Framework Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Croatia on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Croatia in Community programmes
Date: 2004-11-22
Institutions: Croatia, European Community
Subjects: Croatia, EU aid, EU financing, EU programme, agreement (EU), co-financing, cooperation policy, financial control, framework agreement

L 192/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

22.7.2005

between the European Community and the Republic of Croatia on the general principles for the
participation of the Republic of Croatia in Community programmes

FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,

on the one part, and

the REPUBLIC OF CROATIA, hereinafter referred to as ‘Croatia’,

on the other part,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the Contracting Parties’

WHEREAS:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

The Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the
one part, and the Republic of Croatia, of the other part, (hereinafter referred to as the SAA) was signed on 29 Octo-
ber 2001.

The European Council in Copenhagen in December 2002 confirmed the European perspective of the countries of
the western Balkans, as potential candidates, and underlined its determination to support their efforts to move closer
to the European Union.

The European Council in Thessaloniki in June 2003 acknowledged that the Stabilisation and Association Process will
remain the framework for the European course of the western Balkan countries all the way to their future accession
and endorsed ‘The Thessaloniki Agenda for the western Balkans: moving towards European integration’, which aims
to further strengthen the privileged relations between the EU and the western Balkans drawing on the enlargement
experience.

The Thessaloniki Agenda invited the western Balkan countries to participate in Community programmes and agen-
cies in line with the principles laid down for participation by the candidate countries, aiming to familiarise the coun-
tries concerned and their people with the policies and working methods of the EU, thus anchoring them more firmly
to the EU and encouraging them on the path towards European integration.

The European Council of 17 and 18 June 2004 decided that Croatia was a candidate country for membership and
that the accession process should be launched. In this respect it decided to convene a bilateral intergovernmental
conference with Croatia early in 2005 in order to begin negotiations.

Croatia has expressed its wish to participate in a number of Community programmes.

The specific terms and conditions, including financial contribution, regarding the participation of Croatia in each
particular programme should be determined by agreement between the Commission of the European Communities,
acting on behalf of the Community, and Croatia,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Article 2

Croatia shall be allowed to participate in the following Commu-
nity programmes:

Croatia shall contribute financially to the general budget of the
European Union corresponding to the specific programmes in
which it participates.

1. The running Community programmes which are listed in the
Annex, which are open to the participation of Croatia once
the present agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Agree-
ment) enters into force.

Article 3

2. Community Programmes established or renewed after the
entry into force of the Agreement and which contain an
opening clause which foresees the participation of Croatia.

Croatia’s representatives shall be allowed to take part, as observ-
ers and for the points which concern Croatia, in the management
committees responsible for monitoring the programmes to which
Croatia contributes financially.

22.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 192/17

Article 4

Projects and initiatives submitted by participants from Croatia
shall, as far as possible, be subject to the same conditions, rules
and procedures pertaining to the programmes concerned as are
applied to Member States.

Article 5

The specific terms and conditions regarding the participation of
Croatia in each particular programme, in particular the financial
contribution payable, will be determined by agreement, in the
form of a Memorandum of Understanding, between the Commis-
sion, acting on behalf of the Community, and Croatia.

If Croatia applies for Community external assistance on the basis
of Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 of 5 December 2000,
as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2415/2001 of
10 December 2001 on assistance for Albania, Bosnia and Herze-
govina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or pursuant to any simi-
lar Regulation providing for Community external assistance
to Croatia that may be adopted in future, the conditions govern-
ing the use by Croatia of the Community assistance shall be deter-
mined in a financing agreement.

Either Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by writ-
ten notification to the other Contracting Party. This Agreement
shall terminate six months after the date of such notification.

Article 8

No later than three years after the date of entry into force of this
Agreement, and every three years thereafter, both Contracting
Parties may review the implementation of this Agreement on the
basis of the actual participation of Croatia in one or more Com-
munity programmes.

Article 9

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in
which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied
and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the
other hand, to the territory of Croatia.

Article 10

This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of receipt of the
last written notification through diplomatic channels by which
each Contracting Party informs the other that its procedure for
the entry into force of this Agreement has been completed.

Article 6

Article 11

The Memorandum of Understanding shall stipulate, in accordance
with the Community’s Financial Regulation, that financial control
or audits will be carried out by, or under the authority of, the
European Commission, OLAF and the Court of Auditors of the
European Communities.

Detailed provisions shall be made on financial control and audit-
ing, administrative measures, penalties and recovery enabling the
European Commission, OLAF and the Court of Auditors to be
granted powers equivalent to their powers with regard to benefi-
ciaries or contractors established in the Community.

