ANNEX ISupplementary provisions
ANNEX I RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COOPERATION COUNCIL Article 1 General provisions 1. The Cooperation Council established in accordance with Article 268(1) of the Agreement shall perform its duties in accordance with Article 268 of the Agreement. 2. In accordance with Article 268(5) of the Agreement, the Cooperation Council shall be composed of representatives of the Parties. The composition of the Cooperation Council shall take into consideration the specific issues to be addressed at any given meeting. The Cooperation Council shall meet at ministerial level. 3. In accordance with Article 268(2) of the Agreement, and for the purpose of attaining the objectives thereof, the Cooperation Council shall have the power to take decisions that are binding upon the Parties. The Cooperation Council shall take appropriate measures for the implementation of its decisions, including, if necessary, by empowering specific bodies established under the Agreement to act on its behalf. The Cooperation Council may also make recommendations. It shall adopt its decisions and recommendations by agreement between the Parties after the completion of the respective internal procedures. The Cooperation Council may delegate its powers to the Cooperation Committee. 4. The Parties subject to these Rules of Procedure are those set out in Article 285 of the Agreement. Article 2 Chairmanship The Parties shall hold the chairmanship of the Cooperation Council, alternately, for a period of 12 months. The first period shall begin on the date of the first Cooperation Council meeting and end on 31 December of the same year. Article 3 Meetings 1. The Cooperation Council shall meet once a year and when circumstances require, by mutual agreement of the Parties. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, the Cooperation Council shall be held at the usual venue for meetings of the Council of the European Union. 2. Each meeting of the Cooperation Council shall be held at a date agreed by the Parties. 3. The meetings of the Cooperation Council shall be convened jointly by the secretaries of the Cooperation Council, in agreement with the chair of the Cooperation Council no later than 30 calendar days before the date of the meeting. Article 4 Representation 1. The members of the Cooperation Council may be represented if unable to attend. If a member wishes to be represented, he or she shall inform the chair of the Cooperation Council in writing of the name of his or her representative before the meeting. 2. The representative of a member of the Cooperation Council shall exercise all the rights of that member. Article 5 Delegations 1. The members of the Cooperation Council may be accompanied by officials. Before each meeting, the chair of the Cooperation Council shall be informed, through the secretariat of the Cooperation Council, of the intended composition of the delegation of each Party. 2. The Cooperation Council may, by agreement between the Parties, invite representatives of other bodies of the Parties or independent experts in a particular subject area to attend its meetings as observers or in order to provide information on particular subjects. The Parties shall agree on the terms and conditions under which those observers may attend the meetings. Article 6 Secretariat An official of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and an official of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall act jointly as secretaries of the Cooperation Council. Article 7 Correspondence 1. Correspondence addressed to the Cooperation Council shall be directed to either secretary of the Cooperation Council, who in turn will inform the other secretary. 2. The secretaries of the Cooperation Council shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Cooperation Council is forwarded to the chair of the Cooperation Council and circulated, where appropriate, to the members of the Cooperation Council. 3. Correspondence from the chair of the Cooperation Council shall be sent on his or her behalf to the addressees by the secretaries of the Cooperation Council. Such correspondence shall be circulated, where appropriate, to the members of the Cooperation Council. Article 8 Confidentiality Unless otherwise decided by the Parties, the meetings of the Cooperation Council shall be held in camera. When a Party submits information designated as confidential to the Cooperation Council, the other Party shall treat that information as such. Article 9 Agendas for meetings 1. The chair of the Cooperation Council shall draw up a provisional agenda for each meeting of the Cooperation Council. It shall be sent by the secretaries of the Cooperation Council to the addressees referred to in Article 7(3) no later than 15 calendar days before the meeting. The provisional agenda shall include the items proposed to the chair of the Cooperation Council for inclusion in the agenda no later than 21 calendar days before the meeting. Such items shall not be included in the provisional agenda unless the relevant supporting documents have been sent to the secretaries of the Cooperation Council before the date of dispatch of the agenda. 2. The agenda shall be adopted by the Cooperation Council at the start of each meeting. Any item other than those featuring on the provisional agenda may be added on the agenda if the Parties so agree. 3. The chair of the Cooperation Council may reduce, in consultation with the Parties, the periods of time provided for in paragraph 1 in order to take account of special circumstances. Article 10 Minutes 1. Draft minutes of each meeting of the Cooperation Council shall be drawn up jointly by the secretaries of the Cooperation Council. 