[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 30.11.2005

SEC(2005) 1546 final

Proposal for an

INTERNAL AGREEMENT

amending the Internal Agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, on measures to be taken and procedures to be followed for the implementation of the Agreement amending the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The negotiations on the revision of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement were concluded at a ministerial conference on 23 February 2005. The revised Agreement was signed on 25 June 2005 at the ACP-EC Council of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg. In view of the entry into force of the revised Agreement and in line with article 95 (3) thereof, the ACP-EC Council of Ministers adopted a decision on transitional measures to cover the period from the date of signature until the entry into force of the revised Agreement.

The adoption of these transitional measures provides for provisional application of the majority of the revised provisions, with the exception of those provisions relating to the release and implementation of the new financial resources which cannot take effect until the entry into force of the next multi-annual financial framework as set out in Annexe Ia of the revised Agreement.

The Community and its Member States must take the necessary measures to ensure the application of the revised Agreement.

In this context, Member States meeting within the Council will adopt amendments to the current Internal Agreement in order to take into account the provisions of the revised Agreement which have implications on the measures to be taken and the procedures to follow in the areas of their competence.

The entry into force of the amendments to the Internal Agreement will be effective after ratification by the respective national parliaments.

Moreover, in the light of the provisional application of the majority of the provisions of the revised Agreement, the Commission considers that the amendments to the Internal Agreement should also apply provisionally from 25 June 2005.

The Commission proposes to the Governments of the Member States to conclude the attached amendments to the Internal Agreement, and to adopt the attached decision concerning its provisional application.

Proposal for an

INTERNAL AGREEMENT

amending the Internal Agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, on measures to be taken and procedures to be followed for the implementation of the Agreement amending the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement

THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Treaty’,

having regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou (Benin) on 23 June 2000, hereinafter referred to as ‘the ACP-EC Agreement’,

having regard to the Agreement amending the ACP-EC Agreement signed in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005, hereinafter referred to as ‘the revised ACP-EC Agreement’

having regard to the draft from the Commission,

WHEREAS:

1. By virtue of its decision of 27 April 2004, the Council mandated the Commission to open negotiations with the ACP States with a view to amending the ACP-EC Agreement. These negotiations were concluded in Brussels on 23 February 2005. The revised ACP-EC Agreement was signed in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005.

2. As a result, amendments to the Internal Agreement on measures to be taken and procedures to be followed for the implementation of the revised ACP-EC Agreement should be decided.

3. The procedure established by the Internal Agreement needs to be amended to take into account the changes made to Articles 96 and 97 as set out in the revised ACP-EC Agreement. This procedure shall also be amended to take into account the new article 11b concerning cooperation in the fight against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The first paragraph of this clause constitutes an essential element of the revised ACP-EC Agreement.

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article

The Internal Agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, on measures to be taken and procedures to be followed for the implementation of the revised ACP-EC Agreement shall be amended by the following provisions:

A. TEXT OF THE ARTICLES OF THE INTERNAL AGREEMENT

4. Article 3 shall be replaced by the following:

The position of the Member States for the implementation of Articles 11b, 96 and 97 of the ACP-EC Agreement shall, when that position concerns matters within their competence, be adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure set out in the Annex.

If the planned measures concern matters falling within the competence of the Member States, the Council may also act on the initiative of a Member State.

5. Article 8 shall be replaced by the following:

This amended Agreement shall be approved by each Member State in accordance with its own constitutional requirements. The government of each Member State shall notify the General Secretariat of the Council of the completion of the procedures required for the entry into force of the amended Agreement.

Provided that the provisions of the first paragraph have been complied with, this amended Agreement shall enter into force at the same time as the revised ACP-EC Agreement[1]. It shall remain in force for the duration of that Agreement.

6. Article 9 shall be replaced by the following:

This Agreement, drawn up in a single original in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages, all twenty texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Council, which shall transmit a certified copy to each of the governments of the Signatory States.

B. TEXT OF THE ANNEX TO THE INTERNAL AGREEMENT

7. The annex shall be replaced by the following:

ANNEX

1. The Community shall exhaust all possible options for political dialogue with an ACP State under Article 8 of the ACP-EC Agreement, except in cases of special urgency, prior to commencement of the consultation process set out in Article 96 of the Agreement. Dialogue under Article 8 shall be systematic and formalised in accordance with the modalities laid down in article 2 of Annex VII to the Agreement. Regarding the dialogue conducted at national and regional level, when the Joint Parliamentary Assembly is involved, it shall be represented by the co-presidents in office or a designated nominee.

