Communication from the Commission - Internal agreement between Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the financing and administration of Community Aid  under the Financial Protocol to the Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States and the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the EC Treaty applies
Date: 2000-06-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ACP-EU Convention, EU aid, financial protocol, financing of aid, overseas countries and territories













EUR-Lex - 52000SC0885 - EN






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52000SC0885

Communication from the Commission - Internal agreement between Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the financing and administration of Community Aid  under the Financial Protocol to the Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States and the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the EC Treaty applies  /* SEC/2000/0885 final */  









COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION   INTERNAL AGREEMENT  between Representatives of the Governments of the Member States,  meeting within the Council, on the financing and administration of Community Aid  under the Financial Protocol to the Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States and the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the EC Treaty appliesCOMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSIONThe negotiation of a successor to the Lomé Convention has resulted in far-reaching reform of management systems for ACP-EC development co-operation. It has been agreed to re-group the instruments of the European Development Fund (EDF) and to introduce a system of rolling programming. The agreement is inspired by the double objectives of differentiation to suit the specific needs and performance of each recipient country and of enhancing efficiency of aid.The Internal Agreement for the 9th EDF, that governs the respective roles within the Community in the EDF programming and implementation processes, must evidently reflect the agreement reached with the ACP countries. However, the Internal Agreement of the 9th EDF should go further than mechanical adaptations of the Internal Agreement of the 8th EDF in order to bring it into line with the new ACP-EC partnership agreement. In fact, Member States have already recognised that the conclusion of the new ACP-EC partnership agreement renders necessary a revision of the respective roles played by the Commission and the Member States in the decision-making process. [1] A number of parallel policy developments within the Community, such as the presentation of the global evaluation of EC development aid, the 1999 Council decision on "comitology" and informal discussions in the EDF Committee, also point to the need for such reforms. In this context, the Development Committee of the European Parliament, in its draft opinion on the 1998 budget discharge, also reiterated many of the recommendations made by the external evaluators.[1]  Council Conclusions for the 9th EDF and the declaration by the Commission and the Member States on the programming process in the framework of the 5th Negotiating Conference with the ACP.This note describes the results of the new ACP-EC partnership agreement in the field of aid management and sets out the main elements of the relevant policy developments internal to the Community. The conclusion summarises the Commission's proposal for the Internal Agreement for the respective roles in the programming process for the 9th EDF.1. Background1.1. Rationalisation of the instruments of co-operation and a new method for programmingThe current EDF instruments will be rationalised and re-grouped into one single envelope for provision of grants and one Investment Facility. The Investment Facility will be operated as a revolving fund and managed by the EIB (see further point 1.2 below). The resources from the grant facility will be allocated on the basis of needs and performance and will be used to finance a wide range of operations such as macro-economic support, support for sector policies, debt relief, and traditional projects and programmes.The new programming process will allow for one single Country Support Strategy (CSS) for each ACP State that covers the implementation of all operations financed from the grant envelope. The distinction between programmable and non-programmable aid is thus abandoned. On the basis of an indicative resource allocation covering a period of five years, the CSS will be translated into Indicative Programmes that gradually are rolled forward.The new programming process is result-oriented and foresees a shift in the nature of aid from fragmented project assistance towards provision of budgetary assistance and concentration of aid on a limited number of sector programmes. The programming process will thus allow for increased ownership of policies by the recipient country and, by increasing the scale and concentration of operations, will be conducive to an increase in efficiency and impact of aid. The approach will also facilitate donor co-ordination and complementarity and enable co-financing of operations in sectors where another donor has the overall responsibility for policy dialogue and implementation.A flexible and regular review mechanism will make it possible to continuously update the CSS and the volume of resources to developments in need and performance. A key element is the decentralisation of the review process to field level, making the review an integral part of programming and dialogue between the Community and the recipient country. An annual operational review, consisting of a stock-taking exercise, shall summarise the results of a regular dialogue with the recipient country and extend the operational programming perspective for the coming period. At the mid-term and the end of term of the period of application of the Financial Protocol, the annual review should also imply a discussion of the support strategy, leading either to a confirmation of the orientation of the CSS or suggesting the appropriate adjustments. As a consequence, the volume of resources allocated to the country concerned may be adjusted. The parties have undertaken to respect specified time limits for completion of each review - the annual operational reviews shall be completed within a period of 60 days. When the review is expanded to include a review of the CSS, the parties have another 30 days to complete the process.The localisation of the review to the recipient countries will necessitate that a number of tasks and responsibilities, both within the Commission and in the context of dialogue between the Commission and the Member States, must be 'deconcentrated'. The role of the Delegations of the Commission in the partner countries is currently being re-examined with the aim of maximising the benefit from the Delegations' experience on the ground. Delegations will be given clearly defined responsibilities and their relations with Commission Headquarters will be rationalised to avoid duplication of efforts. The Commission in particular envisages that delegations will be assigned much wider responsibilities in the context of programming and implementation than is the case at present. Simplification and rationalisation of aid management within the Commission will moreover be facilitated by the harmonisation of tender procedures, contract awards and the standardisation of the various contractual documents. Ex-ante controls, coupled with a rigid and centralised structure, should give way for a more flexible and decentralised structure which favours ex-post controls.Co-ordination between the Commission and the Member States must follow suit and to a large extent take place through up-stream co-ordination at field level, both in terms of strategic assessment and collaboration in implementation of aid. The EDF Committee should instead concentrate its attention on assessing Country Strategies, sector policies and sector evaluations. As a consequence, the Committee should only deal in detail with the technical consideration of individual projects over a significant threshold. Concentrating the control functions exercised from by the Committee on questions of strategy and coherence would render management more effective and at the same time help concentrate