Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken by the European Union within the Committee on Cultural Cooperation set up by the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, as regards its establishment and the adoption of the rules of procedures of the Committee on Cultural Cooperation
Date: 2012-08-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: South Korea, cultural cooperation, free-trade agreement, joint body (EU), rules of procedure

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.8.2012  
COM(2012) 463 final 

2012/0226 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken by the European Union within the Committee on Cultural 
Cooperation set up by the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its 
Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, as regards 
its establishment and the adoption of the rules of procedures of the Committee on 
Cultural Cooperation 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The Free Trade  Agreement between  the European Union and its Member States, of  the one 
part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (hereinafter referred to as "Agreement") was 
signed on 6 October 2010, and it is provisionally applied as of 1 July 2011. 

Article 3 of the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation ("the Protocol") foresees the creation of a 
Committee  on  Cultural  Cooperation  ("the  Committee")  and  sets  out  the  Committee's  main 
tasks  and  functions.  In  the  light  of  the  need  to  swiftly  initiate  the  implementation  of  the 
Protocol, the Committee is to be created and its Rules of Procedure are to be adopted at the 
Committee's  first  meeting.  In  accordance  with  Article  3.2  of  the  Protocol,  the  first  such 
meeting shall take place within the first year of application of the Protocol. 

The attached proposal constitutes the proposal for a legal  instrument approving the position 
that the European Union will be taking in the Committee on the above mentioned issue. 

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2012/0226 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken by the European Union within the Committee on Cultural 
Cooperation set up by the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its 
Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part, as regards 
its establishment and the adoption of the rules of procedures of the Committee on 
Cultural Cooperation 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Articles 167(3) and the first subparagraph of Article 207(4) in conjunction with Article 218(9) 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission1, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

On  23  April  2007  the  Council  authorised  the  Commission  to  negotiate  a  Free  Trade 
Agreement  with  the  Republic  of  Korea  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union  and  its 
Member States. 

These  negotiations  have  been  concluded  and  the  Free  Trade  Agreement  between  the 
European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of 
the other part, ("the Agreement")2 was signed on 6 October 2010. 

Pursuant  to  Article  15.10.5  of  the  Agreement,  the  Agreement  has  been  provisionally 
applied since 1 July 2011 subject to its conclusion at a later date. 

Article  3  of  Agreement's  Protocol  on  Cultural  Cooperation  ("the  Protocol")  provides 
for the creation of a Committee on Cultural Cooperation which shall, among its tasks, 
ensure that the Protocol operates properly.  

The  Union  should  determine  the  position  to  be  taken  as  regards  the  creation  of  the 
Committee  on  Cultural  Cooperation  and  the  adoption  of  such  Committee's  Rules  of 
Procedure,  

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The position to be taken by the European Union in the Committee on Cultural Cooperation as 
regards its establishment and the adoption of such Committee's Rules of Procedure shall be 
based  on  the  draft  decision  of  the  Committee  on  Cultural  Cooperation  attached  to  this 
Decision.  

1 
2 

OJ C xx, xx.xx.xxxx, p. x. 
OJ L 127, 14.5.2011, p.6 

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Article 2 

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1. 

2. 

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

This decision shall be published in the Official Journal.  

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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DECISION No […] OF THE EU-KOREA COMMITTEE ON 

ANNEX I 

CULTURAL COOPERATION  

of […] 

on the establishment and the adoption of the rules of procedure of the Committee 

on Cultural Cooperation  

THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL COOPERATION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Protocol  on  Cultural  Cooperation  ("the  Protocol")  of  the  Free  Trade 
Agreement  between  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  one  part,  and  the 
Republic of Korea, of the other part ("the Agreement"), signed in Brussels on 6 October 2010, 
and in particular Article 3 thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Article  3  of  the  Protocol  foresees  the  establishment  of  a  Committee  on  Cultural 
Cooperation. 

The Committee  on  Cultural  Cooperation may adopt its own rules of  procedure  and 
shall  exercise  all  functions  of  the  Trade  Committee  as  regards  the  Protocol,  in 
accordance with Article 3.3 of the Protocol of the Agreement, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The Committee on Cultural Cooperation is hereby established.  

The rules of procedure of the Committee on Cultural Cooperation are established as 
set out in the Annex.  

This Decision shall enter into force on … 

Done at … 

on … 

For the Committee on Cultural Cooperation  

First Vice Minister 
Ministry for Culture, Sports and Tourism 
of the Republic of Korea  
XXX 
[To be completed by Korean side] 

Director-General  of  the  Directorate  General 
for Education and Culture 
European Commission 
Jan TRUSZCZYŃSKI  

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RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL COOPERATION 

Annex 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Article 1 

Composition and Chair 

The Committee on Cultural Cooperation ("the Committee") foreseen in Article 3.1 of 
the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation ("the Protocol") of the Free Trade Agreement 
between  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  one  part,  and  the 
Republic  of  Korea,  of  the  other  part,  ("the  Agreement")  shall  perform  its  duties  as 
provided  in  Article  3.3  of  the  Protocol  and  take  responsibility  for  general 
implementation of the Protocol.  

As provided for in Article 3.1 of the Protocol, the Committee shall be composed of 
the representatives of the EU Party, on the one hand, and representatives of Korea, 
on the other hand. 