2. The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate for each item on the agenda: (a) the documentation submitted to the Cooperation Council; (b) statements which a member of the Cooperation Council requested to be entered in the minutes; and (c) issues agreed upon by the Parties, such as decisions adopted, statements agreed upon and any conclusions. 3. The draft minutes shall be submitted to the Cooperation Council for approval. The Cooperation Council shall approve those draft minutes at its next meeting. Alternatively, those draft minutes may be approved in writing. Article 11 Decisions and recommendations 1. The Cooperation Council shall take decisions and make recommendations by mutual agreement between the Parties and on completion of their respective internal procedures. 2. The Cooperation Council may also take decisions or make recommendations by written procedure if the Parties so agree. For that purpose, the draft decision or recommendation shall be circulated in writing by the chair of the Cooperation Council to its members pursuant to Article 7(3) no later than 21 calendar days before the meeting. Members of the Cooperation Council shall make known any reservations or amendments they wish to make within that period of time. The chair of the Cooperation Council may reduce, in consultation with the Parties, the period of time in order to take account of the requirements of a particular circumstances. 3. The acts of the Cooperation Council, within the meaning of Article 268(2) of the Agreement, shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ respectively, followed by a serial number, the date of their adoption and a description of their subject matter. Those decisions and recommendations shall be signed by the chair of the Cooperation Council and authenticated by the secretaries of the Cooperation Council. Those decisions and recommendations shall be circulated pursuant to Article 7(3) of these Rules of Procedure. Each Party may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of the Cooperation Council in its respective official publication. 4. Each decision or recommendation of the Cooperation Council shall enter into force on the date of its adoption unless the decision or recommendation provides otherwise. Article 12 Languages 1. The official languages of the Cooperation Council shall be the official languages of the Parties. 2. The working languages of the Cooperation Council shall be English and Russian. Unless otherwise decided, the Cooperation Council shall base its deliberations on documentation prepared in those languages. Article 13 Expenses 1. Each Party shall meet any expenses which it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Cooperation Council, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure as well as postal and telecommunications expenditure. 2. Expenditure in connection with interpretation during meetings of the Cooperation Council, translation and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Union. 3. Other expenditure relating to the material organisation of meetings of the Cooperation Council shall be borne by the Party which hosts those meetings. Article 14 Cooperation Committee and specialised subcommittees 1. In accordance with Article 269(1) of the Agreement, the Cooperation Council shall be assisted in the performance of its duties by the Cooperation Committee in areas in which the Cooperation Council has delegated powers to it. In accordance with Article 269(2) of the Agreement, the Cooperation Committee shall be composed of representatives of the Parties, in principle at senior civil servant level. 2. The Cooperation Committee shall prepare the meetings and the deliberations of the Cooperation Council, implement the decisions of the Cooperation Council where appropriate and ensure continuity of the association relationship and the proper functioning of the Agreement in general. The Cooperation Committee shall consider any matter referred to it by the Cooperation Council as well as any other matter which may arise in the course of the implementation of the Agreement. The Cooperation Committee shall submit proposals or any draft decisions or recommendations to the Cooperation Council for its approval. In accordance with Article 268(4) of the Agreement, the Cooperation Council may delegate any of its powers to the Cooperation Committee, including the power to take binding decisions. 3. The Cooperation Committee shall take decisions and make recommendations for which it has been authorised under the Agreement. 4. In cases where the Agreement refers to an obligation to consult or a possibility of consultation or where the Parties decide by mutual agreement to consult each other, such consultation may take place within the Cooperation Committee, except as otherwise provided for in the Agreement. The consultation may continue in the Cooperation Council if the Parties so agree. 5. In accordance with Article 269(6) of the Agreement, the Cooperation Council may decide to set up specialised subcommittees or any other bodies that can assist it in carrying out its duties and shall determine the composition and duties of such subcommittees or bodies and how they shall function. 6. In accordance with Article 25(3) of the Agreement, the Cooperation Council shall establish a Subcommittee on Customs Cooperation. Article 15 Amendment of Rules of Procedure These Rules of Procedure may be amended in accordance with Article 11.