CELEX: 22011A0623(01)
Language: en
Date: 2011-06-08 00:00:00
Title: Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Serbia establishing a framework for the participation of the Republic of Serbia in European Union crisis management operations

L 163/2               EN                                Official Journal of the European Union                                             23.6.2011
                                                                     AGREEMENT
              between the European Union and the Republic of Serbia establishing a framework for the
                    participation of the Republic of Serbia in European Union crisis management operations
              THE EUROPEAN UNION,
              of the one part, and
              THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
              of the other part,
              hereinafter referred to as the ‘Parties’,
              Whereas:
              (1)    The European Union (EU) may decide to take action in the field of crisis management.
              (2)    The European Union will decide whether third States will be invited to participate in an EU crisis management
                     operation. The Republic of Serbia may accept the invitation by the European Union and offer its contribution. In
                     such case, the European Union will decide on the acceptance of the proposed contribution of the Republic of
                     Serbia.
              (3)    Conditions regarding the participation of the Republic of Serbia in EU crisis management operations should be
                     laid down in an agreement establishing a framework for such possible future participation, rather than defining
                     those conditions on a case-by-case basis for each operation concerned.
              (4)    Such an agreement should be without prejudice to the decision-making autonomy of the European Union, and
                     should not prejudge the case-by-case nature of the decisions of the Republic of Serbia to participate in an EU crisis
                     management operation.
              (5)    Such an agreement should only address future EU crisis management operations and should be without prejudice
                     to any existing agreements regulating the participation of the Republic of Serbia in an EU crisis management
                     operation that has already been deployed,
              HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
                              SECTION I                                                                        Article 2
                     GENERAL PROVISIONS                                                                     Framework
                               Article 1                                        1.    The Republic of Serbia shall associate itself with the
                                                                                Council Decision by which the Council of the European
            Decisions relating to the participation                             Union decides that the EU will conduct the crisis management
1.     Following the decision of the European Union to invite                   operation, and with any other decision by which the Council of
the Republic of Serbia to participate in an EU crisis                           the European Union decides to extend the EU crisis
management operation, and once the Republic of Serbia has                       management operation, in accordance with the provisions of
decided to participate, the Republic of Serbia shall provide                    this Agreement and any required implementing arrangements.
information on its proposed contribution to the European
Union.
2.     The assessment by the European Union of the Republic of                  2.    The contribution of the Republic of Serbia to an EU crisis
Serbia’s contribution shall be conducted in consultation with                   management operation shall be without prejudice to the
the Republic of Serbia.                                                         decision-making autonomy of the European Union.
3.     The European Union shall provide the Republic of Serbia
with an early indication of the likely contribution to the
common costs of the operation as soon as possible with a                                                       Article 3
view to assisting the Republic of Serbia in the formulation of
its offer.                                                                                      Status of personnel and forces
                                                                                1.    The status of personnel seconded to an EU civilian crisis
                                                                                management operation and/or of the forces contributed to an
4.     The European Union shall communicate the outcome of                      EU military crisis management operation by the Republic of
this assessment to the Republic of Serbia by a letter with a view               Serbia shall be governed by the agreement on the status of
to securing the participation of the Republic of Serbia in                      forces/mission, if concluded, between the European Union and
accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.                               the State(s) in which the operation is conducted.
 ---pagebreak--- 23.6.2011             EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                           L 163/3
2.     The status of personnel contributed to headquarters or             (a) the Council Decision and subsequent amendments as
command elements located outside the State(s) in which the                     referred to in Article 2(1);
EU crisis management operation takes place, shall be
governed by arrangements between the headquarters and
command elements concerned and the Republic of Serbia.                    (b) the Operation Plan;
3.     Without prejudice to the agreement on the status of
forces/mission referred to in paragraph 1, the Republic of                (c) implementing measures.
Serbia shall exercise jurisdiction over its personnel participating
in the EU crisis management operation.
                                                                          2.     The Republic of Serbia shall inform in due time the EU
                                                                          civilian crisis management operation Head of Mission and the
4.     The Republic of Serbia shall be responsible for answering
                                                                          High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and
any claims linked to the participation in an EU crisis
                                                                          Security Policy Council of any change to its contribution to
management operation, from or concerning any of its
                                                                          the EU civilian crisis management operation.
personnel. The Republic of Serbia shall be responsible for
bringing any action, in particular legal or disciplinary, against
any of its personnel in accordance with its laws and regulations.
