Article 1 Scope and principles
1. The Parties shall encourage, develop and facilitate cooperative activities between the Community and Egypt in fields of common interest where they are pursuing research and development activities in science and technology. 2. Cooperative activities shall be conducted on the basis of the following principles: — promotion of a knowledge-based society to foster the social and economic development of both Parties; — mutual benefit based on an overall balance of advantages; — reciprocal access to the activities of research programmes and projects undertaken by each Party; — timely exchange of information which may affect cooperative activities; — appropriate exchange and protection of intellectual property rights.
Article 2 Means of cooperation
1. Legal entities established in Egypt, as defined in Annex I, including either physical persons or private or public moral persons, shall participate in indirect actions of the Community’s Framework programme for research and technological development and demonstration activities (hereinafter referred to as the ‘EC Framework programme’) under the same conditions as those applicable to legal entities of Member States of the European Union, subject to the terms and conditions established by, or referred to in, Annexes I and II. 2. Legal entities established in the Member States of the Community shall participate in Egypt’s research programmes and projects in themes equivalent to those of the EC Framework programme under the same conditions as those applicable to legal entities of Egypt, subject to the terms and conditions established by, or referred to in, Annexes I and II. 3. Cooperation may also take the following forms and means: — regular discussions on the guidelines and priorities for research policies and planning in Egypt and the Community, — discussions on cooperation prospects and development, — timely provision of information concerning the implementation of programmes and research projects of Egypt and of the Community, and concerning the results of work undertaken within the framework of this Agreement, — joint meetings, — visits and exchanges of research workers, engineers and technicians, including for training purposes, — exchanges and sharing of equipment and materials, — regular and sustained contacts between programme or project managers of Egypt and the Community, — participation of experts in seminars, symposia and workshops, — exchanges of information on practices, laws, regulations, and programmes relevant to cooperation under this Agreement, — research and technological development training, — reciprocal access to scientific and technologic information in the scope of this cooperation, — any other modality adopted by the EC-Egypt Joint Scientific and Technical Cooperation Committee, as defined in Article 4, and deemed to be in accordance with the policies and procedures applicable in both Parties.
Article 3 Enhancement of cooperation
1. The Parties shall make every effort, within the framework of their applicable legislation, to facilitate the free movement and residence of research workers participating in the activities covered by this Agreement and to facilitate cross-border movement of goods intended for use in such activities. 2. Where, in accordance with its own rules, the Community unilaterally grants funding to a legal entity of Egypt participating in a Community indirect action, Egypt shall ensure that no charge or levy is imposed upon that transaction.
Article 4 Management of the Agreement
1. The coordination and facilitation of activities under this Agreement shall be accomplished on behalf of Egypt by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and on behalf of the Community by the services of the Commission of the European Communities in charge of the Framework programme, acting as executive agents of the Parties (hereinafter referred to as ‘Executive Agents’). 2. The Executive Agents shall establish a joint committee called ‘EC-Egypt Joint Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Joint Committee’), whose functions shall include: — ensuring, evaluating and reviewing the implementation of this Agreement, as well as amending the Annexes thereto or adopting new ones to take into consideration developments in the Parties’ scientific policies, subject to the fulfilment by each of the Parties of its internal procedures for that purpose, — identifying, on an annual basis, potential sectors where cooperation should be developed and improved, and examining any measure to that end, — regularly discussing the future orientations and priorities of research policies and research planning in Egypt and the Community and the prospects for future cooperation within this Agreement. 3. The Joint Committee, which shall be composed of representatives of the Executive Agents, shall adopt its rules of procedure. 4. The Joint Committee shall meet at least once a year, alternately in the Community and in Egypt. Extraordinary meetings shall be held at the request of one or other of the Parties. The conclusions and recommendations of the Joint Committee will be sent for information to the Association Committee of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement between the European Union and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Article 5 Financing
The reciprocal participations in research activities under this Agreement shall be set according to the conditions defined in Annex I and shall be subject to legislation, regulations, policies and conditions of implementation of the programmes in force on the territory of each Party.
Article 6 Dissemination and use of the results and information
The dissemination and use of the achieved and/or exchanged results as well as those of information, management, allocation and exercise of intellectual property rights resulting from the research activities undertaken under this Agreement shall be subject to the conditions provided for in Annex II.
Article 7 Final provisions
1. Annexes I and II shall form an integral part of this Agreement. All questions or disputes related to the interpretation or implementation of this Agreement shall be settled by mutual agreement of the Parties. 2. This Agreement shall enter into force when the Parties have notified each other of the completion of their internal procedures for its conclusion. Pending the completion by the Parties of their internal procedures for its conclusion, the Parties shall provisionally apply this Agreement upon its signature. Should one Party notify the other that it will not conclude the Agreement, it is hereby mutually agreed that projects and activities launched under this provisional application and that are still in progress at the time of the abovementioned notification shall continue until their completion under the conditions laid down in this Agreement. 3. Either of the Parties may terminate this Agreement at any time upon 12 months’ notice. Projects and activities in progress at the time of termination of this Agreement shall continue until their completion under the conditions laid down in this Agreement. 4. Should one of the Parties decide to amend its research programmes and projects referred to in Article 1(1), that Party’s Executive Agent shall notify the other Party’s Executive Agent of the precise content of the amendments in question. By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, this Agreement may be terminated under mutually agreed conditions should either of the Parties notify the other within one month after the adoption of the amendments referred to in the first subparagraph of its intention to terminate this Agreement. 5. This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territory of the Arab Republic of Egypt. This shall not prevent the conduct of cooperative activities on the high seas, in outer space or in the territory of third countries, in accordance with international law. 6. This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Arabic languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.