2007/262/EC: Decision No 1/2007 of the EU-Algeria Association Council of 24 April 2007 laying down the Association Council's rules of procedure
Date: 2007-04-24
Institutions: Association Council
Subjects: Algeria, Association Council (EU), association agreement (EU), operation of the Institutions, rules of procedure

L 111/74

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Official Journal of the European Union

28.4.2007

DECISION No 1/2007 OF THE EU-ALGERIA ASSOCIATION COUNCIL

of 24 April 2007

laying down the Association Council's rules of procedure

(2007/262/EC)

THE EU-ALGERIA ASSOCIATION COUNCIL,

Having regard to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement estab-
lishing an Association between the European Community and
its Member States, of the one part, and the People's Democratic
Republic of Algeria, of the other part, and in particular Articles
92 to 100 thereof,

Whereas the Agreement entered into force on 1 September
2005,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Chair

The Association Council shall be chaired alternately for a period
of 12 months by a representative of the Presidency of the
the
Council of
European Community and its Member States, and by a repre-
sentative of
the People's Democratic
Republic of Algeria.

the European Union, acting on behalf of

the Government of

The first period began on the date of the first Association
Council meeting and ended on 31 December 2006.

Article 2

Sessions

Article 4

Delegations

The members of the Association Council may be accompanied
by officials. Before each meeting, the Chair shall be informed of
the intended composition of the delegation of each Party.

A representative of the European Investment Bank shall attend
the meetings of the Association Council as an observer when
matters which concern the Bank appear on the agenda.

The Association Council may, by agreement between the
Parties, invite non-members to attend its meetings in order to
provide information on particular subjects.

Article 5

Secretariat

An official of the General Secretariat of the Council of the
European Union and an official of
the
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria in Brussels shall act
jointly as Secretaries of the Association Council.

the Embassy of

The Association Council shall meet regularly at ministerial level
once a year. Special sessions of the Association Council may be
held if the Parties so agree, at the request of either Party.

Article 6

Correspondence

Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, each session of the
Association Council shall be held at
the usual venue for
the European Union at a date
meetings of
agreed by both Parties.

the Council of

Correspondence addressed to the Association Council shall be
sent to the Chair of the Association Council at the address of
the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.

The meetings of
convened by the Secretaries of
agreement with the Chair.

the Association Council

the Association Council

shall be jointly
in

Article 3

Representation

The members of the Association Council may be represented if
unable to attend a session. If members wish to be so repre-
sented, they shall notify the President of the name of their
representative before the session at which they are to be so
represented.

The representative of a member of the Association Council shall
exercise all the rights of that member.

that

shall

ensure

correspondence

two Secretaries

is
The
forwarded to the Chair of the Association Council and, where
appropriate, circulated to the other members of the Association
Council. Correspondence circulated shall be sent to the Secre-
tariat-General of
the Permanent Represen-
tations of the Member States and the Embassy of the People's
Democratic Republic of Algeria in Brussels.

the Commission,

Communications from the Chair of the Association Council
to the addressees by the two Secretaries and
shall be sent
circulated, where appropriate,
the
Association Council at the addresses indicated in the second
paragraph.

to the other members of

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Article 7

Article 10

Non-public nature of meetings

Decisions and recommendations

Unless otherwise decided,
Council shall not be open to the public.

the meetings of

the Association

The Association Council shall adopt

1.
recommendations by mutual agreement of the Parties.

its decisions and

Article 8

Agendas for sessions

In the period between meetings, the Association Council may
adopt decisions or recommendations by written procedure if
both Parties so agree.

1.
The Chair shall draw up a provisional agenda for each
meeting. It shall be forwarded by the Secretaries of the Asso-
ciation Council to the addressees referred to in Article 6 not
later than 15 days before the beginning of the meeting.

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

later

The agenda shall be adopted by the Association Council at the
beginning of each meeting. An item other than those appearing
on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the
Parties so agree.

The Chair may, in agreement with the Parties, shorten the
2.
periods provided for in paragraph 1 in order to take account of
the requirements of a particular case.

Article 9

Minutes

Draft minutes of each meeting shall be taken by the two Secre-
taries.

The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate in respect of each
item on the agenda:

— the documentation submitted to the Association Council,

— the statements which a member of the Association Council

has asked to be entered,

— the decisions taken, the statements agreed upon and the

conclusions adopted.

The draft minutes shall be submitted to the Association Council
for approval. They shall be approved within six months after
each Association Council meeting. When approved, the minutes
shall be signed by the Chair and the two Secretaries. The
minutes shall be filed in the archives of the General Secretariat
of the Council of the European Union. A certified copy shall be
forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 6.

2.
The decisions and recommendations of the Association
Council within the meaning of Article 94 of the Euro-Mediter-
ranean Agreement shall be entitled respectively ‘Decision’ and
‘Recommendation’ followed by a serial number, the date of their
adoption and a description of their subject matter. Each decision
shall specify the date of its entry into force.