development programmes on priority objectives.1.2. The Investment FacilityThe Investment Facility will replace the Lomé IV risk capital and interest-rate subsidy facilities. One major departure vis-à-vis past operations is that it will function as a revolving fund, offering ACP countries a degree of security as to the envelope available for private sector development in the short, medium and long term. The Facility will thus attempt to focus basically on fields of intervention and operations which cannot be financed sufficiently from private capital or by local financial institutions - in other words, requests for medium and long-term finance, risk capital and flanking measures (guarantee funds, etc.).The objectives of the Facility will be to help develop enterprise in ACP countries. The Facility will finance income earning, commercially and economically viable private enterprises and, if they meet these requirements, public enterprise. Enterprises will have direct access to the Facility, or indirect, through intermediaries. It will participate in privatisation operations and aim to stimulate the investment of internal and external savings by helping to build the capacities of local financial institutions and capital markets and by leveraging foreign investment. To this end, Facility resources will be, whenever possible, be channelled through ACP and European financial institutions.The Facility will be able to invest in the form of loans, equity and quasi-equity; it will also be able to write guarantees in support of domestic and foreign private investment. An objective will be to leverage other (mainly private) sources of finance. At the same time, the EIB also intends continue to use its own resources for other financing operations in the ACP countries.The IF shall be set up through the deployment of 2 200 million euro from the 9th EDF. The returns accruing from its operations will flow back to the Facility. Interest subsidies will be allowed under certain conditions for loans to investment projects meeting some criteria such as environmental or social components, etc. The current rules for management of risk capital, according to which payments on loans shall be credited to the Member States, will therefore have to be changed. Moreover, due to the nature of the instrument, a reform of management of these resources, which includes a revision of the role of committees in order to adapt the means of co-ordination between the Bank, the Commission, the Member States and multilateral development financing institutions.1.3. Commitment and disbursement targetsIn its conclusions on the 9th EDF, the Council established a close link between commitment and disbursement rate of EDF assistance and the contribution of resources for assistance to the ACP. The release of one billion euro of the global package for the 9th EDF as well as the eligibility for replenishment of resources after the expiry of the Financial Protocol have been made contingent on an evaluation of commitments and disbursements in 2004.In order to safeguard the continued access to resources for assistance to the ACP, the Commission and the ACP have agreed to disburse the 9th EDF plus remaining balances from previous EDFs in the period 2000 - 2007. This implies a doubling of current yearly average disbursement rates.This ambitious objective cannot be realised without a thorough reform of current management systems and a rapid evolution in the nature of aid towards large-scale disbursement programmes such as structural adjustment and/or sectoral support programmes. Successful implementation of such programmes will depend on well-planned support measures to assist the recipient country in assuring fulfilment of the obligations and monitoring associated with those programmes. In the context of the ongoing reform of the Commission Services and the deployment of its human resource stock, due consideration therefore has to be given to the effects of evolution in aid.1.4. Revision clauseIn order to allow for a continuous update of the texts governing the implementation of aid, all provisions on instruments and programming in the future ACP-EC Agreement have been placed in an annex. This annex can be amended at any point in time by means of a decision of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers and modifications will take effect without having to re-launch the process of ratification.The outline of the Internal Agreement must follow the same logic and allow for a corresponding degree of flexibility. A revision clause has therefore been introduced whereby certain provisions of the Internal Agreement may be amended by a decision of the Council taken by qualified majority on a proposal by the Commission and, where the Bank is concerned, with its consent.1.5. OCT decisionThe Council conclusions on the 9th EDF foresee an allocation of EUR 175 million for assistance to the Overseas Countries and Territories. Those resources are confirmed in the Internal Agreement and are thus subject to ratification by Member States. However, the implementation of assistance to the OCT will not governed by the overall ACP-EC Agreement. The rules for execution of this aid will therefore be dealt with in the framework of the future Council Decision governing the association of the OCT. This Decision is expected to come into force by February 2001 at the latest.1.6. Developments internal to the CommunityIn May 1999, the Development Council adopted Conclusions on the evaluation of European Community development instruments and programmes, which was carried out between 1995 and 1999. The Council Conclusions, based on the findings of the individual geographical evaluations, stressed the need to improve the framework within which aid is delivered to developing countries. Many of the points made in the Conclusions - e.g. closer partnerships with developing countries, increased use of performance criteria for allocations, increased co-ordination and complementarity among donors, reduced number of instruments - have been included in the new Agreement negotiated with ACP States. The Council also encouraged an increased role of development committees in strategic and sectoral issues, stating that 're-orienting the work of the committees is an important step towards enhanced co-ordination and collaboration'. The Council invited the Commission and Member States to refocus the work of the committees towards more strategic and sectoral issues. It acknowledged that this may necessitate a rethinking of the committees' work on the approval of individual projects. Furthermore, the Council agreed with the recommendation that Commission delegations need more responsibilities and enhanced decision-making powers.During 1999, the European Development Fund Committee undertook a review of its internal functioning. Although this review was carried out within the terms of the Internal Agreement for the 8th EDF, the EDF Committee broadly agreed that a refocusing as described above would be needed for the future.As part of the exercise for the 1998 budget discharge, the Development Committee of the European Parliament made a number of recommendations as to how the EC could better deliver its aid. Among these were suggestions to transfer decision-making to the level of the delegations, to reassess thoroughly the role of the EDF Committee and to improve in-country co-ordination with Member States.In June 1999, the Council adopted a Decision laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (the so-called 'comitology decision'). Although the European Development Fund Committee is not directly covered by this decision, it should be brought into line with its provisions for reasons of coherence.2. Innovations introduced compared to the Internal Agreement for the 8th EDFA number of innovations have been introduced compared to the Internal Agreement for the 8th EDF:(1) The EDF Committee should concentrate its efforts on programming, periodic review of individual country strategies and indicative programmes, definition of sectoral strategies and estimate of programme impact. The Committee should only deal in detail with major projects over a threshold being established at a significantly higher level than hitherto. The EDF Committee should also consider issues requiring European co-ordination upstream. The programming process is set out in Articles 14-20.