Proposal for a Council Decision on a Community Position concerning the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee referred to in the Interim Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Albania
Date: 2006-12-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Albania, joint committee (EU), operation of the Institutions, rules of procedure

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 1.12.2006 
COM(2006) 766 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a Community Position concerning the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee 
referred to in the Interim Agreement between the European Community and the 
Republic of Albania  

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The  Interim  Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Republic  of  Albania, 
concluded to allow the early entry into force of the trade and trade-related provisions of the 
Stabilisation and Association Agreement, will enter into force on 1 December 2006. 

Article  42  of  the  Interim  Agreement  provides  that  the  Joint  Committee  set  up  by  the 
Agreement  on  Trade  and  Commercial  and  Economic  Cooperation  shall  exercise  the  powers 
and perform the duties assigned by the Interim Agreement to the Stabilisation and Association 
Council  and  to  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Committee,  and  shall,  subject  to  the 
provisions  of  Article  43  of  the  Interim  Agreement,  act  according  to  the  same  modalities  as 
practised  so  far  in  the  context  of  the  Agreement  on  Trade  and  Commercial  Economic 
Cooperation 

Article  43  of  the  Interim  Agreement  specifies  that  the  Joint  Committee  shall  adopt  its  own 
rules of procedure. It is therefore necessary to adopt such rules of procedure. 

The proposed rules of procedure specify the duties of the Joint Committee and the practices 
which it will follow, in accordance with the Interim Agreement. The rules of procedure take 
into  account  notably  that  the  Committee  has  been  conferred  decision-making  powers  under 
the Interim Agreement.  

It is therefore proposed that the Council approves the attached proposal.  

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a Community Position concerning the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee 
referred to in the Interim Agreement between the European Community and the 
Republic of Albania  

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 300(2), second subparagraph thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  Agreement  between  the  European  Economic  Community  and  the 
Republic of Albania on Trade and Commercial and Economic Cooperation that entered into 
force on 1 December 1992, and in particular to Article 18 thereof,1 

Having  regard  to  the  Interim  Agreement  on  Trade  and  trade  related  matters  between  the 
European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part that was 
signed on 12 June 2006, hereinafter referred to as the Interim Agreement, 2  

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

The Interim Agreement will enter into force on 1 December 2006. 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Article 42 of the Interim Agreement provides that the Joint Committee set up by the 
Agreement  on  Trade  and  Commercial  Economic  Cooperation  shall  supervise  the 
application and the implementation of the Interim Agreement. 

Article 43 of the Interim Agreement provides that the Joint Committee shall adopt its 
rules of procedure. 

Article  18  of  the  Agreement  between  the  European  Economic  Community  and  the 
Republic  of  Albania  on  Trade  and  Commercial  and  Economic  Cooperation  provides 
that the Joint Committee may establish working parties; the designation, composition 
and  terms  of  reference  of  the  working  parties  should  be  laid  down  in  the  rules  of 
procedure, 

(5) 

The Community should determine the position to be taken within the Joint Committee 
with regard to the adoption of the rules of procedure. 

1 
2 

OJ L 343, 25.11.1992. 
OJ L 239, 1.9.2006. 

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HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

Sole Article 

The  position  to  be  adopted  by  the  Community  within  the  Joint  Committee  referred  to  in 
Article 42 of the Interim Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of 
Albania  shall  be  based  on  the  draft  decision  of  the  Joint  Committee  annexed  to  the  present 
Decision.  

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX  

DECISION No 1/XXX OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE 

BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, OF THE ONE PART, AND 

THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA, OF THE OTHER PART 

concerning the adoption of its rules of procedure 

THE JOINT COMMITTEE 

Having  regard  to  the  Agreement  between  the  European  Economic  Community  and  the 
Republic of Albania on Trade and Commercial and Economic Cooperation that entered into 
force on 1 December 1992, and in particular to Article 18 thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  Interim  Agreement  on  Trade  and  trade  related  matters  between  the 
European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part that was 
signed on 12 June 2006, hereinafter referred to as the Interim Agreement, and in particular to 
Articles 42 and 43 thereof, 

Whereas the Interim Agreement entered into force on 1 December 2006, 

HAS DECIDED TO ADOPT THE FOLLOWING RULES OF PROCEDURE  

Article 1 

Chairmanship 

The Joint Committee shall be chaired alternately by each of the Parties.  

