CELEX: 21992A1231(03)
Language: sv
Date: 1992-12-21 00:00:00
Title: Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Latvia on trade and commercial and economic cooperation

108                                         Europeiska gemenskapernas officiella tidning                                         Il /Vol . 20

292A1231 03

Nr L 403/11                      EUROPEISKA GEMENSKAPERNAS OFFICIELLA TIDNING                                                        31.12.92
                                                                 AGREEMENT

              between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Latvia on trade and commercial
                                                          and economic cooperation

              THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

              hereinafter called the 'Community', of the one part , and

              THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA ,

              hereinafter called 'Latvia', of the other part ,

              CONSIDERING the importance of establishing and expanding trade links between the Community and
              Latvia ;

              DESIROUS of creating favourable conditions for a substantial and harmonious development and diversification of
              trade and the promotion of commercial and economic cooperation in areas of mutual interest on the basis of
              equality , non-discrimination , mutual benefit and reciprocity;

              AWARE of the particular importance of foreign trade and other forms of international economic cooperation for
              the economic and social development of each of the Contracting Parties;

              AWARE of the importance of giving full effect to all the provisions and principles of the CSCE process, and in
              particular those set out in the Helsinki Final Act, the concluding documents of the Madrid, Vienna and
              Copenhagen meetings , and those of the "Charter of Paris for a new Europe, particularly with regard to the rule of .
              law, democracy and human rights, as well as those of the Bonn CSCE Conference on Economic
              Cooperation ;

              RECOGNIZING the importance of guaranteeing the rights of ethnic and national groups and minorities, in
              accordance with the undertakings made within the context of the CSCE ;

              AWARE of the importance of strengthening their democratic institutions and of supporting the process of
              economic reform in Latvia ;

              BELIEVING that a further impetus should be given to the trading and economic relationship between the
              Community and Latvia by establishing contractual links which will contribute to progress towards the objective of
              an association agreement in due course, when conditions are met , and to further development of relations between
              them ;

              TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the favourable implications for trade and economic cooperation between the
              Contracting Parties of reform under way in Latvia;

              HAVE DECIDED to conclude this Agreement and to this end have designated as their Plenipotentiaries:

              THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY :

                  Joäo de Deus PINHEIRO ,
                  Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Republic, President-in-Ofhce of the Council of the European
                  Communities,

                  Frans ANDRIESSEN ,
                  Vice-President of the Commission of the European Communities ,

              TKE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA :

                  Janis JURKANS ,
                  Minister for Foreign Affairs ,

              WHO , having exchanged their full powers , found in good and due form ,

              HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS :
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                           TITLEI                                                             Article S

                          General                                1.     The Contracting Parties shall accord each other
                                                                 most-favoured-nation treatment in all matters regarding:

                          Article 1                              — customs duties and charges of any kind imposed on or in
                                                                   connection with importation or exportation .
Respect for the democratic principles and human rights           — the method of levying such duties and charges,
established by the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris
for a New Europe inspires the domestic and external policies     — all rules and formalities in connection with importation
of the Community and Latvia and constitutes an essential           and exportation , including provisions relating to customs
element of the present agreement .                                 clearance , transit , warehousing and transshipment ,

                                                                 — taxes and other internal charges levied directly or
                          Article 2                                   indirectly on imported products ,

                                                                 — methods of payment and the transfer of such
Within the framework of their respective laws and
                                                                      payments ,
regulations, the Contracting Parties undertake to facilitate
and promote:                                                     — the regulations affecting the sale, purchase , transport ,
                                                                   distribution and use of goods on the domestic market.
— the harmonious development and diversification of trade
   between them ,
                                                                 2.     The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to:
— the development of various types of commercial and
   economic cooperation .                                        ( a) advantages accorded to adjacent countries in order to
                                                                       facilitate frontier traffic;
They therefore confirm their resolve to consider favourably,
each for its own part , suggestions made by the other Party      (b ) advantages accorded with the aim of creating a customs
with a view to attaining these aims.                                  union or a free trade area or pursuant to the creation of
                                                                       such a union or area;

                                                                 (c) advantages accorded to particular countries in
                                                                     accordance with the General Agreement on Tariffs and
                                                                     Trade and other international arrangements in favour of
                        " TITLE II                                   developing countries .