(2) Introduction of time limits that shall be respected for completion of the country reviews as set out in the Agreement negotiated with the ACP (Article 5 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement and Articles 17.2 and 18.2 of this Agreement). This pre-supposes that the administrative rules governing the deliberations of the Committee will be adapted by way of the rules of procedure referred to in Article 21.2.(3) Emphasis of deconcentration of the decision making process in the form of systematic field level consultations between Member States and the Commission 'upstream' in the programming process (see Articles 15.1, 17.1, 18.1, 23.3, 23.4).(4) Revised thresholds for project approval. The new Agreement makes a number of changes to the system of aid that require a reconsideration of the role of the Committee and its thresholds for examination. The new programming process will entail annual reviews, and therefore a greater involvement of the EDF Committee in strategy discussions. The new emphasis on sectoral programmes, co-financing and budget support will mean that individual financing decisions will be for much larger amounts than in current practice. The Committee's work will have to be revised to take account of these innovations. (see Articles 22-27). It is therefore proposed that the EDF Committee shall have a greater role 'upstream' in the programming process and that the thresholds for project approval shall be revised, as set out in the annexed table.(5) Due to the nature of the Investment Facility, the Committee established under the auspices of the EIB (Investment Facility Committee) will be set up according to the requirement of this instrument (Articles 28 and 29).(6) All references to implementation rules for assistance to the OCT have been referred to the future OCT Decision (see Article 3)(7) In addition to the interest rates that accrue from the EDF, the Commission will manage 126 million euro to finance administrative and financial costs linked to implementation (see Articles 4 and 11).(8) A revision clause has been introduced, mandating the Council to amend all rules of the Internal Agreement relating to implementation by a decision taken with qualified majority on a proposal by the Commission (see Article 33).3. ConclusionsAgainst this background, the Commission invites the Member States to consider the annexed draft for the Internal Agreement governing the implementation of aid for the ACP States.ANNEXSummary of the respective roles of the Member States and the Commission and the EIB in the process of programming and implementation of EDF resources&gt;TABLE POSITION&gt;INTERNAL AGREEMENT  between Representatives of the Governments of the Member States,  meeting within the Council,on the financing and administration of Community Aid  under the Financial Protocol to the Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States [2] and the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the EC Treaty applies[2]  COM(2000)324.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,Having regard to the draft presented by the Commission,Whereas:(1) The Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States (hereinafter referred to as 'the ACP-EC Agreement') sets the aggregate amount of Community aid to the ACP States at up to EUR 15 200 million. This amount is comprised of, on the one hand, up to EUR 13 500 million from the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) contributed by Member States and, and, on the other hand, EUR 1 700 million from the European Investment Bank (hereinafter referred to as 'the Bank'). In addition, any balances from previous European Development Funds as of the day of entry into force of the Financial Protocol of the ACP-EC Agreement shall be transferred to the 9th EDF and used in accordance with the conditions laid down in the ACP-EC Agreement,(2) Council Decision 91/482/EEC of July 1991 on the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Community, as amended by Decision 97/803/EC of 24 November 1997, has been extended until 28 February 2001 by Council Decision 2000/169/EC of 25 February 2000. A new decision on the basis of Article 187 of the Treaty will be adopted by that date. This decision will set at EUR 175 million the amount of the European Development Fund for financial assistance to the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the Treaty applies. (hereafter referred to as 'the OCT'. [Provision is also made for operations to the amount of EUR 20 million to be undertaken by the Bank from its own resources in the OCT.] [3] In addition any balances from previous European Development Funds allocated to the OCT as of the day of entry into force of this Agreement shall be transferred to the 9th EDF and used in accordance with the conditions laid downin this Council Decision.[3]  Subject to a decision by the EIB's Board of Directors.(3) The representatives of the governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, have agreed to set aside EUR126 million to finance costs incurred by the Commission in the implementation of the European Development Fund.(4) In order to implement the ACP-EC Agreement and the future Decision concerning the association of the OCT (hereinafter referred to as 'the Decision'), a ninth European Development Fund should be established and a procedure laid down for the provision of funds and for contributions from Member States to those funds.(5) The rules for the administration of financial co-operation should be determined, the procedure for programming, examining and approving aid should be decided and the detailed rules for supervising the use of aid should be laid down.(6) The Conclusions on the Financial allocation for the 9th European Development Fund, drawn in the EU Ministerial Co-ordination of the 3rd ACP-EC Ministerial Negotiating Conference of 6 and 7 December 1999, note the Commission's intentions to decentralise its administrative decision-making and emphasise the need for reforms aiming at a redefinition of the respective roles of the Commission and the Council in the EDF decision-making process. The same conclusions establish commitment and disbursement targets for the 9th EDF and state that the totality of the resources available shall be implemented during the period 2000 - 2007.(7) The declaration by the Council and the Commission on the programming process noted in the minutes of the ACP-EC Ministerial Negotiating Conference of 2 and 3 February 2000 [4] states that the procedures and reporting requirements surrounding the programming process must be managed in a disciplined manner and that the respective roles of the Member States and the Commission in the decision making process will be reviewed and adapted.[4]  Minutes of the EU Ministerial Co-ordination, Council CONF doc 14084/99 ACP 117 PTOM 18 FIN 493 of 14 December 1999.(8) The Council Conclusions of 21 May 1999 on the evaluation of EC development instruments and programmes set out various ways in which the Council calls on the Commission and Member States to improve the efficiency of European Community development aid, including deconcentration to delegations, increased co-ordination and complementarity among donors, a reduced numebr of instruments, increased use of performance criteria and a reorientation of the work of development management committees.  [5][5]  OJ ..:(9) The Council of 21 May 1999 adopted conclusions relating to the co-ordination of co-operation policies and operations within the Community co-ordination and complementarity at its May 1999 meeting. These conclusions built on the Communication from the Commission [6] and also previous Council Resolutions and Conclusions from 1993 and 1994. They reiterated the need for closer co-ordination and complementarity among donors and also the need for the partner country to have a guiding role in this process.[6]  COM(1999) 218.(10) A Committee of Representatives of the Governments of Member States should be set up under the auspices of the Commission and a similar Committee should be set up under the auspices of the Bank. The work of the Commission and the Bank to apply the ACP-EC Agreement and the corresponding provisions of the Decision should be harmonised.(11) The Council adopted on 28 June 1999 a Decision laying down rules for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission.  [7][7]  OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23After consulting the European Investment Bank,HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:Chapter I Financial resourcesArticle 1 Resources of the 9th EDF1. The Member States hereby set up a ninth European Development Fund (2000), hereinafter referred to as 'the 9th EDF'.2. The 9th EDF shall cover the period of 2000 - 2007 and shall consist of:(a) An amount up to EUR 13 801 million contributed by the Member States as follows:Member State  //  Contribution in million EURBelgium  //  541Denmark  //  295Germany  //  3 224Greece  //  173Spain  //  806France  //  3 353Ireland  //  86Italy  //  1 731Luxembourg  //  40Netherlands  //  720Austria  //  366Portugal  //  134Finland  //  204Sweden  //  377United Kingdom  //  1 751Within this total amount,i) EUR 13 500 million shall be allocated for the ACP states;ii) EUR 175 million shall be allocated to the OCTiii) EUR 126 million shall be allocated to the Commission for costs linked to implementation(b) Any balances remaining from previous EDF on the date of entry into force of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement, as well as any amounts that will be de-committed at a later date from ongoing projects under these EDF, shall be transferred to the 9th EDF. Any resources thus transferred to the 9th EDF that previously had been allocated to the indicative programme of an ACP State, ACP region or an OCT will remain allocated to that State, region or OCT.3. The revenue accruing from interest on the funds referred to in this Article deposited with the paying agents in Europe referred to in Article 38(1) of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement shall be credited to one or more bank accounts opened in the name of the Commission, and shall be used in accordance with the terms of Article 11.4. The allocation of contributions under paragraph 2 (a) above shall be amended by a decision of the Council acting unanimously, on the basis of a proposal from the Commission acting unanimously, should a new State accede to the Community.5. Adjustment of the financial resources may also apply upon the accession to the ACP-EC Agreement of new ACP States that did not take part in its negotiation, according to the procedure described in paragraph 4 above.Article 2 Resources reserved for the ACP StatesOut of the total amount stated in Article 1.2.a, the amount up to EUR 13 500 million shall be allocated for the ACP States as follows:a) Up to EUR 10 000 million in the form of grants comprisingi) EUR 8 836 million to be released immediately upon the entry into force of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement for support for long-term development in accordance with Articles 1 to 5 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement. These resources may be used to finance short-term actions in response to exceptional circumstances, in accordance with articles 72 and 73 of the ACP-EC agreement, where such assistance cannot be financed from the Community's budget.ii) EUR 1 000 million to be released on the basis of a proposal by the Commission and a performance review by the Council in 2004, on the basis of a proposal from the Commission, and referred to in paragraph 7 of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement. This review will in particular take into account the rate of past commitments and disbursements and will constitute the basis for re-evaluation of the overall amount of resources as well as for evaluating the need for new resources under the ACP-EC Agreement after the expiry of the Financial Protocol. In evaluating the need for new resources, full account shall be taken of this performance review as well as of a date beyond which the funds of the 9th EDF will not be committed.iii) EUR 90 million to be released immediately upon the entry into force of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement for the financing of the budget of the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) in accordance with the provisions of Annex III to the ACP-EC Agreement;iv) EUR 70 million to be released immediately upon the entry into force of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement for the financing of the budget of the Centre for the Development of Agriculture (CTA) in accordance with the provisions of Annex III to the ACP-EC Agreement; andv) an amount not exceeding EUR 4 million to be released immediately upon the entry into force of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement for the expenditure relating to the Joint ACP-EC Assembly, constituted by Article 17 of the ACP-EC Agreement.b) EUR 1 300 million to be released immediately upon the entry into force of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement for the financing of support for regional co-operation and integration of the ACP States in accordance with Articles 6 to 14 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement;c) EUR 2 200 million to be released immediately upon the entry into force of the Financial Protocol to the ACP-EC Agreement for the financing of an Investment Facility to be managed by the Bank in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in Annex II to the ACP-EC Agreement as well as the conditions set out in this Agreement in Articles 6, 10, 28 and 29.Article 3 Resources reserved for the OCT1. The overall amount of financial assistance to the OCT provided by the Community in the form of grants out of the overall amount stated in Article 1.2 a) shall be EUR 175 million of which EUR155 million in the form of grants and EUR20 million under the Investment Facility. The rules governing the implementation of this assistance shall be laid down in the Council Decision on the association with the OCT to the Community, adopted pursuant to Article 187 of the Treaty.2. Where an OCT becomes independent and accedes to the ACP-EC Agreement, the amounts indicated in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be reduced and those indicated in Article 2.a.i correspondingly increased by a decision of the Council acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission.Article 4Resources reserved for costs linked to implementationEUR 126 million shall be reserved for the financing of costs linked to implementation to be incurred by the Commission in the framework of the ACP-EC Agreement and shall be utilised according to the principles set out in Article 10 of this Agreement together with the resources referred to in Article 1.3 of this Agreement.Article 5 Loans from EIB own resources1. To the amount laid down in Article 1.2 shall be added EUR 1 720 million in the form of loans granted by the Bank from its own resources. These resources will be granted for the purposes set out in Annex II to the ACP-EC Agreement and the Council Decision on the OCT in accordance with the conditions provided for by its statutes and the relevant provisions of the terms and conditions for investment financing as laid down in the aforementioned Annex and Decision.2. These loans shall be allocated as follows:a) an amount of EUR 1 700 million for financing operations to be carried out in the ACP States;b) an amount of EUR 20 million for financing operations to be carried out in the OCT.Article 6  Financing of interest rate subsidies1. Interest rate subsidies to be provided for loans from the Investment Facility referred to in Article 2c) above and for loans from the Bank's own resources shall be funded from the resources mentioned in Article 2a)i) and ii) of this Agreement.2. In accordance with paragraph 8 of the Financial Protocol of the ACP-EC Agreement, the Council may decide unanimously and on a proposal by the Commission to propose to the ACP-EC Council to increase the volume of grant resources allocated for the purpose of financing such interest rate subsidies.Article 7 Guarantee of EIB1. The Member States undertake to act as guarantor for the Bank, waiving any right to object and in proportion to their contributions to its capital, in respect of all financial commitments arising for its borrowers out of the loan contracts concluded by the Bank with its own resources in implementation of Article 1 of Annex II to the ACP-EC Agreement and the corresponding provisions of the Decision.2. The guarantee referred to in paragraph 1 shall be restricted to 75% of the total amount of the credits