programmes. 
L 405/50 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 7 
Eligibility 
The following entities shall be eligible for f unding under this Regulation for the purposes of 
implementing the action programme s referred to in Article 6: 
(a) the following entities and bodies in the Me mber States and in the partner countries: 
(i) public or parastatal bodies, loca l authorities and consortia thereof; 
(ii) companies, firms and other pr ivate organisations and businesses; 
(iii) non-governmental organisations; citizens' groups and sectoral organisations such as 
trade unions, organisations representing economic and soci al interests, consumer 
organisations, women's and youth organisati ons; teaching, training, cultural, media, 
research and scientific orga nisations; universities and ot her education institutions; 
(b) partner countries and their regions, institutions and decentralised bodies; 
(c) international organisations, in cluding regional organisa tions, in so far as they contribute to 
the objectives of this Regulation; 
(d) natural persons of the Member States and of partner countries or othe r third countries in so 
far as they contribute to the objectives of this Regulation; 
(e) joint bodies set up by the partner co untries and regions and the Community; 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/51 
 (f) Community institutions and bodies, insofar as they implement support measures specified 
in Article 9; 
(g) European Union agencies. 
Article 8 
Types of financing 
1. Cooperation projects and programmes will be  financed by the general budget of the 
European Union either in totality or in the form of co-financing with other sources as 
specified in Article 10. 
2. Financing for the implementation of acti on programmes may take in particular the 
following legal forms: 
(a) grant agreements (i ncluding scholarships); 
(b) procurement contracts; 
(c) employment contracts; (d) financing agreements. 
3. Where the implementation of action programme s takes the form of financing agreements 
with partner countries, it shall be establishe d that Community funding shall not be used to 
finance taxes, customs duties and other fi scal charges in the partner countries. 
L 405/52 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 9 
Support measures 
1. Community financing may cover expenditure associated with the preparation, follow up, 
monitoring, audit and evaluation ac tivities directly necessary fo r the implementation of this 
Regulation and the achievement of its objectives, and any other administrative or technical 
assistance expenditure that the Commission, in cluding at its Delegati ons in the partner 
countries, may incur for the management of  operations financed under this Regulation. 
2. These support measures are not necessari ly covered by multi-annual programmes and may 
therefore be financed outside their scope.  
3. The Commission shall adopt support meas ures not covered by the multi-annual 
programmes and shall inform Member States thereof. 
Article 10 
Co-financing 
1. Measures shall be eligible for co-financing inter alia with: 
(a) Member States, their regional and local author ities, and in particular their public and 
parastatal agencies; 
(b) partner countries, and in particular their public and parastatal agencies; 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/53 
 (c) international organisations and regional organisations, including international and 
regional financial institutions;  
(d) companies, firms, other private organisa tions and businesses, and other non-state 
actors; 
(e) partner countries in receip t of funding, and other bodies eligible for funding under 
Article 7.  
2. In the case of parallel co-financing, the projec t or programme will be split into a number of 
clearly identifiable operations which are each financed by th e different partners providing 
co-financing in such a way that the end-use of the financing can al ways be identified. 
3. In the case of joint co-financing, the total co st of a project or programme will be shared 
between the partners providing the co-financing and the resources are pooled in such a way 
that it is not possible to iden tify the source of financing for any given activity undertaken 
as part of the project or programme.  
4. The Commission may receive and manage funds for co-financed projects on behalf of the 
bodies referred to in paragraph 1(a) (b) a nd (c) for the purpose of implementing joint 
measures. Such funds shall be treated as assi gned revenue, in accordance with Article 18 of 
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the genera l budget of the European Communities
1. 
                                                 