1.
The Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Czech,
Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek,
Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Slova-
kian, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish and the Croatian languages.

2.
Once the institutions of the European Union will be bound
to publish all official acts in Maltese in the Official Journal of the
European Union, the Agreement will also be drawn up in duplicate
in Maltese.

3.

Each of the language texts is equally authentic.

Article 7

Article 12

The Agreement shall apply for an indeterminate period.

The Agreement and the Annex thereto shall be added as a proto-
col to the SAA and shall form an integral part of the SAA.

L 192/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

22.7.2005

Hecho en Bruselas, el veintidós de noviembre del dos mil cuatro.

V Bruselu dne dvacátého druhého listopadu dva tisíce čtyři.

Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den toogtyvende november to tusind og fire.

Geschehen zu Brüssel am zweiundzwanzigsten November zweitausendundvier.

Kahe tuhande neljanda aasta novembrikuu kahekümne teisel päeval Brüsselis.

Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις είκοσι δύο Νοεμβρίου dύο χιλιάδες τέσσερα.

Done at Brussels on the twenty-second day of November in the year two thousand and four.

Fait à Bruxelles, le vingt-deux novembre deux mille quatre.

Fatto a Bruxelles, addi’ ventidue novembre duemilaquattro.

Briselē, divi tūkstoši ceturtā gada divdesmit otrajā novembrī.

Priimta du tūkstančiai ketvirtų metų lapkričio dvidešimt antrą dieną Briuselyje.

Kelt Brüsszelben, a kétezer-negyedik év november havának huszonkettedik napján.

Magħmul fi Brussel fit-tieni u għoxrin jum ta’ Novembru tas-sena elfejn u erbgħa.

Gedaan te Brussel, de tweeëntwintigste november tweeduizendvier.

Sporządzono w Brukseli dnia dwudziestego drugiego listopada roku dwutysięcznego czwartego.

Feito em Bruxelas, em vinte e dois de Novembro de dois mil e quatro.

V Bruseli dvadsiatehodruhého novembra dvetisícštyri.

V Bruslju, dvaindvajsetega novembra leta dva tisoč štiri.

Tehty Brysselissä kahdentenakymmenentenätoisena päivänä marraskuuta vuonna kaksituhattaneljä.

Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugoandra november tjugohundrafyra.

Sastavljeno u Bruxellesu, dana dvadeset drugoga studenoga godine dvije tisuće četvrte.

22.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 192/19

Por la Comunidad Europea
Za Evropské společenstvi
For Det Europæiske Fællesskab
Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
Euroopa Ühenduse nimel
Τια τηυ Ευρωπαϊκή Κοιυότητα
For the European Community
Pour la Communauté européenne
Per la Comunità europea
Eiropas Kopienas vārdā
Europos bendrijos vardu
az Európai Közösség részéről
Għall-Komunità Ewropea
Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej
Pela Comunidade Europeia
Za Európske spoločenstvo
za Evropsko skupnost
Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar
Za Europsku zajednicu

Za Vladu Republike Hrvatske

L 192/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

22.7.2005

ANNEX

LIST OF RUNNING COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 1

— Combating discrimination (2001 to 2006) (1)

— Combating social exclusion (2002 to 2006) (2)

— Community actions in support of consumer policy (2004 to 2007) (3)

— Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level and support specific activities in the field of

education and training (2004 to 2006) (4)

— Community action programme to promote active European citizenship (2004 to 2006) (5)

— Community action in the field of public health (2003 to 2008) (6)

— Culture 2000 (2000 to 2006) (7)

— Customs (2003 to 2007) (8)

— Daphne II (2004 to 2008) (9)

— eContent Plus (2004 to 2008) (10)

— eLearning (2004 to 2006) (11)

— Erasmus Mundus (2004 to 2008) (12)

(1) See Council Decision 2000/750/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a Community action programme to combat discrimination

(2001 to 2006) (OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 23).

(2) See Decision No 50/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 December 2001 establishing a programme of Com-

munity action to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat social exclusion (OJ L 10, 12.1.2002, p. 1).

(3) See Decision No 20/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 December 2003 establishing a general framework for

financing Community actions in support of consumer policy for the years 2004 to 2007 (OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 1).

(4) See Decision No 791/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 establishing a Community action pro-
gramme to promote bodies active at European level and support specific activities in the field of education and training (OJ L 138,
30.4.2004, p. 31).

(5) See Council Decision 2004/100/EC of 26 January 2004 establishing a Community action programme to promote active European citi-

zenship (civic participation) (OJ L 30, 4.2.2004, p. 6).

