Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors concerning the statutes of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
Date: 2012-10-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors, ACP-EU Council of Ministers, ACP-EU institution, cooperation on agriculture, rules of procedure

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 3.10.2012  
COM(2012) 568 final 

2012/0273 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Committee of 
Ambassadors concerning the statutes of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and 
Rural Cooperation 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

By  Decision  2010/648/EU  of  14  May  2010  the  Council  authorised  the  signing  of  the 
agreement amending the Cotonou Partnership Agreement for the second time. 

Article  95(3)  of  the  Cotonou  Agreement  authorises  the  Joint  ACP-EU  Council  to  adopt 
transitional  measures  required  in  respect  of  the  amended  provisions  until  they  come  into 
force. By Council Decision 2010/614/EU of 14 June 2010, the Council approved the position 
to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Council of Ministers concerning the 
transitional  measures,  and  by  Decision  No 2/2010  of  the  ACP-EU  Council  of  Ministers  of 
21 June 2010, the amending provisions are provisionally applied, as from 1 November 2010.  

Annex III of the Agreement was amended by the second revision; in particular the provisions 
regarding  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Technical  Centre  for  Rural  and  Agricultural 
Cooperation  (CTA)  were  modified  with  a  view  to  strengthening  governance  and  easing 
decision-making processes.  

The statutes of the CTA should consequently be adapted in accordance with the Annex III of 
the  Agreement,  as  amended  by  the  second  revision.  Moreover,  it  is  useful  to  seize  this 
opportunity  to  include  an  explicit  reference  to  the  applicable  EDF  financial  rules  and  to 
harmonise some of its provisions with those of the statutes of the Centre for the Development 
of Enterprise (CDE). 

Article  3(5)  of  Annex  III  provides  that  the  ACP-EU  Committee  of  Ambassadors  shall  lay 
down  the  statutes  of  the  CTA.  The  amended  statutes  are  annexed  to  the  proposed  Council 
decision.  

The Council is therefore requested to adopt the attached proposal  for a Council decision on 
the  position  to  be  adopted  by  the  European  Union  within  the  ACP-EU  Committee  of 
Ambassadors concerning the statutes of the Centre for Rural and Agricultural Cooperation. 

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2012/0273 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Committee of 
Ambassadors concerning the statutes of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and 
Rural Cooperation 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

HAVING  REGARD  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in 
particular its Articles 208 and 218§9 thereof, 

HAVING REGARD to the proposal from the Commission, 

WHEREAS 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The  second  revision  of  the  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  members  of  the 
African,  Caribbean  and  Pacific  Group  of  States  of  the  one  part,  and  the  European 
Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  other  part,  signed  in  Cotonou  on  23  June 
2000 , as revised on 25 June 2005 and on 22 June 2010 , hereinafter referred to as "the 
Cotonou  Agreement"  has  updated  its  Annex  III  to  review  the  missions  given  to  the 
Centre  for  the  Development  of  Enterprise  (CDE)  and  to  the  Technical  Centre  for 
Agricultural  and  Rural  Cooperation  (CTA)  and  also  to  clarify  and  reinforce  the 
governance  of  these  organisms,  in  particular  the  supervision  by  the  Committee  of 
Ambassadors and the responsibilities of the Executive Board. 

Decision No 2/2010 of 21 June 2010 of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers established 
a provisional application of the amending agreement as from 1 November 2010. 

The  statutes  of  the  Technical  Centre  for  Agricultural  and  Rural  Cooperation 
(hereinafter referred to as "the Centre") should be revised accordingly; 

As a consequence the position to be adopted by the European Union within the ACP-
EU  Committee  of  Ambassadors  concerning  the  statutes  of  the  Technical  Centre  for 
Agricultural and Rural Cooperation should be established, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Sole Article 

The position adopted by the European Union within the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors 
on  the  amendment  of  the  statutes  of  the  Technical  Centre  for  Agricultural  and  Rural 
Cooperation shall be based on the attached draft decision proposal.  