                                                                          3.     Personnel seconded to the EU civilian crisis management
                                                                          operation shall undergo a medical examination, vaccination and
5.     The Republic of Serbia undertakes to make a declaration            be certified medically fit for duty by a competent authority from
as regards the waiver of claims against any State participating in        the Republic of Serbia. Personnel seconded to the EU civilian
an EU crisis management operation in which the Republic of                crisis management operation shall produce a copy of this certifi­
Serbia participates, and to do so when signing this Agreement.            cation.
6.     The European Union undertakes to ensure that European
Union Member States make a declaration as regards the waiver                                             Article 6
of claims, for any future participation of the Republic of Serbia                                Chain of command
in an EU crisis management operation, and to do so when
signing this Agreement                                                    1.     Personnel seconded by the Republic of Serbia shall carry
                                                                          out their duties and conduct themselves solely with the interests
                                                                          of the EU civilian crisis management operation in mind.
                              Article 4
                     Classified information
                                                                          2.     All personnel shall remain under the full command of
1.     The Republic of Serbia shall take appropriate measures to          their national authorities.
ensure that EU classified information is protected in accordance
with the EU Council’s security regulations, contained in Council
Decision 2001/264/EC of 19 March 2001 adopting the
Council’s security regulations (1) and in accordance with                 3.     National authorities shall transfer operational control to
further guidance issued by competent authorities, including               the European Union.
the EU Operation Commander concerning an EU military
crisis management operation or by the EU Head of Mission
concerning an EU civilian crisis management operation.                    4.     The Head of Mission shall assume responsibility and
                                                                          exercise command and control of the EU civilian crisis
                                                                          management operation at theatre level.
2.     Where the EU and the Republic of Serbia have concluded
an agreement on security procedures for the exchange of clas­
sified information, the provisions of such an agreement shall
apply in the context of an EU crisis management operation.                5.     The Head of Mission shall lead the EU civilian crisis
                                                                          management operation and assume its day-to-day management.
                             SECTION II
PROVISIONS      ON PARTICIPATION IN CIVILIAN                CRISIS
                                                                          6.     The Republic of Serbia shall have the same rights and
                  MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS
                                                                          obligations in terms of day-to-day management of the
                                                                          operation as European Union Member States taking part in
                              Article 5                                   the operation, in accordance with the legal instruments
                                                                          referred to in Article 2(1).
Personnel seconded to an EU civilian crisis management
                             operation
1.     The Republic of Serbia shall ensure that its personnel             7.     The EU civilian crisis management operation Head of
seconded to the EU civilian crisis management operation                   Mission shall be responsible for disciplinary control over EU
undertake their mission in accordance with:                               civilian crisis management operation personnel. Where
                                                                          required, disciplinary action shall be taken by the national
(1) OJ L 101, 11.4.2001, p. 1.                                            authority concerned.
 ---pagebreak--- L 163/4               EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                        23.6.2011
8.     A National Contingent Point of Contact (‘NPC’) shall be             (b) the Republic of Serbia has a GNI per capita which does not
appointed by the Republic of Serbia to represent its national                   exceed that of any Member State of the European Union.
contingent in the operation. The NPC shall report to the EU
civilian crisis management operation Head of Mission on                    5.     An arrangement on the payment of the contributions of
national matters and shall be responsible for day-to-day                   the Republic of Serbia to the operational budget of the EU
contingent discipline.                                                     civilian crisis management operation shall be signed between
                                                                           the EU civilian crisis management operation Head of Mission
9.     The decision to end the operation shall be taken by the             and the relevant administrative services of the Republic of
European Union, following consultation with the Republic of                Serbia. That arrangement shall include, inter alia, the
Serbia if it is still contributing to the EU civilian crisis               following provisions:
management operation at the date of termination of the
operation.                                                                 (a) the amount concerned;
                              Article 7                                    (b) the arrangements for payment of the financial contribution;
                         Financial aspects                                 (c) the auditing procedure.