              Trade and commercial cooperation
                                                                                              Article 6

                          Article 3
                                                                 Without prejudice to the rights and obligations stemming
                                                                 from international conventions on the temporary admission
1.    This Agreement shall apply to trade in all products        of goods which bind both sides, the Contracting Parties shall
originating in the Community and in Latvia with the              furthermore grant each other reciprocal exemption from
exception of products covered by the Treaty establishing the     import charges and duties on goods admitted temporarily, in
European Coal and Steel Community and of the textiles and        the instances and according to the procedures stipulated by
apparel covered by Section XI of the harmonized system.          any other international convention on this matter binding
                                                                 only one of them . Account shall be taken of the conditions
2 . The provisions of this Agreement may be                      under which the obligations stemming from such a
supplemented if necessary by sectoral agreements or              convention have been accepted by the Contracting Party in
arrangements concluded between the Community and                 question.
Latvia . In particular, a separate agreement for textile
products will be negotiated .
                                                                                              Article 7

                          Article 4
                                                                 Latvia shall grant imports oi products originating m the
                                                                 Community treatment which is non-discriminatory in
Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement , trade and other   relation to products originating in other countries , as regards
commercial cooperation between the Contracting Parties           the application of quantitative restrictions, the granting of
shall be conducted in accordance with their respective           licences and access to the foreign currency needed to pay for
regulations .                                                    such imports .
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                            Article 8                                  5.     If, following action under paragraphs 1 to 4 ,
                                                                       agreement is not reached between the Contracting Parties ,
                                                                       the Contracting Party which requested the consultations
1 . Without prejudice to Article 7 , each of the Contracting           shall be free to restrict the imports of the products concerned
Parties shall grant imports of products originating in the
other the highest degree of liberalization generally extended
                                                                       to the extent and for such time as is necessary to prevent or
                                                                       remedy the injury. The other Contracting Party shall then be
to third countries. To that end, the specific quantitative
                                                                       free to deviate from its obligations towards the first Party in
restrictions applying to imports from Latvia into the                  respect of substantially equivalent trade.
Community shall be eliminated .

2. For the purposes of this Agreement, 'specific                       6.    In critical circumstances , where delay would cause
quantitative restrictions' shall mean those quantitative               damage difficult to repair, such preventive or remedial action
restrictions applied by the Community to imports originating           may be taken provisionally without prior consultation ,
in Latvia under Regulation ( EEC ) No 3420 / 83 , which                provided consultations are held immediately after such
concerns products other than those to which quantitative               action is taken .
restrictions    are   applied     under     Regulation      (EEC)
No 288 / 82 .
                                                                       7.    In the selection of measures under this Article, the
                                                                       Contracting Parties shall give priority to those which cause
                                                                       the least disturbance to the functioning of this Agreement.
                            Artide 9

The Parties shall inform each other of any changes in their            8.   Where necessary the Contracting Parties may hold
tariff or statistical nomenclature or of any decision taken in         consultations to determine when the measures adopted
accordance with the procedures in force concerning the                 pursuant to paragraphs 4 to 6 shall cease to apply.
classification of products covered by this Agreement .

                           Article 10                                                            Artide 12

Goods shall be traded between the Contracting Parties at               1 . This Agreement shall not preclude prohibitions or
market-related prices.                                                 restrictions on imports , exports or goods in transit justified
                                                                       on grounds of public morality, public policy or public
                                                                       security , the protection of life and health of humans animals,
                                                                       or plants, the protection of industrial , commercial and
                           Artide 11
                                                                       intellectual property , or rules relating to gold or silver or
                                                                       imposed for the protection of national treasures of artistic,
1.    The Contracting Parties shall consult each other if any          historic or archaelogical value.
product is being imported into the territory of one of them in
such increased quantities or on such terms as to cause or
threaten to cause serious injury to domestic producers of like         Such prohibitions and restrictions must not , however,
or directly competing products .                                       constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or disguised
                                                                       restrictions on trade between the Contracting Parties.
2.    The Contracting Party claiming serious injury or threat
thereof shall request consultations by notification in writing         2.     This Agreement shall not preclude the taking of action
and shall provide the other Party with all the relevant                justified on grounds of protection of essential security
information required for a detailed examination of the                 interests :
situation .