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Minor  amendments  to  the  draft  decision  of  the  Committee  of  Ambassadors  may  be  agreed 
without the need for a further Council decision. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President  

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ANNEX 

DECISION N°…/2012 OF THE ACP-EU COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS 

on the statutes of 

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation 

THE ACP-EU COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS, 

HAVING  REGARD  to  the  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  members  of  the  African, 
Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its 
Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 20001, as first revised on 25 
June 20052 and on 22 June 20103, hereinafter referred to as "the Cotonou Agreement", and in 
particular its Articles 3(5) and 3(6) of Annex III thereto. 

WHEREAS: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The  second  revision  of  the  Cotonou  Agreement  on  22  June  2010  has  updated  its 
Annex  III  to  review  the  missions  given  to  the  CDE  and  CTA  and  to  clarify  and 
reinforce  the  governance  of  these  organisms,  in  particular  the  supervision  by  the 
Committee of Ambassadors and the responsibilities of the Executive Board. 

Decision  No  2/2010  of  21  June  2010  of  the  ACP-EU  Council  of  Ministers 
established a provisional application of the amending agreement as from 1 November 
2010. 

As  a  consequence  the  statutes  of  the  Technical  Centre  for  Agricultural  and  Rural 
Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as "the Centre") should be revised accordingly. 

Pursuant to Article 3(5) of Annex III to the Agreement, a decision of the Committee 
of Ambassadors is needed to lay down the statutes of the Centre; it is appropriate for 
the  Committee  to  adopt  a  Decision  to  that  effect  on  behalf  of  the  Council  of 
Ministers, in accordance with Articles 15 (4) and 16 (2) of the Agreement.  

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Sole Article 

The statutes of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation annexed to this 
decision are hereby adopted.  

The  European  Union  and  the  ACP  States,  shall  be  bound,  each  to  the  extent  to  which  it  is 
concerned, to take the measures necessary to implement this Decision. 

The present Decision shall enter into force the day following that of its adoption.   

For the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors 

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OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3., signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000, and entered into force on 1 April 2003 
OJ  L  287,  28.10.2005,  p.5,  signed  in  Luxembourg  on  25  June  2005  and  entered  into  force  on  1  July 
2008 
OJ L 287, 4.11.2010, p.3., signed in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010, and provisionally applied since 1 
November 2010 

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The President 

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ANNEX 

STATUTES OF THE 

TECHNICAL CENTRE FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL COOPERATION 

Article 1 

Subject 

1.  The Centre, within the meaning of Annex III to  the  Partnership  Agreement  between  the 
members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of  the one part, and the 
European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  other  part,  (hereafter  "the  Cotonou 
Agreement") shall be a joint ACP-EU technical body. It shall have legal personality and 
shall enjoy in all States party to the Agreement the most extensive legal capacity given to 
legal persons of the same kind under their laws. 

2.  The Centre's staff shall enjoy the customary privileges, immunities and facilities provided 
for in the second subparagraph of Article 1 of Protocol 2 on privileges and immunities and 
referred to in Declarations VI and VII annexed to the Cotonou Agreement. 

3.  The Centre shall be non-profit making. 

4.  The  Centre's  headquarters  shall  be  situated  provisionally  in  Wageningen  (Netherlands), 

with a local office in Brussels. 

Article 2 

Principles and objectives 

1.  The  Centre  shall  act  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  and  objectives  of  the  Cotonou 
Agreement.  It  shall  pursue  the  objectives  specified  in  Article  3  of  Annex III  to  the 
Cotonou Agreement under the supervision of the Committee of Ambassadors. 

2.  The Centre shall elaborate the details of these objectives in an overall strategy paper. 

3.  The Centre shall perform its activities in close cooperation with the institutions and other 
bodies  referred  to  in  the  Cotonou  Agreement  or  the  annexed  declarations.  The  Centre 
may, where necessary, call upon regional and international institutions, particularly those 
which  are  located  in  the  European  Union  or  ACP  States  and  which  deal  with  matters 
relating to agricultural and rural development.  

Article 3 

Financing 

1.  The  Centre's  budget  may  be  financed  by  the  European  Development  Fund  (EDF)  in 
accordance with the rules laid down by the Financial Protocol provided for in Annex I to 
the Cotonou Agreement in respect of development finance cooperation.  

