Proposal for a Council Decision on a Community Position concerning the Rules of Procedure of the EPA Committee provided for by the stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part
Date: 2009-08-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Côte d'Ivoire, EU Member State, European Commission, cooperation agreement, economic cooperation, rules of procedure

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 5.8.2009 
COM(2009) 414 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a Community Position concerning the Rules of Procedure of the EPA Committee 
provided for by the stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte 
d'Ivoire, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the 
other part 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of the one part, 
and  the  European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  other  part  was  signed  on  26 
November, and its provisional application by Côte d'Ivoire is expected shortly. 

Article 73 of the Agreement establishes an EPA Committee which shall be responsible for the 
administration of the Agreement and for the achievement of all the tasks mentioned therein. 

The EPA Committee shall determine the rules governing its organisation and operation and, 
in light of the need to ensure the rapid start of the implementation of the Agreement, the Rules 
of  Procedure  of  the  EPA  Committee  are  to  be  adopted  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  EPA 
Committee which should take place before the end of 2009. 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on a Community Position concerning the Rules of Procedure of the EPA Committee 
provided for by the stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte 
d'Ivoire, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the 
other part 

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  Council  Decision  on  signature  and  provisional  application  of  the 
stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of the one part, and 
the European Community and its Member States, of the other part1, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of the one 
part,  and  the  European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  other  part,  was 
signed on 26 November 2008. 

Article  73  of  the  said  Agreement  establishes  an  EPA  Committee,  which  shall  be 
responsible for the administration of the Agreement and for the achievement of all the 
tasks mentioned therein. 

Article  73  provides  that  the  EPA  Committee  shall  determine  the  rules  governing  its 
organisation and operation. 

The Community should determine the position to be taken with regard to the adoption 
of the Rules of Procedure for the EPA Committee, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Sole Article 

The position of the Community in view of the adoption of a decision of the EPA Committee 
provided for by the stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of 
the  one  part,  and  the  European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  other  part,  on  its 

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2 

OJ L 59, 3.3.2009, p. 3. 
OJ 

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Rules of Procedure shall be based on the draft decision of the EPA Committee annexed to this 
Decision. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX 

DECISION No …/2009 OF THE EPA COMMITTEE 
set up by the stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire of 
the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part 
concerning the adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the EPA Committee  

THE EPA COMMITTEE, 

Having regard to the stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, 
of  the  one  part,  and  the  European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  other  part 
(hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”), signed in Abidjan on 26 November 2008, and in 
particular Article 73 thereof, 

Whereas: 

The  Agreement  provides  that  the  EPA  Committee  shall  determine  the  rules  governing  its 
organisation and operation, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

The Rules of Procedure of the EPA Committee are established as set out in Annex I. 

Article 1 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on …. 

Done at, 

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ANNEX I 

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE EPA COMMITTEE 

set up by the stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of 
the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part 

Article 1 

Composition and Chair 

The EPA Committee is composed, on the one hand, of representatives of the members 
of the Council of the European Union and of the European Commission and, on the 
other of representatives of Côte d'Ivoire, at ministerial or senior official level. 

Reference  to  "the  Parties"  in  the  Rules  of  Procedure  is  in  accordance  with  the 
definition provided for in Article 72 of the Agreement.  

The  EPA  Committee  shall  be  chaired  alternately  for  periods  of  12  months  by  a 
representative of the European Commission and by a representative of Côte d'Ivoire. 
The  first  Chair  period  shall  begin  on  the  date  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  EPA 
Committee  of  the  Agreement  and  end  on  31  December  of  the  following  year.  The 
Chair of the EPA Committee shall be held first by a representative of Côte d'Ivoire.  

Representatives  of  the  West  African  Economic  and  Monetary  Union  (WAEMU) 
Commission and of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) 
Commission  might  be  invited  to  participate  in  the  EPA  Committee  meetings.  The 
Parties may decide to invite additional observers on an ad hoc basis. 

Article 2 

Meetings 

The  EPA  Committee  shall  meet  at  regular  intervals,  not  exceeding  a  period  of  two 
years, and will hold extraordinary meetings whenever circumstances so require, if the 
Parties so agree. 

Each session of the EPA Committee shall be held at a date and place agreed by both 
Parties. 

The meetings of the EPA Committee shall be convened by the Secretary of the EPA 
Committee. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 3 

Delegations 

Before  each  meeting,  the  Chair  of  the  EPA  Committee  shall  be  informed  of  the  intended 
composition of the delegations of Côte d'Ivoire and of the EC Party. 

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Article 4 

Secretariat 

Officials of the European Commission and of Côte d'Ivoire shall act alternately for periods of 
twelve  months  as  Secretary  of  the  EPA  Committee.  These  periods  shall  coincide  with  the 
holding of the Chair of the EPA Committee by respectively the EC Party and Côte d'Ivoire. 

Article 5 

Documents 

Where the deliberations of the EPA Committee are based on written supporting documents, 
such documents shall be numbered and circulated as documents of the EPA Committee by the 
Secretary. 

Article 6 

Correspondence 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

All  correspondence  addressed  to  the  EPA  Committee  shall  be  directed  to  the 
Secretary of the EPA Committee. 

The  Secretary  shall  ensure  that  correspondence  addressed  to  the  EPA  Committee  is 
forwarded  to  the  Chair  of  the  Committee  and  circulated,  where  appropriate  as 
documents referred to in Article 5 of these Rules of Procedure, to the Parties' focal 
points provided for in Article 73 of the Agreement. 

Correspondence  from  the  Chair  of  the  EPA Committee  shall  be  sent  to  the  Parties' 
focal points by the Secretary and circulated where appropriate as documents referred 
to in Article 5 of these Rules of Procedure. 