                                                                       ( a) relating to fissionable materials or the materials from
3.    The consultations requested pursuant to paragraph 1                   which they are derived ;
shall be held with a view to seeking mutually satisfactory
solutions and with due regard for the fundamental aims of
the Agreement; they shall be completed not later than 30 days          ( b ) relating to traffic in arms, ammunition and implements
from the date of notification of the request by the Party                    of war and to such traffic in other goods and materials as
concerned , unless the Parties agree otherwise .                             is carried on directly or indirectly for the purpose of
                                                                             supplying a military establishment;
4.     If, as a result of such consultations , it is agreed that the
situation referred to in paragraph 1 exists, exports shall be          ( c) taken in time of war or other emergency in international
Umited or such other action taken, possibly with regard to the              relations or to allow it to comply with obligations it has
price at which these exports are sold , as will prevent or                  accepted in connection with the maintenance of
remedy the injury.                                                          international peace and security .
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                              Article 13                                    cooperation transactions concluded by companies,
                                                                            enterprises or economic organizations of the Community
1 . The Contracting Parties shall make every effort to                      and those of Latvia ,
promote, expand and diversify their trade on the basis of
non-discrimination and reciprocity. In the spirit of this                   agree that when a dispute is submitted to arbitration,
Article , the Joint Committee established under Title V of this             each party to the dispute may freely choose its own
Agreement will attach special importance to examining ways                  arbitrator, irrespective of nationality , and that the
of encouraging the reciprocal and harmonious expansion of                   presiding third arbitrator or the sole arbitrator may be a
trade .                                                                     citizen of a third State,
2.        In furtherance of the aims of this Article and within the
                                                                            shall encourage recourse to the arbitration rules
limits of their respective powers, the Contracting Parties                  developed by the United Nations Commission on
agree on the necessity to improve favourable business                       International Trade Law (Uncitral) and to arbitration by
regulations and facilities for each other's firms or companies              any centre of a State signatory to the Convention on
on their respective markets, inter alia, by taking steps:                   Recognition and enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
— to ensure the publication and facilitate exchanges of                     concluded in New York on 10 June 1958 .
      commercial and economic information on all matters
      which would assist the development of commercial and
      economic cooperation , for example:
      — general and sectoral import arrangements ,
                                                                                                    TITLE III
      — economic and commercial law, including regulations -
         on markets, companies and investment,
      — macro-economic          information      and     statistics,                       Economic Cooperation
           including production , consumption and foreign trade
           statistics ,

— to facilitate the establishment and operation of each                                             Article IS
  other's companies ,
— to encourage trade promotion activities,                             1.     In the light of their respective economic policies and
                                                                       objectives, the Contracting Parties, whithin the limits of their
— to provide natural and legal persons of the other Party              respective powers, shall foster economic cooperation on as
  with guarantees of their individual and property rights,             broad a base as possible in all fields deemed to be in their
  such as non-discriminatory access for that purpose to                mutual interest .
  courts and appropriate administrative bodies of the
  Community and Latvia.                                                The objectives of such cooperation shall be, inter alia:
3.   Latvia will take measures guaranteeing an effective and           — to reinforce and diversify economic links between the
adequate protection of intellectual , industrial and                     Contracting Parties ,
commercial property, at a level similar to that which exists in
the Community, and will adhere to International
Conventions on intellectual , industrial and commercial                — to contribute to the development of their respective
                                                                         economies and standards of living,
property .

4.     The Contracting Parties undertake to facilitate , within        — to open up new sources of supply and new markets ,
the limits of their respective powers , administrative
cooperation between the appropriate authorities in matters             — to encourage cooperation between economic operators
relating to customs, in particular in the following areas:               with a view to promoting joint ventures, licensing
                                                                         agreements , and other forms of industrial cooperation to
— vocational training,                                                   develop their respective industries,
— simplification of            customs     documentation       and     — to encourage scientific and technological progress,
  procedures, and
— prevention and detection of infringements of the rules on            — to support structural changes in the Latvian economy
  customs matters, including the rules governing import                  which will increase and diversify trade in goods and
      quotas .                                                           services with the Community,

                                                                       — to encourage the participation of small and medium-sized
                             Article 14                                  enterprises in trade and industrial cooperation.
Within the limits of their respective powers, the Contracting
Parties:                                                               2.    In order to achieve these objectives, the Contracting
                                                                       Parties shall make efforts to encourage and promote
— shall encourage the adoption of arbitration for the                  economic cooperation in areas of mutual interest, in
  settlement of disputes arising out of commercial and                 particular in the following sectors:
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— industry ,                                                      — the encouragement of activities contributing to
                                                                    technical competence in specific fields , notably
— agriculture , including agro-industry ,                            commercialization .