1.     The Republic of Serbia shall assume all the costs
associated with its participation in the operation apart from                                          SECTION III
the running costs, as set out in the operational budget of the
operation. This shall be without prejudice to Article 8.                   PROVISIONS       ON PARTICIPATION IN MILITARY            CRISIS
                                                                                              MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS
2.     In case of death, injury, loss or damage to natural or legal                                      Article 9
persons from the State(s) in which the operation is conducted,             Participation     in  an    EU military    crisis  management
the Republic of Serbia shall, once its liability has been estab­                                        operation
lished, pay compensation under the conditions foreseen in the
applicable status of mission agreement referred to in                      1.     The Republic of Serbia shall ensure that its forces and
Article 3(1).                                                              personnel participating in an EU military crisis management
                                                                           operation undertake their mission in accordance with:
                              Article 8
                                                                           (a) the Council Decision and subsequent amendments as
              Contribution to operational budget                                referred to in Article 2(1);
1.     The Republic of Serbia shall contribute to the financing of
the budget of the EU civilian crisis management operation.                 (b) the Operation Plan;
2.     The financial contribution of the Republic of Serbia to the         (c) implementing measures.
operational budget shall be calculated on the basis of either of
the following formulae, whichever produces the lower amount:               2.     Personnel seconded by the Republic of Serbia shall carry
                                                                           out their duties and conduct themselves solely with the interest
                                                                           of the EU military crisis management operation in mind.
(a) the share of the reference amount which corresponds
     proportionately to the ratio of the Republic of Serbia’s
     GNI to the total GNIs of all States contributing to the oper­         3.     The Republic of Serbia shall inform the EU Operation
     ational budget of the operation; or                                   Commander in due time of any change to its participation in
                                                                           the operation.
(b) the share of the reference amount for the operational                                               Article 10
     budget which corresponds proportionately to the ratio of
     the number of personnel from the Republic of Serbia                                          Chain of command
     participating in the operation to the total number of
     personnel of all States participating in the operation.               1.     All forces and personnel participating in the EU military
                                                                           crisis management operation shall remain under the full
                                                                           command of their national authorities.
3.     Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, the Republic of
Serbia shall not make any contribution towards the financing               2.     National authorities shall transfer the Operational and
of per diem allowances paid to personnel of the European                   Tactical command and/or control of their forces and
Union Member States.                                                       personnel to the EU Operation Commander, who is entitled
                                                                           to delegate his authority.
4.     Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the European Union shall,
in principle, exempt the Republic of Serbia from financial                 3.     The Republic of Serbia shall have the same rights and
contributions to a particular EU civilian crisis management                obligations in terms of the day-to-day management of the
operation when:                                                            operation as participating European Union Member States.
(a) the European Union decides that the Republic of Serbia                 4.     The EU Operation Commander may, following consul­
     provides a significant contribution which is essential for            tations with the Republic of Serbia, at any time request the
     the operation; or                                                     withdrawal of the Republic of Serbia’s contribution.
 ---pagebreak--- 23.6.2011              EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                          L 163/5
5.     A Senior Military Representative (SMR) shall be appointed            (a) the European Union decides that the Republic of Serbia
by the Republic of Serbia to represent the Serbian contingent in                provides a significant contribution to assets and/or capa­
the EU military crisis management operation. The SMR shall                      bilities which are essential for the operation; or
consult with the EU Force Commander on all matters
affecting the operation and shall be responsible for the day-
                                                                            (b) the Republic of Serbia has a GNI per capita which does not
to-day discipline of the Serbian contingent.
                                                                                exceed that of any Member State of the European Union.
                              Article 11                                    4.    An arrangement shall be concluded between the Adminis­
                         Financial aspects                                  trator provided for in Decision 2008/975/CFSP and the
                                                                            competent administrative authorities of the Republic of Serbia.
1.     Without prejudice to Article 12, the Republic of Serbia              This arrangement shall include, inter alia, provisions on:
shall assume all the costs associated with its participation in the
operation unless the costs are subject to common funding as
provided for in the legal instruments referred to in Article 2(1),          (a) the amount concerned;
as well as in Council Decision 2008/975/CFSP of 18 December
2008 establishing a mechanism to administer the financing of                (b) the arrangements for payment of the financial contribution;
the common costs of European Union operations having
military or defence implications (Athena) (1).
                                                                            (c) the auditing procedure.
2.     In case of death, injury, loss or damage to natural or legal                                    SECTION IV
persons from the State(s) in which the operation is conducted,
the Republic of Serbia shall, once its liability has been estab­                                   FINAL PROVISIONS
lished, pay compensation under the conditions foreseen in the
                                                                                                        Article 13
applicable status of forces agreement referred to in Article 3(1).