(6) See Decision No 1786/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 adopting a programme of Com-

munity action in the field of public health (2003 to 2008) (OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 1).

(7) See Decision No 508/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 February 2000 establishing the Culture 2000 pro-
gramme (OJ L 63, 10.3.2000, p. 1) and Decision No 626/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004
amending Decision No 508/2000/EC establishing the Culture 2000 programme (OJ L 99, 3.4.2004, p. 3).

(8) See Decision No 253/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2003 adopting an action programme for

customs in the Community (Customs 2007) (OJ L 36, 12.2.2003, p. 1).

(9) See Decision No 803/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 adopting a programme of Community
action (2004 to 2008) to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at
risk (the Daphne II programme) (OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 1).
(10) Not yet adopted — see COM(2004) 96 final, 2004/0025 (COD).
(11) See Decision No 2318/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 December 2003 adopting a multiannual programme
(2004 to 2006) for the effective integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education and training systems in
Europe (eLearning Programme) (OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 9).

(12) See Decision No 2317/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 December 2003 establishing a programme for the
enhancement of quality in higher education and the promotion of intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries
(Erasmus Mundus) (2004 to 2008) (OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 1).

22.7.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 192/21

— Fiscalis (2003 to 2007) (1)

— Gender equality (2001 to 2006) (2)

— Hercule (2004 to 2006) (3)

— Intelligent Energy Europe (2003 to 2006) (4)

— Life (2000 to 2006) (5)

— Leonardo da Vinci II (2000 to 2006) (6)

— Marco Polo (2003 to 2010) (7)

— Media Plus (8) /Media Training (9) (2001 to 2006)

— Safer Internet plus (2005 to 2008) (10)

— Sixth RTD framework programme (2002 to 2006) (11)

— Socrates II (2000 to 2006) (12)

— Youth (2000 to 2006) (13)

(1) See Decision No 2235/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2002 adopting a Community programme
to improve the operation of taxation systems in the internal market (Fiscalis programme 2003 to 2007) (OJ L 341, 17.12.2002, p. 1).
(2) See Council Decision No 2001/51/EC of 20 December 2000 establishing a programme relating to the Community framework strategy

on gender equality (2001 to 2005) (OJ L 17, 19.1.2001, p. 22).

(3) See Decision No 804/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 establishing a Community action pro-
gramme to promote activities in the field of the protection of the Community’s financial interests (Hercule programme) (OJ L 143,
30.4.2004, p. 9).

(4) See Decision No 1230/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 adopting a multiannual programme for

action in the field of energy: ‘Intelligent Energy — Europe’ (2003 to 2006) (OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p. 29).

(5) See Regulation (EC) No 1655/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 concerning the Financial Instrument
for the Environment (LIFE) (OJ L 192, 28.7.2000, p. 1).as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1682/2004 (OJ L 308, 5.10.2004, p. 1).
(6) See Council Decision No 1999/382/EC of 26 April 1999 establishing the second phase of the Community vocational training action pro-

gramme ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ (OJ L 146, 11.6.1999, p. 33).

(7) See Regulation (EC) No 1382/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 on the granting of Community finan-
cial assistance to improve the environmental performance of the freight transport system (Marco Polo Programme) (OJ L 196, 2.8.2003,
p. 1).

(8) See Corrigendum to Council Decision 2000/821/EC of 20 December 2000 on the implementation of a programme to encourage the
development, distribution and promotion of European audiovisual works (MEDIA Plus-Development, Distribution and Promotion)
(2001 to 2005) (OJ L 336 of 30.12.2000, p. 82) (OJ L 13, 17.1.2001, p. 34) as amended by Decision No 846/2004/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 157, 30.4.2004, p. 4).

(9) See Decision No 163/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 January 2001 on the implementation of a training
programme for professionals in the European audiovisual programme industry (MEDIA-Training) (2001 to 2005) (OJ L 26, 27.1.2001,
p. 1) as amended by Decision No 845/2004 (OJ L 157, 30.4.2004, p. 1).

(10) Not yet adopted — see COM(2004) 91 final, 2004/0023 (COD).
(11) See Decision No 1513/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 concerning the sixth framework pro-
gramme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities, contributing to the creation
of the European Research Area and to innovation (2002 to 2006) (OJ L 232, 29.8.2002, p. 1).

(12) See Decision No 253/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 January 2000 establishing the second phase of the

Community action programme in the field of education ‘Socrates’ (OJ L 28, 3.2.2000, p. 1).

(13) See Decision No 1031/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2000 establishing the ‘Youth’ Community

action programme (OJ L 117, 18.5.2000, p. 1).