— fisheries ,
                                                                                           Article 16
— science and technology in areas in which the Contracting
  Parties are active and which they consider to be of mutual      Without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the Treaties
   interest ,                                                     establishing the European Communities , this Agreement and
                                                                  any action taken pursuant to it shall in no way affect the
— telecommunications ,                                            powers of the Member States of the Community to undertake
                                                                  bilateral activities with Latvia in the field of economic
—- energy, including the saving of energy and the                 cooperation and to conclude , where appropriate , new
   development of new sources of energy ,                         economic cooperation agreements with Latvia .

— mining and production of building materials ,

— environmental protection, including protection from
  water and air pollution and industrial accidents , and the                               TITLE IV
  management of natural resources; also taking into
  account environmental requirements in other policy              Accession to international organizations and conventions
  areas such as industry, agriculture , energy, transport,

— transport, communications and the running of ports ,                                     Article 17

— tourism and other service activities ,
                                                                  The Community undertakes , within the limits of its powers,
— economic, monetary, banking, insurance and financial            to support the accession of Latvia to international
    services ,
                                                                  organizations and conventions to which the Community is a
                                                                  party, in order to enable Latvia to become more active in the
                                                                  world economic system.
— development of human resources and training,

— health ,

— economic policy,                                                                         TITLE V

— standards ,
                                                                                        Joint Committee
— statistics .

                                                                                           Article 18
3.   To give effect to the objectives of economic
cooperation and within the limits of their respective powers ,
the Contracting Parties shall encourage the adoption of           1.    A Joint Committee shall be set up , comprising
measures aimed at creating favourable conditions for              representatives of the Community, on the one hand , an
economic and industrial cooperation , including:                  representatives of Latvia , on the other.

— the facilitation of exchanges of commercial and economic        The Joint Committee shall formulate recommendations by
   information ,                                                  mutual agreement between the Contracting Parties.

— the development of a favourable climate for investment,         The Joint Committee shall, as necessary, adopt its own rules
   notably by the extension by the Member States of the           of procedure and programme of work.
   Community and Latvia of arrangements for investment
   promotion and protection, in particular for the transfer       The Joint Committee shall meet once a year in Brussels and
   of profits and the repatriation of invested capital and also   Riga alternately. Special meetings may be convened by
   of agreements on the avoidance of double taxation ,            mutual agreement, at the request of either Contracting Party.
                                                                  The Joint Committee shall be chaired alternately by each of
— exchanges and contacts between persons and delegations          the Contracting Parties . Wherever possible, the agenda for
  representing commercial or other appropriate                    meetings of the Joint Committee shall be agreed
   organizations ,                                                beforehand .

— the organization of seminars , fairs or exhibitions,            The Joint Comittee may decide to set up working parties to
  symposia and business weeks,                                    assist it in carrying out its duties .
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2.    The Joint Committee shall ensure the proper                                            TITLE VI
functioning of this * Agreement and shall devise and
recommend practical measures for achieving its objectives ,                       General and final provisions
keeping in view the economic and social policies of the
Contracting Parties.
                                                                                            Article 19

3.    The Joint Committee shall endeavour to find ways of        Subject to the provisions of Article 16 , the provisions of this
encouraging the development of trade and commercial and          Agreement shall replace the provisions of agreements
economic cooperation between the Contracting Parties. In         concluded between Member States of the Community and
particular , it shall :                                          Latvia where the latter provisions are either incompatible
                                                                 with , or identical to , the former .
— examine the various aspects of trade between the Parties ,
  notably its overall pattern , rate of growth , structure and                              Article 20
  diversification , the trade balance and the various forms of
  trade and trade promotion,
                                                                 This Agreement shall apply , on the one hand , to the
                                                                 territories in which the Treaty establishing the European
— make recommendations on any trade or economic                  Economic Community is applied and under the conditions
  cooperation problem of mutual concern ,                        laid down in that Treaty and , on the other, to the territory of
                                                                 the Republic of Latvia .
— seek appropriate means of avoiding possible difficulties
  in the fields of trade and cooperation and encourage                                      Artide 21
  various forms of commercial and economic cooperation
   in areas of mutual interest,
                                                                 This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the
                                                                 second month following the date on which the Contracting
— consider measures likely to develop and diversify trade        Parties notify each other that the legal procedures necessary
  and economic cooperation, notably by improving import          to this pnd have been completed . The Agreement is
  opportunities in the Community and in Latvia ,                 concluded for an initial period of 10 years. The Agreement
                                                                 shall be automatically renewed year by year provided that
                                                                 neither Contracting Party gives the other Party written notice
— exchange information on macroeconomic plans and                of denunciation of the Agreement six months before it
  forecasts for the economies of the Contracting Parties         expires.
  which have an impact on trade and cooperation and, by
  extension, on the scope for developing complementarity         However, the two Contracting Parties may amend the
  between their respective economies and also on proposed        Agreement by mutual consent in order to take account of new
  programmes of economic reform,                                 developments , notably the situation which would arise from
                                                                 the accession of Latvia to the General Agreement on Tariffs
— examine the situation concerning the procedure for the         and Trade. In the latter case , the Contracting Parties shall
  award of contracts for supplying goods and services            prepare together the amendments to this Agreement
  following an international invitation to tender ,              necessary to take account of the protocol of accession of
                                                                 Latvia to the General Agreement. If the Parties are unable to
                                                                 agree on this subject they reserve the right to denounce this
— exchange information on amendments to and                      Agreement.
  developments in the laws , regulations and formalities of
  the Contracting Parties in the areas covered by this           The Parties reserve the right to suspend this Agreement in
   Agreement,                                                    whole or in part with immediate effect if a serious violation
                                                                 occurs of the essential provisions of the present
                                                                 agreement.
— examine favourably ways of improving conditions for the
  development of direct contacts between firms established
   in the Community and those established in Latvia ,                                       Artide 22