Article 2 

Meetings 

The  Joint  Committee  shall  meet  regularly  once  a  year  in  Brussels  and  Tirana  alternately. 
Special meetings of the Joint Committee may be convened by mutual agreement at the request 
of either Party. 

Unless otherwise agreed the meetings of the Joint Committee shall not be public. 

Article 3 

Delegations 

Prior  to  each  meeting,  the  Chairman  shall  be  informed  of  the  intended  composition  of  the 
delegation of each Party. 

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A  representative  of  the  European  Investment  Bank  may  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Joint 
Committee, as an observer, when matters which concern the Bank appear on the agenda. 

The  Joint  Committee  may  invite  non-members  to  attend  its  meetings  in  order  to  provide 
information on particular subjects. 

The Member States will be informed about the meetings of the Joint Committee.  

Article 4 

Secretariat 

An official of the European Commission and an official of the Republic of Albania shall act 
jointly as Secretaries of the Joint Committee. 

Article 5 

Correspondence 

All correspondence to and from the Chairman of the Joint Committee shall be forwarded to 
both  Secretaries.  The  two  Secretaries  shall  ensure  that  correspondence  is  circulated,  where 
appropriate, to their respective representatives in the Joint Committee. 

Article 6 

Agenda of the meetings 

The Chairman and the Secretaries shall draw up a provisional agenda for each meeting 

1. 
not later than 15 working days before the beginning of the meeting. 

The provisional agenda shall include the items in respect of which a request for inclusion has 
been received by the Secretaries not later than 21 working days before the beginning of the 
meeting, save that items shall not be written into the provisional agenda unless the supporting 
documentation has been forwarded to the Secretaries not later than the date of dispatch of the 
agenda.  

The agenda shall be adopted by the Joint Committee at the beginning of each meeting. Items 
other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be included in the agenda if the two 
Parties so agree. 

The  Chairman  may,  in  agreement  with  the  two  Parties,  shorten  the  time  limits 

2. 
specified in paragraph 1 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case. 

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Article 7 

Minutes 

Draft  minutes  of  each  Joint  Committee  meeting  shall  be  drawn  up  by  the  Party  hosting  the 
meeting.  They  shall  indicate  the  decisions  and  recommendations  taken  and  the  conclusions 
adopted. Within the two months following the meeting, the draft minutes shall be submitted to 
the  Joint  Committee  for  approval.  When  approved,  the  minutes  shall  be  signed  by  the 
Chairman and the two Secretaries and one original copy shall be filed by each of the Parties. 
A copy of the minutes shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 4. 

Article 8 

Deliberations 

The  Joint  Committee  shall  take  its  decisions  and  formulate  its  recommendations  by  mutual 
agreement between the Parties. 

During  the  inter-session  period,  the  Joint  Committee  may  take  decisions  or  make 
recommendations by written procedure if both Parties so agree. 

The decisions and recommendations of the Joint Committee within the meaning of Article 43 
of  the  Interim  Agreement  shall  be  entitled  respectively  "Decision"  and  "Recommendation" 
and followed by a serial number, by the date of their adoption and by a description of their 
subject. 

The decisions and recommendations of the Joint Committee shall be signed by the Chairman 
and authenticated by the two Secretaries. 

The  decisions  taken  by  the  Joint  Committee  shall  be  published  by  the  Parties  in  their 
respective  official  publications.  Each  Party  may  decide  on  the  publication  of  any  other  act 
adopted by the Joint Committee. 