Article 7 

Agenda for the meetings 

A  provisional  agenda  for  each  meeting  shall  be  drawn  up  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
EPA Committee on the basis of proposals made by the Parties. It shall be forwarded 
by the Secretary of the EPA Committee to Parties' focal points no later than fifteen 
days before the beginning of the meeting. 

The  provisional  agenda  shall  include  the  items  for  which  a  request  for  inclusion  in 
the  agenda  has  been  received  by  the  Secretary  no  later  than  21  days  before  the 
beginning of the meeting, although such items will not be included in the provisional 
agenda  unless  the  relevant  supporting  documents  have  been  received  by  the 
Secretary no later than the date of dispatch of the provisional agenda. 

The  agenda  shall  be  adopted  by  the  EPA  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 Parties so agree. 

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4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The Chair of the EPA Committee, in agreement with the Parties, may invite experts 
to attend its meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects. 

With the agreement of the Parties, the Secretary may abridge the time limit specified 
in paragraph 1 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case. 

Article 8 

Minutes 

Draft  minutes  of  each  meeting  shall  be  drawn  up  by  the  Secretary  as  soon  as 
possible. 

The minutes shall, as a general rule, summarize each item on the agenda, specifying 
where applicable: 

(a) 

all documents submitted to the EPA Committee, 

(b) 

any statement that a member of the EPA Committee has asked to be entered, 

(c) 

the  decisions  taken,  recommendations  made,  statements  agreed  upon  and 
conclusions adopted on specific items. 

The minutes shall also include a list of participants to the EPA Committee and a list 
of the members of the delegations accompanying them. 

The minutes shall be approved in writing by both Parties within two months of the 
date of the meeting. Once approved, two copies of the minutes shall be signed by the 
Secretary  and  each  of  the  Parties  shall  receive  one  original  of  these  authentic 
documents. 

Article 9 

Decisions  

The EPA Committee shall adopt decisions by consensus. 

The  EPA  Committee  may  decide  to  submit  any  general  matter  of  an  all  ACP-EC 
interest arising under the Agreement to the ACP-EC Council of Ministers as defined 
in Article 15 of the Cotonou Agreement. 

In the period between meetings, the EPA Committee may adopt decisions by written 
procedure if both Parties so agree. A written procedure shall consist of an exchange 
of notes between the Parties.  

Decisions  of  the  EPA  Committee  shall  be  entitled  "Decision"  and  followed  by  a 
serial  number,  the  date  of  their  adoption  and  a  description  of  their  subject.  Each 
decision shall provide for the date of its entry into force. 

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5. 

Decisions adopted by the EPA Committee shall be authenticated by a representative 
of the European Commission on behalf of the EC Party, and by a representative of 
Côte d'Ivoire. 

6. 

Decisions shall be forwarded to the Parties as documents of the EPA Committee. 

Article 10 

Publicity 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Unless otherwise decided, meetings of the EPA Committee shall not be public. 

Each Party may decide on the publication of the decisions of the EPA Committee in 
its respective official publication. 

Article 11 

Languages 

The working language of the EPA Committee shall be the official language common 
to the Parties. 

The  EPA  Committee  shall  base 
documentation and proposals prepared in the language referred to in paragraph 1. 

its  deliberations  and  adopt  decisions  on 

Article 12 

Expenses 

Each  Party  shall  meet  any  expenses  it  incurs  as  a  result  of  participating  in  the 
meetings  of  the  EPA  Committee,  both  with  regard  to  staff,  travel  and  subsistence 
expenditure and with regard to postal and telecommunications expenditure. 

Expenditure  in  connection  with  the  organisation  of  meetings  and  reproduction  of 
documents shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting. 

Expenditure  in  connection  with  the  provision  of  interpretation  services  at  meetings 
and  translation  of  documents  shall  be  borne  by  the  Party  hosting  the  meeting. 
Expenditure associated with the provision of interpretation services and translation of 
documents  into  or  from  other  official  languages  of  the  European  Union  shall  be 
borne by the EC Party. 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR PROPOSALS HAVING A 
BUDGETARY IMPACT EXCLUSIVELY LIMITED TO THE REVENUE SIDE 

1. 

NAME OF THE PROPOSAL: 

Council Decision on a Community Position concerning the Rules of Procedure of the 
EPA  Committee  provided  for  by  the  stepping  stone  Economic  Partnership 
Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of the one part, and the European Community and 
its Member States, of the other part. 

2. 

BUDGET LINES: 

Chapter  and  Article:  Administrative  resources  of  the  Commission  to  cover 
interpretation and venue costs. 

Amount  budgeted  for  the  year  concerned:  In  case  of  unforeseen  needs,  resources 
could be drawn from the following budget lines:  

20.02.01  –  External  trade  relations,  including  access  to  the  markets  of  non-
Community countries 

20.01.02.11.00.02.40 – Réunions ne comportant que les personnes de la Commission 
(internes)/Conférences 

3. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT  

X 

Proposal has no financial implications 

(cid:133) 

Proposal has no financial impact on expenditure but has a financial impact on 
revenue – the effect is as follows: 

(€ million to one decimal place) 

Budget line 

Revenue3 

12 month period, 
starting dd/mm/yyyy

[Year n] 

Article … 

Article … 

3 

Regarding  traditional  own  resources  (agricultural  duties,  sugar  levies,  customs  duties)  the  amounts 
indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25 % of collection costs 

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Situation following action 

[n+1] 

[n+2] 

[n+3] 

[n+4] 

[n+5] 

Article … 

Article … 

4. 

5. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES 

OTHER REMARKS 

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