opened by the Bank under all the loan contracts; it shall be applied to cover all risks.3. The undertakings arising from paragraph 1 shall be the subject of guarantee contracts between each Member State and the Bank.Article 8 Operations managed by the Bank under previous EDFs1. Payments made to the Bank in respect of special loans granted to the ACP States the OCT and the overseas departments, together with the proceeds and income from risk capital operations, undertaken under the previous EDFs, shall be credited to the Member States in proportion to their contributions to the Fund from which the sums are derived, unless the Council decides unanimously, on a proposal from the Commission, to place them in reserve or allocate them to other purposes.2. Any commission due to the Bank for managing the loans and operations referred to in the first subparagraph shall be deducted in advance from these sums.Article 9 Operations managed by the Bank under the 9th EDF1. Proceeds and income received by the Bank from operations under the Investment Facility shall be used for further operations under the Facility, according the provisions set in Article 3 of the Annex II of the Agreement and after deduction for exceptional expenses and liabilities arising in connection with the Facility.2. The Bank shall be remunerated on a full indemnity basis for the management of the Investment Facility operations. The Council shall decide, on a proposal from the Commission drawn up in agreement with the Bank, on the resources and mechanisms for remuneration of the Bank. The terms of this decision shall be incorporated in the agreement by which the Bank undertakes the conduct of these operations.Article 10 Costs linked to implementation of the resources of the 9th EDF1. The resources referred to in Article 4 of this present Agreement, shall, together with the resources referred to in Article 1.3, be used to cover administrative and financial costs arising from the implementation of the resources of the EDF. The Commission shall make use of these resources for the following purposes:(a) administrative and financial costs arising from the cash management of the Fund;(b) reinforcing the administrative capacities of the Commission and its Delegations in order to ensure a smooth preparation and implementation of operations financed from the EDF;(c) the financing of studies, assessments, audits or consultancy services, including in the area of the analysis, diagnosis and formulation of structural adjustment strategies and other policies; and(d) monitoring and evaluation.Such assistance shall not be assigned to core tasks of the public service.2. The Commission shall make annual global financial proposals to the EDF Committee on the use of these resources. The EDF Committee shall deliver its opinion on such financing proposals in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 26 of this Agreement3. However, acting on a Commission proposal, the Council may decide by the qualified majority laid down in Article 21 to use the resources referred to in this Article for purposes other than those provided for in paragraph 1.Article 11 Contributions to the 9th EDF1. Each year, the Commission, taking into account the Bank's requirements concerning the management and the operations of the Investment Facility, shall establish and communicate to the Council before 1 November a statement of the payments to be made in the following budget year and a schedule of the calls for contribution. The Council shall decide thereon by the qualified majority laid down in Article 21 of this Agreement. As regards funds transferred from previous EDF to the 9th EDF in accordance with Article 1.2.b of this Agreement, the contributions of each Member State shall be calculated in proportion to the contribution of each Member State to the EDF in question.2. The detailed rules for payments of contributions by the Member States shall be determined by the Financial Regulation referred to in Article 30 of this Agreement.3. Together with its annual estimates of contributions, the Commission shall send to the Council its estimates of expenditure, for each of the four years following the year relating to the call for contributions.Should the contributions prove insufficient to meet the Fund's actual needs in the financial year in quest, the Commission shall submit proposals for supplementary payments to the Council which shall take a decision, as soon as possible, by the qualified majority referred to in Article 21 of this Agreement.Chapter II Responsibilities of the Commission and the European Investment BankArticle 12 Financial execution of projects and programmes1. The Commission shall on behalf of the Community undertake the financial execution of operations carried out with the resources in the form of grants other than interest subsidies. The Commission shall make payments in accordance with the Financial Regulation referred to in Article 30 of this Agreement.2. The Bank shall on behalf of the Community manage the Investment Facility and shall conduct operations thereunder, in accordance with the rules set out in the Financial Regulation referred to in Article 30 of this Agreement. In this context, the Bank shall act on behalf of and at the risk of the Community. Any rights resulting from such operations, and particularly rights as creditor or owner, shall be vested in the Member States.3. The Bank shall undertake the financial execution of operations carried out by means of loans from its own resources, where applicable combined with interest rate subsidies drawn from the Fund's grant resources.Article 13 Monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements1. The Commission and the Bank shall monitor, each to the extent to which it is concerned, the use of Community aid by the ACP States, the OCT or any other recipients, and the implementation of projects financed by Community aid, having particular regard to the relevant objectives referred to in Articles 55 and 56 of the ACP-EC Agreement and in the corresponding provisions of the Decision.2. The Bank shall periodically inform the Commission regarding the implementation of projects financed from the Fund resources it administers, following the procedures set out in the operational guidelines of the Investment Facility.3. The Commission, on behalf of itself and the Bank, shall inform the Council, upon the expiry of the Financial Protocol annexed to the Agreement, of their findings pursuant to paragraph 1. The report by the Commission and the Bank shall also contain an assessment of the impact of Community aid on the economic and social development of the recipient countries.4. The Council shall be informed periodically of the results of work done by the Commission and the Bank on the monitoring and evaluation of projects being carried out or completed, particularly in relation to development objectives set.Chapter III Programming [8][8]  Commission should make a declaration that it will respect the role of the Head of Delegation as described in the ACP-EC Agreement.Article 14 Programming of assistance1. The process of programming for assistance to individual ACP State shall be undertaken in accordance with Articles 1 to 5 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement.2. The process of programming of support for regional co-operation and integration of the ACP States shall be undertaken in accordance with Articles 6 to 14 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement.Article 15 Country Support Strategies and operational indicative programmes1. At the outset of the programming process, the Commission, together with the ACP State concerned, and after consultation with the Bank, shall prepare the Country Support Strategy (CSS) and its accompanying operational indicative programme at field level. The preparation of the CSS shall take place in co-ordination with representations of Member States present in the ACP State concerned. Such co-ordination shall give emphasis to shared assessments of needs and performance and sector analysis. The Commission shall consult the Bank on the matters relative to its operations and those of the Investment Facility.2. Community support in the form of grants shall be concentrated in a limited number of focal sectors and shall enable complementarity with operations financed by the ACP State itself and, wherever