2.  The Centre's budget may receive additional resources from other parties for the purposes 
of achieving the objectives set by the Cotonou Agreement and implementing the strategy 
drawn up by the Centre. 

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Article 4 

Committee of Ambassadors 

The Committee of Ambassadors shall be the supervisory authority of the Centre in accordance 
with  Article  3(5)  of  Annex  III  to  the  Cotonou  Agreement.  It  appoints  the  members  of  the 
Executive  Board  and  the  Director  of  the  Centre  on  a  proposal  from  the  Executive  Board, 
monitors the overall strategy of the Centre and supervises the work of the Executive Board.  
The  Committee  of  Ambassadors  shall  give  a  discharge  to  the  Director  in  respect  of  the 
implementation of the budget of year n+2. In view to granting the discharge, the Committee 
of  Ambassadors  shall,  based  on  a  recommendation  from  the  Executive  Board,  examine  the 
accounts and the opinion expressed by the Auditor with the replies given by the Director. 
The Committee of Ambassadors may evoke and review at any time, or object to, the decisions 
made by the  Centre. It  shall be regularly informed  by the  Executive  Board,  and also  by the 
Director of the Centre when the Committee of Ambassadors so requests.  

Article 5 

Executive Board 

1.  The  Executive  Board  shall  be  set  up  to  support,  monitor  and  control  the  technical, 

administrative and financial aspects of all the Centre's activities. 

2.  The Executive Board  shall  be  composed, on a parity basis of  six  members –  three  ACP 
nationals  and  three  European  Union  nationals  -  who  are  selected  and  appointed  by  the 
parties,  based  on  their  professional  qualifications  in  the  fields  of  agriculture  and  rural 
development  and/or  information  and  communication  policies,  science,  management  and 
technology.  

3.  One half of the membership of the Executive Board shall be renewed every two and a half 

years. 

4.  The  members  of  the  Executive  Board  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Committee  of 
Ambassadors in accordance with the procedures laid down by the Committee for a period 
of up to five years, subject to a mid-term review. 

5.  It shall hold four ordinary meetings a year. It may also meet whenever needed in order to 
perform its duties, at the Committee of Ambassadors or at the Chairperson of the Board or 
at the request of the Director. The Centre shall act as secretariat to the Executive Board.  

6.  The  members  of  the  Executive  Board  shall  carry  out  their  tasks  independently,  may  not 
seek or take any instructions from third parties and shall act solely in the interests of the 
CTA.  The  position  of  member  of  the  Executive  Board  shall  be  incompatible  with  any 
other activity remunerated by the Centre. 

7.  The members of the Executive Board shall elect the Chairperson and Vice-Chairman for a 
period  of  up  to  five  years  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  laid  down  in  its  Rules  of 
Procedure. The position of Chairman shall be filled by a person from the party (ACP or 
European Union) not holding the post of the Centre's Director. The post of Vice-Chairman 
shall be filled by a person from the party not holding the post of the Chairman. 

8.  Meeting  of  the  Executive  Board  are  attended  by  observers  from  the  European 
Commission,  the  General  Secretariat  of  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  and  a 
representative of the ACP Secretariat. 

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9.  The  Executive  Board  may  invite  other  members  of  the  Centre's  management  and  staff 

and/or external experts to advice on specific questions. 

10. The Executive Board shall take its decisions by a simple majority of the members present 
or represented in accordance with its Rules of Procedure. Each member of the Executive 
Board  shall  have  one  vote.  In  the  case  of  a  hung  vote,  the  Chairperson  shall  have  the 
casting vote. 

11. Minutes shall be drawn up after each meeting. Discussions in the Executive Board shall be 

confidential. 

12. The  Executive  Board  shall  adopt  its  own  Rules  of  procedure  and  shall  inform  the 

Committee of Ambassadors thereof. 

Article 6 

Tasks of the Executive Board 

1.  The  Executive  Board  shall  closely  monitor  and  supervise  the  Centre's  activities.  The 

Executive Board shall be accountable to the Committee of Ambassadors.  