The decisions and recommendations of the Association Council
shall be signed by the Chair and authenticated by the two
Secretaries.

Decisions and recommendations shall be forwarded to each of
the addressees referred to in Article 6.

The Association Council may decide to order publication of its
decisions and recommendations in the Official
the
European Union and the Official Journal of the People's Democratic
Republic of Algeria.

Journal of

Article 11

Languages

The official languages of the Association Council shall be the
official languages of the two Parties.

Unless otherwise decided, the Association Council shall base its
deliberations on documentation prepared in those languages.

Article 12

Expenses

The European Community and the People's Democratic
Republic of Algeria shall each defray the expenses they incur
by reason of their participation in the meetings of the Asso-
ciation Council, with regard to both staff, travel and subsistence
expenditure and to postal and telecommunications expenditure.

Expenditure in connection with interpreting at meetings, trans-
lation and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the
European Community, with the exception of expenditure in
connection with interpreting and/or translation into or from
Arabic, which shall be borne by the People's Democratic
Republic of Algeria.

Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of
meetings shall be borne by the Party which hosts the sessions.

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Article 13

Association Committee

1.
An Association Committee shall have the task of assisting
in carrying out its duties. It shall be
the Association Council
composed of representatives of the European Commission and
of
the
the members of
European Union, on the one hand, and of representatives of
the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria,
on the other hand.

representatives of

the Council of

the proper

2.
The Association Committee shall prepare the meetings
and the deliberations of the Association Council,
implement
the Association Council where appropriate
the decisions of
and, in general, ensure continuity of the association relationship
and
Euro-Mediterranean
Agreement. It shall consider any matter referred to it by the
Association Council as well as any other matter which may
arise in the course of the day-to-day implementation of the
It shall submit proposals or
Euro-Mediterranean Agreement.
any draft decisions/recommendations
to the Association
Council for its approval.

functioning of

the

In cases where the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement refers
3.
to an obligation to consult or a possibility of consultation, such
consultation may take place within the Association Committee.
The consultation may continue in the Association Council if the
two Parties so agree.

The draft Rules of

4.
Committee are annexed to this Decision.

Procedure of

the Association

Article 14

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.

Done at Luxembourg, 24 April 2007.

For the Association Council
The Chairman

M. BEDJAOUI

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RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE

ANNEX

Article 1

Chair

The Association Committee shall be chaired alternately for periods of 12 months by a representative of the European
Commission, acting on behalf of the Community and its Member States, and by a representative of the Government of
the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria.

The first period began on the date of the first Association Council meeting and ended on 31 December 2006.

Article 2

Meetings

The Association Committee shall meet when circumstances require, with the agreement of both Parties.

Each meeting of the Association Committee shall be held at a time and place agreed by both Parties.

The meetings of the Association Committee shall be convened by the Chair.

Before each meeting, the Chair shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegation of each Party.

Article 3

Delegations

Article 4

Secretariat

An official of the European Commission and an official of the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of
Algeria shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Association Committee.

All communications to or from the Chair of the Association Committee that are caught by these Rules of Procedure shall
be addressed to the Secretaries of the Association Committee and to the Secretaries and Chair of the Association Council.

Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Association Committee shall not be open to the public.

Article 5

Non-public nature of meetings

Article 6

Agendas for meetings

1.
The Chair shall draw up a provisional agenda for each meeting. It shall be forwarded by the Secretaries of the
Association Committee to the addressees referred to in Article 4 not later than 15 days before the beginning of the
meeting.

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

The Association Committee may ask experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects.

The agenda shall be adopted by the Association Committee at the beginning of each meeting.

An item other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the two Parties so agree.

The Chair may, in agreement with the two Parties, shorten the periods specified in paragraph 1 in order to take

2.
account of the requirements of a particular case.

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Article 7

Minutes

Minutes shall be taken for each meeting. They shall be based on a summing up by the Chair of the conclusions arrived at
by the Association Committee.

After approval by the Association Committee, the minutes shall be signed by the Chair and by the Secretaries and 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

In the specific cases where the Association Committee is empowered by the Association Council under the Euro-
Mediterranean Agreement to take decisions/recommendations, these acts shall be entitled respectively ‘Decision’ and
‘Recommendation’, followed by a serial number, by the date of their adoption and by a description of their subject matter.

Whenever the Association Committee takes a decision, Articles 10 and 11 of this Decision of the EU-Algeria Association
Council shall be applied mutatis mutandis. Decisions and recommendations of the Association Committee shall be
forwarded to the addressees referred to in Article 4 of the present Rules of Procedure.

Article 9

Expenses

Each Party shall defray the expenses related to its participation in the meetings of the Association Committee and of any
working groups or bodies which might be set up in accordance with Article 98 of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement,
with regard both to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and to postal and telecommunications expenditure.

Expenditure in connection with interpreting at meetings, translation and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the
European Community, with the exception of expenditure in connection with interpreting and/or translation into or from
Arabic, which shall be borne by the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria.

Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of meetings shall be borne by the Party which hosts the meetings.