1 OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.  
L 405/54 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 11 
Management procedures 
1. The measures financed under this Regulati on shall be implemented in accordance with 
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 and in particular Part Two, Title IV thereof. 
2. The Commission may entrust tasks of pub lic authority, and in particular budget 
implementation tasks, to the bodies referre d to in Article 54( 2) (a) and (c) of 
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002. The bodies referred to in Articl e 54(2) (c) of that 
Regulation may be entrusted with tasks of public authority if th ey are of recognised 
international standing, comply with internationally recognise d systems of management and 
control, and are supervis ed by a public authority. 
Article 12 
Protecting the Community's financial interests 
1. Any agreements resulting from this Regul ation shall contain provisions ensuring the 
protection of the Community's financial interests, in particular with respect to irregularities, fraud, corruption and any othe r illegal activity, in accordance with Council 
Regulations (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of  18 December 1995 on the protection of the 
European Communities financial interests
1 and (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 
11 November 1996 concerning on -the-spot checks and insp ections carried out by the 
Commission in order to protect the European  Communities' financial interests against 
fraud and other irregularities2 and Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations conducted by the 
European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)3. 
                                                 
1 OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1.  
2 OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.  
3 OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.  
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/55 
 2. Agreements shall expressly entitle the Comm ission and the Court of Auditors to perform 
audits, including document audits or on-the-spot  audits of any contra ctor or subcontractor 
who has received Community funds. They shall also expressly authorise the Commission to carry out on-the-spot check s and inspections in accordance  with Regulation (Euratom, 
EC) No 2185/96. 
3. All contracts resulting from the implementati on of cooperation shall en sure the rights of 
the Commission and the Court of Auditors  under paragraph 2 during and after the 
performance of the contracts. 
Article 13 
Evaluation 
1. The Commission shall regularly evaluate the actions and programmes financed under this 
Regulation, where appropriate by means of inde pendent external evaluations, in order to 
ascertain whether the objectives have been met and enable it to formulate 
recommendations with a view to improving futu re operations. The results shall feed back 
into programme design and resource allocation. 
2. The Commission shall send its evaluation reports  to the European Parliament and to the 
Committee referred to in Article 15 for information. 
3. The Commission shall associate relevant stak eholders, including non-state actors, in the 
evaluation phase of the Community coope ration provided for unde r this Regulation. 
L 405/56 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 14 
Annual report 
The Commission shall examine the progress made on implementing the measures taken under this 
Regulation and shall submit to the European Parl iament and the Council an annual report on the 
implementation of this Regulation. The report sha ll set out the results of implementation of the 
budget and present the actions and programmes financed, and as far as possible, set out the main 
outcomes and impacts of the cooperation actions and programmes. 
Article 15 
Committee 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. 
2. Where reference is made to this paragra ph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall 
apply.  
The period laid down in Artic le 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC  shall be set at 30 days. 
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure. 
Article 16 
Financial provisions 
The financial reference amount for the implementation of this  Regulation for the period from 2007 
to 2013 shall be EUR 172 million. The annual appropriations shall be authorised  by the budgetary 
authority within the limits of the financial  framework.  
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/57 
 Article 17 
Repeal 
1. Regulation (EC) No 382/2001 shall be repealed as of the latest of the following dates: 
– 1 January 2007; 
– the date of entry into force of this Regulation. 
2. The repealed Regulation shall continue to a pply for legal acts and commitments of budget 
years preceding the year 2007. Any reference to the repealed Regulation shall be deemed 
to be a reference to this Regulation. 
Article 18 
Review 
Not later than 31 December 2010, the Commission sha ll submit to the European Parliament and the 
Council a report evaluating the implementation of this  Regulation in the firs t three years with, if 
appropriate, a legislative proposal in troducing the necessary modifications. 
L 405/58 EN Official Journal of the European Union 30.12.2006 
 Article 19 
Entry into force 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day fo llowing its publication in th e Official Journal of 
the European Union. 
It shall apply from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013. 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 21 December 2006. 
 For the Council 
 The President 
 J. KORKEAOJA 
 
30.12.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 405/59 
 ANNEX  
List of countries and territories covered by this Regulation 
(1) Australia 
(2) Bahrain (3) Brunei (4) Canada (5) Chinese Taipei
1 
(6) Hong-Kong (7) Japan (8) Republic of Korea (9) Kuwait 
(10) Macao 
(11) New Zealand (12) Oman (13) Qatar (14) Saudi Arabia (15) Singapore (16) United Arab Emirates (17) United States 
 
                                                 
1 Although there are no diplomatic or political relations with Chinese Taipei, intensive 
contacts do take place and should be continue d in the areas of econom y, trade, science and 
technology, standards and norms and on a number of other subjects.