2.  The Executive Board shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

lay down the draft financial regulations in conformity with EDF rules and shall 
submit them to the Committee of Ambassadors for approval; 

lay  down  and  approve  the  staff  regulations  and  the  rules  of  operation  of  the 
Centre in conformity with EDF rules and shall submit them to the Committee 
of Ambassadors for information; 

supervise  the  Centre's  activities  and  ensure  that  its  mission  and  rules  are 
properly implemented;  

adopt  the  annual  and  multiannual  work  programmes  and  the  budget  of  the 
Centre and submit them to the Committee of Ambassadors for information;  

(e) 

submit periodic reporting and evaluations to the Committee of Ambassadors; 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

adopt  the  Centre's  overall  strategy  and  send  it  to  the  Committee  of 
Ambassadors for information; 

approve  the  organisational  structure,  personnel  policy  and  the  organisation 
chart; 

approve the recruitment of new staff and the renewal, extension or termination 
of existing staff contracts; 

approve the annual financial statements and transmit them to the Committee of 
Ambassadors for information together with the opinion of the Auditor;  

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(j) 

approve  the  annual  reports  and  transmit  them  to  the  Committee  of 
Ambassadors for verification that the Centre's activities are consistent with the 
objectives laid down by the Agreement and the overall strategy paper; 

(k)  propose  the  appointment  of  the  Director  of  the  Centre  to  the  Committee  of 

Ambassadors; and 

(l) 

report to the Committee of Ambassadors on any important issues that arise in 
the course of performing its duties. 

(m)  report to the Committee of Ambassadors on the measures taken in the light of 
the  observations  and  recommendations  accompanying  the  Committee  of 
Ambassadors' discharge decision. 

3.  Following a competitive tender procedure, the Executive Board shall select, from at least 
three  bids,  a  firm  of  auditors  which  is  a  member  of  an  internationally  recognised 
supervisory  body,  for  a  period  of  three  years.  Those  auditors  shall  examine  whether  the 
annual  financial  statements  have  been  drawn  up  properly  and  in  accordance  with 
International  Accounting  Standards  and  give  a  true  and  fair  overview  of  the  financial 
situation of the Centre. The auditors shall also comment on the soundness of the Centre's 
financial management. 

4.  The Executive Board shall recommend to the Committee of Ambassadors to grant to the 

Director the discharge for the annual accounts. 

Article 7 

Director 

1.  The Centre shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Committee of Ambassadors on 
a  proposal  from  the  Executive  Board  for  a  period  of  up  to  five  years  and  shall  not  be 
renewable. The post of Director shall be held alternatively by ACP and EU nationals. The 
Committee's Co-chairs shall sign the Director's letter of appointment. 

2.  The Director shall be responsible for the Centre's legal and institutional representation and 

for the execution of the Centre's remit and tasks.  

3.  The Director shall be responsible for submitting to the Executive Board for approval: 

(a) 

the Centre's overall strategy; 

(b) 

the annual and multiannual activity/work programmes; 

(c) 

the Centre's annual budget; 

(d) 

the annual report, periodic reporting and evaluation; 

(e) 

the organisational structure, personnel policy and organisation chart; and 

(f) 

the  recruitment  of  new  staff  and  the  renewal,  extension  or  termination  of  the 
contracts of the existing staff. 

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4.  The Director shall be responsible for the organisation and day-to-day management of the 
Centre. The Director shall report to the Executive Board on any addendum of the Rules of 
operation of the Centre. 

5.  The Director reports to the Executive Board on any major issues arising in the exercise of 
its duties, and when it proves necessary shall inform the Committee of Ambassadors. 

6.  If necessary, and after carrying out the procedure laid down in the Staff Regulations, the 
Executive Board may propose, by means of a duly reasoned proposal, that the Committee 
of Ambassadors dismisses the Director. 

7.  The  Director  shall  be  responsible  for  submitting  the  annual  accounts  to  the  Executive 

Board for approval and transmission to the Committee of Ambassadors.  

8.  The  Director  shall  take  all  the  appropriate  steps  to  act  on  the  observations  and 
recommendations accompanying the Committee of Ambassador's discharge decision. 

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