Article 9 

Languages 

The  official  languages  of  the  Joint  Committee  shall  be  the  official  languages  of  the  two 
Parties. 

Unless otherwise decided, the Joint Committee shall base its deliberations on documentation 
prepared in these languages. 

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Article 10 

Expenses 

The  Community  and  the  Republic  of  Albania  shall  each  defray  the  expenses  they  incur  by 
reason of their participation in the meetings of the Joint Committee and of working parties, 
both  in  respect  of  staff,  travelling  and  subsistence  expenditure  and  of  postal  and 
telecommunications costs. 

Expenditure  in  connection  with  interpretation,  translation  and  reproduction  of  documents  at 
meetings  as  well  as  any  other  expenditure  relating  to  the  material  organisation  of  meetings 
shall be borne by the Party hosting the meetings. 

Article 11 

Working Parties 

The working parties set up to assist the Joint Committee in carrying out its duties are listed in 
the Annex to this Decision together with their respective terms of reference.  

The  working  parties  shall  be  composed  of  representatives  of  both  Parties.  They  will  be 
chaired alternately by the two Parties according to the rules of the Joint Committee.  

The working parties shall work under the authority of the Joint Committee to which they shall 
report  after  each  one  of  their  meetings.  They  shall  not  take  decisions  but  may  make 
recommendations to the Joint Committee. 

The Joint Committee may decide to abolish any existing working parties, modify their terms 
of reference or establish new working parties to assist it in carrying out its duties. 

Done at, 

For the Joint Committee 
The Chairman 

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ANNEX 

Terms of Reference and Structure of the EC – Albania Working Parties under the 
Interim Agreement 

(1) 

Composition and Chair 

The working parties shall be composed of representatives of the European Commission and 
representatives  of  the  government  of  the  Republic  of  Albania  (hereinafter  referred  to  as 
“Albania”). They shall be chaired alternately by the two Parties. The Member States will be 
informed about the working party meetings. 

(2) 

Secretariat 

An official of the European Commission and an official of the government of Albania shall 
act jointly as secretaries of each of the working parties. 

All  communications  concerning  the  working  parties  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  secretaries  of 
the relevant working party. 

(3)  Meetings 

The  working  parties  shall  meet  regularly  once  a  year,  and  whenever  circumstances  require, 
with the agreement of both Parties. Each meeting of a working party shall be held at a time 
and place agreed by both Parties. 

If both Parties agree, the working parties may invite experts to their meetings to provide the 
specific information requested. 

(4) 

Subject matters 

The  working  parties  shall  discuss  issues  according  to  the  multidisciplinary  working  party 
structure  below.  Implementation  of  the  IA  and  the  European  Partnership,  preparation  for 
implementation of  the SAA, and progress regarding the approximation, implementation and 
enforcement  of  legislation  shall  be  assessed  in all  relevant  fields.  The  working  parties  shall 
examine any problems that may arise in their relevant sectors and shall suggest possible steps 
to be taken. 

The  working  parties  shall  also  serve  as  fora  for  the  further  clarification  of  the  acquis  and 
review  progress  made  by  Albania  in  the  alignment  of  the  acquis  in  line  with  commitments 
taken in the Interim Agreement. 

(5)  Minutes 

Draft  minutes  of  each  working  party  meeting  shall  be  established  within  the  two  months 
following the meeting. Once agreed by both Parties, a copy of the minutes shall be forwarded 
by the secretary of the working party to the secretary of the Joint Committee. 

Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the working parties shall not be public. 

(6) 

Publicity 

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(7)  Working Party Structure 

Working Party on Trade, Industry, Customs and Taxation. 

Working Party on Agriculture and Fisheries. 

Working Party on Internal Market and Competition. 

Working Party on Economic and Financial Issues and Statistics 

Working Party on Innovation, Information Society and Social Policy  

Working Party on Transport, Environment, Energy, and Regional Development 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Done at, 

For the Joint Committee 
The Chairman 

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