The  Committee  shall  be  co-chaired  by  the  Director  General  for  Content  Policy 
Bureau of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea and the Director for 
Culture  and  Media  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Education  and  Culture  of  the 
European  Commission.  The  Chairpersons  may  arrange  to  be  represented  by 
respective designees. 

Article 2 

Representation 

A Party shall notify the other Party of the list of its members of the Committee. The 
list shall be administered by the Secretariat of the Committee. 

A  member  wishing  to  be  represented  by  an  alternate  representative  shall  notify  the 
Chairpersons  of  the  Committee  of  the  name  of  his  or  her  alternate  representative 
before  the  meeting  at  which  he  or  she  is  to  be  so  represented.  The  alternate 
representative  of  a  member  of  the  Committee  shall  exercise  all  the  rights  of  that 
member. 

Article 3 

Meetings 

The  Committee  shall  meet  at  least  once  a  year,  and  as  necessary  at  the  request  of 
either Party. The meetings shall be held in Brussels or Seoul alternately, unless the 
Parties agree otherwise. If both Parties agree, the meetings of the Committee may be 
held by video or teleconference.  

Each  meeting  of  the  Committee  shall  be  convened  by  the  Secretariat  of  the 
Committee at a date and place agreed by both Parties. The convening notice of the 
meeting  shall  be  issued  by  the  Secretariat  of  the  Committee  to  the  members  of  the 
Committee no later than 28 days prior to the start of the session, unless the Parties 
agree otherwise. 

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Article 4 

Delegation 

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The members of the Committee may be accompanied by officials. Before each meeting, the 
Chairpersons  of  the  Committee  shall  be  informed  of  the  intended  composition  of  the 
delegations attending the meeting. 

The Committee may decide to invite observers and experts on an ad hoc basis. 

Article 5 

Observers 

The contact points designated by the Parties shall jointly act as Secretariat of the Committee.  

Article 6 

Secretariat 

Article 7 

Documents 

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

Article 8 

Correspondence 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Correspondence  to  the  Chairpersons  of  the  Committee  shall  be  forwarded  to  the 
Secretariat of the Committee for circulation to the members of the Committee. 

Correspondence  from  the  Chairpersons  of  the  Committee  shall  be  sent  to  the 
recipients  by  the  Secretariat  of  the  Committee  and  be  numbered  and  circulated, 
where appropriate, to the other members of the Committee. 

Article 9 

Agenda for the Meetings 

A  provisional  agenda  for  each  meeting  shall  be  drawn  up  by  the  Secretariat  of  the 
Committee.  It  shall  be  forwarded,  together  with  the  relevant  documents,  to  the 
members  of  the  Committee  as  well  as  the  Chairpersons  of  the  Committee  no  later 
than 7 days before the beginning of the meeting. 

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

The Chairpersons of the Committee may, upon agreement, invite experts to attend its 
meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects. 

The  Chairpersons  of  the  Committee  may,  upon  agreement,  reduce  the  time  periods 
specified in paragraphs 1 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular 
case.  

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

1 

Article 10 

Minutes 

Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat of the Committee, 
normally within 21 days from the end of the meeting. 

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

(a) 

the documents submitted to the Committee; 

(b) 

any statement that a member of the Committee has asked to be entered; and 

(c) 

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

The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Committee or their alternate 
representatives who took part in the meeting, a list of the members of the delegations 
accompanying them and a list of any observers or experts to the meeting.  

The minutes shall be approved in writing by both Parties within 28 days of the date 
of the meeting or by any other date agreed by the Parties. Once approved, two copies 
of  the  minutes  shall  be  signed  by  the  Secretariat  of the Committee and each  of the 
Parties  shall  receive  one  original  copy  of  these  authentic  documents.  Copies  of  the 
signed minutes shall be forwarded to the members of the Committee. 

Article 11 

Decisions and Recommendations 

The Committee shall adopt decisions and recommendations1 by agreement between 
the Parties. Such acts shall be entitled "Decision" or "Recommendation" respectively. 

the  period  between  meetings, 

In 
the  Committee  may  adopt  decisions  or 
recommendations by written procedure if both Parties agree. The written procedure 
shall consist of an exchange of notes between the Chairpersons of the Committee.  

The Secretariat of the Committee shall give any decision or recommendation a serial 
number, the date of adoption and a description of their subject-matter. Each decision 
shall provide for the date of its entry into force. 

Decisions and recommendations adopted by the Committee shall be authenticated by 
two authentic copies signed by the Chairpersons of the Committee.  

Article 12 

Publicity and Confidentiality 

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

When  a  Party  submits  information  considered  as  confidential  under  its  laws  and 
regulations  to  the  Committee,  the  other  Party  shall  treat  that  information  as 
confidential. 

The Committee shall, for the purpose of attaining the objective of the Protocol, have the power to take 
decisions in respect of all matters in the cases provided by the Protocol. The decisions taken shall be 
binding on the Parties, which shall take the measures necessary to implement the decisions taken. The 
Committee may also make appropriate recommendations. 

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3. 

1. 

2. 

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

Article 13 

Expenses 

Each  Party  shall  meet  any  expenses  it  incurs  as  a  result  of  participating  in  the 
meetings  of  the  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.  

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