— formulate     and   submit to the authorties of both           This Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Danish,
   Contracting Parties recommendations for resolving any         Dutch , English , French , German , Greek , Italian,
   problems that arise , where appropriate by means of the       Portuguese , Spanish and Latvian languages , each text being
   conclusion of arrangements or agreements.                     equally authentic.
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      En fe de lo cual , los plenipotenciarios abajo firmantes suscriben el presente Acuerdo .

      Til bekræftelse heraf har undertegnede befuldmægtigede underskrevet denne aftale.

      Zu Urkund dessen haben die unterzeichneten Bevollmächtigten ihre Unterschriften unter dieses
      Abkommen gesetzt.

      Εις πίστωση των ανωτέρω, οι υπογεγραμμένοι πληρεξούσιοι έθεσαν τις υπογραφές τους στην παρούσα
      συμφωνία.

      In witness whereof the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed this Agreement .

      En foi de quoi les plénipotentiaires soussignés ont apposé leurs signatures au bas du présent
      accord .

      In fede di che , i plenipotenziari sottoscritti hanno apposto le loro arme in calce al presente
      accordo .

      Ten blijke waarvan de ondergetekende gevolmachtigden hun handtekening onder deze Overeenkomst
      hebben gesteld.

      Em fé do que, os plenipotenciários abaixo assinados apuseram as suas assinaturas no final do presente
      Acordo .

      So apliecinot Pilvarotás personas ir paralesti ju¿as doto lígumu .

      Hecho en Bruselas, el once de mayo de mil novecientos noventa y dos .

      Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den ellevte maj nitten hundrede og tooghalvfems .

      Geschehen zu Brüssel am elften Mai neunzehnhundertzweiundneunzig.

      Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις ένδεκα Μάιου χίλια εννιακόσια εννενήντα δύο.

      Done at Brussels on the eleventh day of May in the year one thousand nine hundred and
      ninety-two .

      Fait à Bruxelles, le onze mai mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-douze.

      Fatto a Bruxelles, addì undici maggio millenovecentonovantadue .

      Gedaan te Brussel , de elfde mei negentienhonderd tweeënnegentig.

      Feito em Bruxelas, em onze de Maio de mil novecentos e noventa e dois .

      Noslegts Briselé, 1992.gada ll.maijà.
 ---pagebreak--- Il /Vol . 20                           Europeiska gemenskapernas officiella tidning   115

               Por la Comunidad Económica Europea

               For Det Europæiske Økonomiske Fællesskab

               Für die Europäische Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft

               Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Οικονομική Κοινότητα

               For the European Economic Community

               Pour la Communauté économique européenne

               Per la Comunità economica europea

               Voor de Europese Economische Gemeenschap

               Pela Comunidade Económica Europeia

               Eiropas Ekonomiskas Kopienas vãrdã

               Por la República de Letónia

               For Republikken Letland

               Für die Republik Letdand

               Για τη Δημοκρατία της Λεττονίας

               For the Republic of Latvia

               Pour la republique de Lettonie

               Per la Repubblica di Lettonia

               Voor de Republiek Letland

               Pela República da Letónia

               Latviias Republikas vãrdã