possible, by other donors present, in particular the Member States. However, the Community may also co-finance support schemes in sectors where another donor has the overall responsibility for policy dialogue and implementation.3. Each CSS, including its draft indicative programme, shall be set out in a single summary document. This document shall be the subject of an exchange of views between the Member States and the Commission in the framework of the EDF Committee. The Bank shall take part in this exchange of views. The EDF Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft CSS and its indicative programme according to the procedure set out in Article 26 taking into account the terms of Article 23.1 of this Agreement.4. The operational indicative programme shall subsequently be adopted by common agreement between the Commission and the ACP State concerned and shall, when adopted, be binding on both the Community and that State. The finalised CSS and its indicative programme shall subsequently be transmitted to the EDF Committee for information.5. The Commission, the Bank and the Member States shall take all necessary measures, in particular in relation to the process of exchange of views referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, to ensure that the establishment of the CSS and the indicative programme is completed within the shortest possible time. Save in exceptional circumstances, the process shall be finalised within twelve months of the signing of the Partnership Agreement.Article 16 Resource AllocationAt the beginning of the programming processes referred to in Article 1 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement the Commission shall, on the basis of the criteria identified in Article 3 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement, establish the indicative grant allocation within the resources detailed in Article 2a)i) and 2a)ii) for each ACP country and region on which the programming process is based. The Commission will inform the EDF Committee of these allocations.Article 17 Annual review of the National Indicative Programmes1. In accordance with Article 5.4 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement, the annual operational review of the national indicative programmes shall be carried out by the Commission together with each ACP State and in close co-ordination with the Member States. The Bank shall be consulted on matters relative to its operations and those of the Investment Facility.2. The process of annual review shall be completed within a period of 60 days. The Commission, the Bank and the Member States shall take all necessary measures, in particular in relation to the process of exchange of views referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, to ensure that time frame for the annual review is respected.3. Within the time period of 60 days, the EDF Committee shall discuss the annual review on the basis of a summary document to be submitted by the Commission. A procedure for this discussion will be set out in the rules of procedure of the EDF Committee. [9][9]  Should perhaps have a declaration to this article clarifying that the annual review is NOT for a rediscussion of strategy.4. The annual review shall be finalised by the Commission and the ACP State concerned. The final results on the annual review shall be set out in summary form and shall be transmitted to the EDF Committee for information.Article 18 Mid-term and end-of-term reviews of the CSS [10][10]  Declaration stating that no separate annual review held in years with mid-term and end-term reviews.1. At mid-term and end-of-term of the period of application of the Financial Protocol, the review process shall, in accordance with the process referred to in Articles 5.6 and 11 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement, be expanded to include a review and adaptation of Support Strategy and the indicative resource allocation. Mid-term and end-of-term reviews for each ACP State shall be carried out by the Commission and the ACP State concerned in close co-ordination with the Member States represented in that ACP State. The Bank shall be consulted on matters relative to its operations and those of the Investment Facility.2. The reviews at the mid-term and end-of-term of the period of application of the Financial Protocol shall be finalised within a total period of 90 days. The Commission, the Bank and the Member States shall take all necessary measures, in particular in relation to the process of the opinion by the EDF Committee referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, to ensure that the time frames for these reviews are respected.3. Within the time-period foreseen for the mid-term and end-of-term review, the EDF Committee shall deliver its opinion in accordance with Article 26 of this Agreement on the basis of a summary document to be provided by the Commission.4. The mid-term and end-of-term reviews may include a revision of the resource allocation in the light of current needs and performance of the ACP State concerned.Article 19 Regional Programmes1. The preparation of the Regional Support Strategy (RSS) and its accompanying operational Indicative Programme shall be undertaken by the Commission and the duly mandated regional organisation(s) or, in the absence of such a mandate, the National Authorising Officers of the ACP States in the region concerned.2. The RSS and its draft indicative programme shall be set out in a single summary document. This document shall be the subject of an exchange of views between the Member States and the Commission in the framework of the EDF Committee. The EDF Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft RSS and its indicative programme according to the procedure set out in Article 26, taking into account the terms of Article 23.1 of this Agreement.3. The operational indicative programme shall subsequently be adopted by common agreement between the Commission and the duly mandated regional organisation(s) or, in the absence of a duly mandated regional organisation, the National Authorising Officers of the ACP States in the region concerned. The indicative programme shall, when adopted, be binding on both the Community and that State.4. A mid-term and end-of-term review of the RSS and the Indicative Programme shall be undertaken in accordance with Article 11 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement. During the review process, the EDF Committee shall deliver its opinion in accordance with the provisions of Article 26 on the basis of a summary document to be submitted by the Commission. A procedure for undertaking this review will be set out in the rules of procedure of the EDF Committee referred to in Article 21.2. Following the deliberations in the EDF Committee, the review process shall be finalised between the Commission and the duly mandated regional organisation(s) or, in the absence of such a mandate, the National Authorising Officers of the ACP States in the region concerned. The final results on the review shall be set out in summary form and shall be transmitted to the EDF Committee for information.5. The mid-term and end-of-term reviews may include a revision of the resource allocation in the light of current needs and performance of the ACP region concerned.Article 20 Reviews in exceptional circumstancesIn exceptional circumstances referred to in Articles 72 and 73 of the ACP-EC Agreement, the review of the CSS can be carried out on the demand of either the ACP State concerned or the Commission. In such cases, the review procedure foreseen in Article 18 of this Agreement shall apply.Chapter IV Decision-making proceduresArticle 21 The European Development Fund Committee1. A Committee (hereinafter called "the EDF Committee") consisting of representatives of the governments of the Member States shall be set up for the Fund resources it administers. The EDF Committee shall be chaired by a Commission representative, and its secretariat shall be provided by the Commission. A representative of the Bank shall take part in its work.2. The EDF Committee, acting with qualified majority, shall adopt its rules of procedure on the basis of a proposal from its chairman.3. Within the EDF Committee, the votes of the Member States shall be weighted as follows:Member State  //  VotesBelgium   //  9Denmark 5  //  5Germany  //  50Greece  //  4Spain  //  13France  //  52Ireland  //  2Italy  //  27Luxembourg  //  1Netherlands  //  12Austria  //  6Portugal  //  3Finland  //  4Sweden  //  6United Kingdom  //  274. The EDF Committee shall act by a qualified majority of 145 votes, expressing a vote in favour by at least eight Member States.5. The weightings laid down in paragraph 3 and the qualified majority mentioned in paragraph 4 shall be amended, by a decision of the Council, acting unanimously, in the case referred to in Article 1.4.Article 22 Responsibilities of the EDF Committee1. The EDF Committee shall focus its work on the substantive problems of development co-operation at country and regional level. In the interests of coherence, co-ordination and complementarity, it shall monitor the implementation of development strategies adopted by the Community and its Member States.2. The Committee's tasks shall cover three levels :(a) programming of Community aid and programming reviews in particular focusing on country and regional strategies, including identification of projects and programmes;(b) participation in the decision-making process relating to financing from the EDF; and(c) monitoring the implementation of Community aid, including sectoral aspects.Article 23 Programming and identification1. With regard to programming, the purpose of the examination referred to in Articles 15.3, 18.3, 19.2 and 19.4 and the discussion provided for in Article 17 shall be to reach a consensus between the Commission and the Member States. The examination and discussion shall take place within the EDF Committee and shall concern:(a) the general framework of Community co-operation with each ACP State, in particular the proposed focal sector or sectors and the measures envisaged to attain the objectives set for those sectors and the general guidelines proposed for the implementation of regional co-operation;(b) consistency and complementarity between Community aid and aid from the Member States.2. In order to ensure transparency and consistency between co-operation operations and improve complementarity between Community actions and bilateral aid, the Commission shall communicate to the Member States and their representatives on the spot the notes identifying projects within one month of taking the decision to appraise them. These notes will be regularly updated and these updates will be sent to the Member States and their representatives on the spot.3. In the interests of complementarity, at the occasion of the annual review, each Member State shall inform the Commission of the co-operation activities that it is undertaking, or intends to undertake, in each particular country.Article 24 Financing Proposals1. The EDF Committee shall give its opinion, following the procedure laid down in Article 26, on:(a) financing proposals for projects or programmes with a value greater than EUR25 million,(b) financing proposals drawn up under Article 112. The Commission is authorised to approve operations with a value less than or equal to EUR25 million without seeking the EDF Committee's opinion. For operations with a value greater than EUR 500,000 and less than or equal to EUR 25 million, the Commission will inform the EDF Committee of the decision which it intends to adopt forthwith. For operations with a value less than EUR 500 000, ex-post information will be given to the EDF Committee.3. The Commission is also authorised to approve, without seeking the EDF Committee's opinion, the additional commitments required to cover expected or actual overspending under a project or programme referred to in paragraphs 1(a) and (b), where the overspending or additional amount required does not exceed 20% of the initial commitment fixed in the financing decision, and does not entail any substantial modification to the project.4. The financing proposals shall indicate in particular the relevance of the projects or programmes to the development prospects of the country or countries concerned, their feasibility, and measures to ensure their sustainability after Community funding has come to an end. They shall also specify procedures and the timetable for implementation and shall indicate how previous experiences and programmes have contributed to the development of the programme and how co-ordination is undertaken among donors in the country or countries concerned.Article 25 Global authorisationsFollowing the procedures foreseen for financing proposals in Article 24, and in order to speed up procedures, the Commission may approve global authorisations covering overall amounts for the subsequent financing of inter alia the following:(a) training;(b) decentralized operations;(c) micro-projects;(d) trade promotion and development;(e) packages of small-scale operations in a specific sector;(f) project/programme management support(g) technical co-operation.Article 26 Management procedure1. Wherever reference is made to this Article, the representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of measures to be taken. The EDF Committee shall deliver its opinion according to the provisions of the rules of procedure referred to in Article 21.2, and by the qualified majority laid down in Article 21.2. The Commission shall take measures, which shall apply immediately. However, if thesemeasures are not in accordance with the opinion of the EDF Committee, or if the EDF Committee requests substantial changes to one of the proposals referred to in this Article, the Commission shall consult the representatives of the ACP State or States concerned.3. Following such consultations, the Commission shall report on the results at the next meeting of the EDF Committee. If the EDF Committee still refuses to deliver a favourable opinion, the Commission shall inform the ACP State or States concerned, which may then request:(a) that the matter be brought before the ACP-EC Ministerial Committee (hereinafter called "the Development Finance Co-operation Committee") referred to in Article 83 of the ACP-EC Agreement; or(b) that it or they be given a hearing by the EDF Committee.4. If, after the consultations referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission decides to take measures that are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event, the Commission shall defer application of the decisions which it has taken for a period of 2 months.5. The Council, acting by the qualified majority laid down in Article 21, may take a different decision within the period provided for paragraph 4.6. In the case set out in paragraphs 4 and 5 above, where a financing proposal is involved, the ACP State concerned may, if it has not decided to refer the matter to the Development Finance Co-operation Committee, forward to the Council, in accordance with Article 83 of the Agreement, any additional information it considers necessary before the final decision is taken, and may be heard by the Council.Article 27 Monitoring implementationWith regard to the monitoring of the implementation of co-operation, the EDF Committee may discuss:(a) general development issues, where these give rise to issues relating to the implementation of the European Development Fund;(b) sectoral strategies developed by the Commission, in association with experts from Member States, where this is deemed necessary for the coherence of Community development policy;(c) results of evaluations of country or sectoral strategies, or any other evaluations that are considered to be of interest to the Committee(d) mid-term appraisal of projects and programmes where requested by the EDF Committee when approving the financing proposals, or where this appraisal gives rise to substantial modifications to the project or programme concerned.Chapter V The Investment Facility Committee [11][11]  Subject to agreement of the EIB's Board of Directors.Article 28 The Investment Facility Committee1. A committee (hereinafter called "the Investment Facility Committee") consisting of representatives of the Governments of the Member States, appointed 'ad personam', shall be set up under the auspices of the Bank. The Investment Facility Committee shall be chaired by the Bank and its secretariat and support services shall be provided by the Bank. A representative of the Commission shall take part in its work.2. The Council, acting with qualified majority, shall adopt the rules of procedure of the