2. Where, having exhausted all possible options for dialogue under Article 8 of the Agreement, and at on the initiative of the Commission or a Member State, the Council considers that an ACP State has failed to fulfil an obligation concerning one of the essential elements referred to in Articles 9 and 11b of the revised ACP-EC Agreement, or in serious cases of corruption, the ACP State concerned shall be invited, unless there is special urgency, to hold consultations in accordance with Articles 96 and 97 of the revised ACP-EC Agreement.

The Council shall act by a qualified majority.

In the consultations, the Community shall be represented by the Presidency of the Council and the Commission and shall strive to ensure equality in the level of representation. The consultations shall focus on the measures to be taken by the party concerned and shall take place in accordance with the modalities set out in Annex VII of the revised ACP-EC Agreement.

3. If, on expiry of the deadlines set in Articles 11b, 96 and 97 of the revised ACP-EC Agreement for the consultations and despite all efforts, no solution has been found, or immediately in a case of urgency or refusal to hold consultations, the Council may, pursuant to those Articles, decide, on a proposal from the Commission, to take appropriate measures including partial suspension acting by a qualified majority. The Council shall act unanimously in case of a full suspension of application of the ACP-EC Agreement in relation to the ACP State concerned.

These measures shall remain in force until such time as the Council has used the applicable procedure as set out in the first subparagraph to take a decision amending or revoking the measures adopted previously, or where applicable, for the period indicated in the Decision.

For that purpose the Council shall proceed to review regularly and at least every six months the above measures.

The President of the Council shall notify the measures thus adopted to the ACP State concerned and to the ACP-EC Council of Ministers before they enter into force.

The Council’s Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Where the measures are adopted immediately, notification thereof shall be addressed to the ACP State and to the ACP-EC Council of Ministers at the same time as an invitation to hold consultations.

4. The European Parliament shall be immediately and fully informed of any decision taken under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Annex.

Proposal for a

Decision of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Community, meeting within the Council

.

THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Treaty’,

having regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou (Benin) on 23 June 2000, hereinafter referred to as ‘the ACP-EC Agreement’,

having regard to the Agreement amending the ACP-EC Agreement signed in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005, hereinafter referred to as ‘the revised ACP-EC Agreement’

having regard to the draft from the Commission,

WHEREAS:

(1) In accordance with Article 95 (3) of the revised ACP-EC Agreement, the Council of Ministers has adopted a Decision[2] on transitional measures applicable from the date of signature, 25 June 2005, until the entry into force of the revised ACP-EC Agreement.

(2) The adoption of these measures entails early application of the majority of the provisions of the revised ACP-EC Agreement, with the exception of those provisions relating to the release and implementation of the new financial resources.

(3) The Member States, meeting within the Council, have adopted amendments to the Internal Agreement on the measures to be taken and the procedures to be followed for the implementation of the revised ACP-EC Agreement. This amended Internal Agreement cannot enter into force until it is adopted by each Member State in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.

(4) In accordance with Article 2 of the decision on transitional measures applicable from 25 June until the entry into force of the revised ACP-EC Agreement, the Member States and the Community will be required to take the necessary measures for their application, each acting on their own behalf.

(5) Therefore, in order to establish the procedures to be followed by the Member States during the period of early application of the ACP-EC Agreement, provision should be made for the provisional application of the amended Internal Agreement.

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The provisions of the amended Internal Agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on measures to be taken and procedures to be followed for the implementation of the revised ACP-EC Agreement shall be applied provisionally from 25 June 2005.

The text of the amended Internal Agreement is attached to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force at the same time as the transitional measures for the early implementation of the revised ACP-EC Agreement.

It shall remain in force until the entry into force of the amended Internal Agreement concerning measures to be taken and procedures to be followed for the implementation of the revised ACP-EC Agreement.

Article 3

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union

Done at Brussels,

On behalf of the Governments of the Member States

The President

[1] The date of entry into force of the amended Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council

[2] ACP-EC 2128/05