                                                                                              Implementing arrangements
                              Article 12                                    Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 8(5) and 12(4),
                                                                            any necessary technical and administrative arrangements in
               Contribution to the common costs
                                                                            pursuance of the implementation of this Agreement shall be
1.     The Republic of Serbia shall contribute to the financing of          concluded between the High Representative of the Union for
the common costs of the EU military crisis management                       Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the appropriate
operation.                                                                  authorities of the Republic of Serbia.
2.     The financial contribution of the Republic of Serbia to the                                      Article 14
common costs shall be calculated on the basis of either of the                                      Non-compliance
following two formulae, whichever produces the lower amount:
                                                                            Should one of the Parties fail to comply with its obligations
                                                                            under this Agreement, the other Party shall have the right to
(a) the share of the common costs which corresponds propor­                 terminate this Agreement by serving notice of one month.
     tionately to the ratio of the Republic of Serbia’s GNI to the
     total GNIs of all States contributing to the common costs of
     the operation; or                                                                                  Article 15
                                                                                                   Dispute settlement
(b) the share of the common costs which corresponds propor­                 Disputes concerning the interpretation or application of this
     tionately to the ratio of the number of personnel from the             Agreement shall be settled by diplomatic means between the
     Republic of Serbia participating in the operation to the total         Parties.
     number of personnel of all States participating in the
     operation.
                                                                                                        Article 16
     Where the formula under point (b) of paragraph 2 is used                                       Entry into force
     and the Republic of Serbia contributes personnel only to the           1.    This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of
     Operation or Force Headquarters, the ratio used shall be that          the first month after the Parties have notified each other of the
     of its personnel to that of the total number of the respective         completion of the internal procedures necessary for this
     headquarters personnel. In other cases, the ratio shall be             purpose.
     that of all personnel contributed by the Republic of Serbia
     to that of the total personnel of the operation.
                                                                            2.    This Agreement shall be provisionally applied from the
                                                                            date of signature.
3.     Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the European Union shall,
in principle, exempt the Republic of Serbia from financial
contributions to the common costs of a particular EU military               3.    This Agreement shall be subject to regular review.
crisis management operation when:
                                                                            4.    This Agreement may be amended on the basis of a mutual
(1) OJ L 345, 23.12.2008, p. 96.                                            written agreement between the Parties.
 ---pagebreak--- L 163/6        EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                      23.6.2011
        5.    This Agreement may be denounced by either Party by written notice of denunciation given to the
        other Party. Such denunciation shall take effect six months after receipt of notification by the other Party.
        Done at Belgrade, this eighth day of June in the year 2011 in two copies, each in the English language.
                      For the European Union                                For the Republic of Serbia
 ---pagebreak--- 23.6.2011        EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                    L 163/7
                                                   TEXT FOR DECLARATIONS
          Text for the EU Member States:
              ‘The EU Member States applying an EU Council Decision on an EU crisis management operation in
              which the Republic of Serbia participates will endeavour, insofar as their internal legal systems so
              permit, to waive as far as possible claims against the Republic of Serbia for injury, death of their
              personnel, or damage to, or loss of, any assets owned by themselves and used by the EU crisis
              management operation if such injury, death, damage or loss:
              — was caused by personnel from the Republic of Serbia in the execution of their duties in connection
                  with the EU crisis management operation, except in case of gross negligence or wilful misconduct,
              — or arose from the use of any assets owned by the Republic of Serbia, provided that the assets were
                  used in connection with the operation and except in case of gross negligence or wilful misconduct
                  of EU crisis management operation personnel from the Republic of Serbia using those assets.’.
          Text for the Republic of Serbia:
              ‘The Republic of Serbia applying an EU Council Decision on an EU crisis management operation will
              endeavour, insofar as its internal legal system so permit, to waive as far as possible claims against any
              other State participating in the EU crisis management operation for injury, death of its personnel, or
              damage to, or loss of, any assets owned by itself and used by the EU crisis management operation if
              such injury, death, damage or loss:
              — was caused by personnel in the execution of their duties in connection with the EU crisis
                  management operation, except in case of gross negligence or wilful misconduct,
              — or arose from the use of any assets owned by States participating in the EU crisis management
                  operation, provided that the assets were used in connection with the operation and except in case
                  of gross negligence or wilful misconduct of EU crisis management operation personnel using those
                  assets.’.