Investment Facility Committee.3. The weighting of the votes of the Member States and the qualified majority applicable to the Investment Facility Committee shall be those resulting from the application of Article 21.Article 29 Responsibilities of the Investment Facility Committee1. The Investment Facility Committee shall :(a) Adopt and revise the operational guidelines of the IF(b) Adopt:* the investment strategies set up according to the operational guidelines,* the business plans of the Facility* the annual reports and periodic ex-post review of activities* financing proposals2. The operational guidelines shall be adopted by the Committee upon a proposal from the Bank. The Commission shall provide its opinion on this proposal. Any revision of the guidelines shall be adopted following the same procedure.3. The investment strategies, the business plans, the annual reports and the periodic ex-post review of activities shall be adopted (other wording if "to provide an opinion") by the Committee upon a proposal from the Bank. The Commission shall provide its opinion on such proposals.4. The Committee shall provide an opinion on* financing proposals for which an interest subsidy is requested, pursuant to Article 6 of the Agreement. Such proposals shall be submitted by the Bank in conjunction with a prior Commission decision on the subsidy component;* in the case of investment proposals in public sector projects inherent to a CSS or RSS, for which the Commission's has not stated that such operations are in conformity with the CSS or RSS.* in the case of investment proposals undertaken through financial institutions, for which the Commission's has not stated that such proposals has received its favourable opinion.5. Where the Investment Facility Committee delivers a favourable opinion in respect of a request for a loan on the Bank's own resources with an interest rate subsidy, the request, together with the reasoned opinion of the committee and the assessment of the Commission, shall be submitted for a decision to the Board of Directors of the Bank, which shall act in accordance with the Bank's Statute.6. In the absence of a favourable opinion from the Committee or from the Commission, the Bank shall either withdraw the request or decide to uphold it. In the latter event, the request, together with the reasoned opinion of the Committee or of the Commission, shall be submitted for a decision to the Bank's Board of Directors, which shall act in accordance with the Bank's Statute.7. Where the Committee delivers a favourable opinion in respect of a proposal for financing by the Investment Facility, the proposal shall be submitted for a decision to the Bank's Board of Directors, which shall act in accordance with the Bank's Statute.8. In the absence of a favourable opinion from the Committee, the Bank, in accordance with Article 289(2) and (3) of the Convention, shall either:- decide not to follow up the proposal, or- request that the matter is referred to the Council as soon as possible.In the latter case, the proposal shall be submitted to the Council together with the opinion of the Committee and, where appropriate, the assessment of the Commission representative and any further information which the Council may require.9. The Council shall act in accordance with the same voting procedure as the Investment Facility Committee.If the Council confirms the Investment Facility Committee's position, the Bank shall withdraw its proposal.If, however, the Council is in agreement with the Bank's proposal, the Bank shall implement the procedures laid down in its Statute.Chapter VI Final provisionsArticle 30 Financial RegulationThe provisions for implementing this Agreement shall be the subject of a Financial Regulation adopted, before the entry into force of the ACP-EC Agreement, by the Council, acting by the qualified majority laid down in Article 21, on the basis of a proposal from the Commission, after an opinion has been delivered by the Bank on the provisions of concern to it and by the Court of Auditors established under Article 247 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.Article 31 Financial arrangements1. At the end of each financial year, the Commission shall adopt the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet of the Fund.2. Without prejudice to paragraph 5, the Court of Auditors shall also exercise its powers in respect of the Fund's operations. The conditions under which the Court exercises its powers shall be laid down in the Financial Regulation referred to in Article 30.3. The discharge for the financial management of the Fund, excluding operations managed by the Bank, shall be given to the Commission by the European Parliament on the recommendation of the Council, which shall act by the qualified majority laid down in Article 21 of this Agreement.4. The Commission shall make the information referred to in Article 13 available to the Court of Auditors so that the latter may, on the basis of the documentary evidence, carry out checks on the aid provided from the Fund's resources.5. The operations financed from the Fund resources managed by the Bank shall be subject to the control and discharge procedure laid down by the Statute of the Bank for all its operations. Each year the Bank shall send the Commission and the Council its Annual Report on the execution of operations financed from the Fund resources it manages.Article 32 Previous EDFs1. Any balances remaining from previous EDF shall, as referred to in Article 1.2.b of this Agreement, be transferred to the 9th EDF and shall, without prejudice to the provisions of point 2 below, be administered according to respectively the rules of this Agreement or those of the Council Decision adopted pursuant to Article 187 of the Treaty, insofar as the OCT are concerned.2. If the amount of resources thus transferred from previous EDF to particular national and regional indicative programmes under the 9th EDF exceeds EUR 10 million per country or region, those resources shall be subject to the rules of the EDF of origin in relation to the eligibility for participation in tenders and award of contracts. If the resources transferred are equal or inferior to EUR 10 million, the eligibility rules applicable to tenders under the 9th EDF shall apply. [12][12]  A joint declaration (by the ACP and the Community; possibly included in the minutes of the signature ceremony for the Fiji Agreement) should be proposed whereby the ACP adheres to the same type of rule.Article 33 Revision clauseThe Articles contained in Chapters II to V of this Agreement, with the exception of Article 21, may be modified by the Council, acting by qualified majority as laid down in Article 21 of this Agreement and on a proposal from the Commission. The Bank shall be associated with the Commission's proposal on matters relative to its activities and those of the Investment Facility. Such modifications may be envisaged in order to:(a) ensure coherence with the ACP-EC Agreement and in particular the Annexes to that Agreement covering rules for implementation and management systems; and(b) enhance the efficiency of implementation of EDF resources.Article 34 Ratification, entry into force and duration1. Each Member State shall approve this Agreement in accordance with its own constitutional requirements. The Government of each Member State shall notify the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union when the procedures required for the entry into force of this Agreement have been completed.2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the notification of the approval of this agreement by the last Member State.3. This Agreement is concluded for the same duration as the Financial Protocol annexed to the ACP-EC Agreement. However, notwithstanding Article 2.a.ii, this Agreement shall remain in force for as long as is necessary for all the operations financed under the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement and the Financial Protocol to be fully executed..Article 35 Authentic languagesThis Agreement, drawn up in a single original in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish languages, each of these eleven texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, which shall transmit a certified copy to each of the governments of the signatory States.Done at Brussels,For the CouncilThe President