EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 8.6.2022
COM(2022) 255 final
ANNEX
to the
Proposal for a Council Decision
on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications established by the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part, as regards the adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications
ANNEX
DECISION No … OF THE EU‑ARMENIA
SUB-COMMITTEE ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
adopting its Rules of Procedure
THE EU‑ARMENIA SUB‑COMMITTEE ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS,
Having regard to the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part (“the Agreement”), and in particular Article 240 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Pursuant to Article 240 of the Agreement, the Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications is to monitor the implementation of the Agreement in the field of geographical indications and is to serve as a means to intensify the cooperation and dialogue on geographical indications.
(2)According to Article 240(2) of the Agreement, the Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications may adopt decisions.
(3)Pursuant to Article 240(2) of the Agreement, the Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications is to determine its own rules of procedure,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The Rules of Procedure of the Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications, as set out in the Annex, are hereby adopted.
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Done at Brussels,
For the Sub‑Committee on Geographical Indications
The Chair
ANNEX
Rules of Procedure of the EU‑Armenia Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications
Article 1
General provisions
1.The Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications (“the Sub-Committee”), established in accordance with Article 240 of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part (“the Agreement”) shall assist the Partnership Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 363(7) of the Agreement, in the performance of its functions.
2.The Sub-Committee shall perform its functions as set out in Article 240 of the Agreement.
3.The Sub-Committee shall be composed of representatives of the European Commission and of the Republic of Armenia, responsible for matters relating to geographical indications.
4.The Parties shall each appoint a Head of Delegation who shall be the contact person for all matters relating to the Sub-Committee.
5.The Heads of Delegation shall act as Chair of the Sub-Committee in accordance with Article 2.
6.Each Head of Delegation may delegate all or any of the functions of Head of Delegation to a nominated deputy, in which case all references hereafter to the Head of Delegation apply equally to the nominated deputy.The Head of Delegation notifies the Secretariat of the Sub-Committee about the nomination.
7.The Parties in these Rules of Procedure shall be defined as provided for in Article 382 of the Agreement.
Article 2
Chairmanship
The Parties shall hold the chairmanship of the Sub-Committee, alternately, for a period of 12 months. The first period shall begin on the date of the first Partnership Council meeting and end on 31 December of the same year.
Article 3
Meetings
1.The Sub-Committee shall meet once a year, unless the Chairs decide otherwise, or at the request of either Party, alternately in the European Union and in the Republic of Armenia, at a time and a place and in a manner, which may include by videoconference, agreed by the Parties, but no later than 90 days after the request.
2.Each meeting of the Sub-Committee shall be convened by its Chair. The notice of convening the meeting shall be issued by the Secretariat of the Sub-Committee no later than 28 calendar days prior to the start of the meeting, unless the Parties agree otherwise.
3.Whenever possible, the regular meeting of the Sub-Committee shall be convened in due time in advance of the regular meeting of the Partnership Committee in Trade configuration.
Article 4
Delegations
Before each meeting, the Parties shall be informed, by the Secretariat of the Sub-Committee, of the intended composition of the delegation of each Party attending the meeting.
Article 5
Secretariat
1.An official of the European Commission and an official of the Republic of Armenia shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Sub-Committee, as appointed by the Heads of Delegations, and shall execute secretarial tasks in a joint manner, in a spirit of mutual trust and cooperation.
2.The Secretariat of the Partnership Committee in Trade configuration shall be informed of any decisions, reports and other agreed actions of the Sub-Committee.
Article 6
Correspondence
1.Correspondence addressed to the Sub-Committee shall be directed to the Secretary of either Party, who in turn will inform the other Secretary.
2.The Secretariat of the Sub-Committee shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Sub-Committee is forwarded to the Chair of the Sub-Committee and circulated, where appropriate, as documents referred to in Article 7.
3.Correspondence from the Chair shall be sent to the Parties by the Secretariat on behalf of the Chair. Such correspondence shall be circulated, where appropriate, as provided for in Article 7.
Article 7
Documents
1.Documents shall be circulated by the Secretaries of the Sub-Committee.
2.A Party shall transmit its documents to its Secretary. The Secretary shall transmit those documents to the Secretary of the other Party.
3.The Secretary of the Union shall circulate the documents to the relevant representatives of the Union and shall systematically copy the Secretary of the Republic of Armenia and the Secretaries of the Partnership Committee in Trade configuration in such correspondence.
4.The Secretary of the Republic of Armenia shall circulate the documents to the relevant representatives of the Republic of Armenia and shall systematically copy the Secretary of the Union and the Secretaries of the Partnership Committee in Trade configuration in such correspondence.
Article 8
Confidentiality
Unless otherwise decided by the Parties, the meetings of the Sub-Committee shall not be public. When a Party submits information designated as confidential to the Sub-Committee, the other Party shall treat that information as such.
Article 9
Agenda
1.A provisional agenda for each meeting as well as draft operational conclusions as provided for in Article 10 shall be drawn up by the Secretariat of the Sub-Committee on the basis of proposals made by the Parties. The provisional agenda shall include items in respect of which the Secretariat has received a request for inclusion in the agenda by a Party, supported by relevant documents, no later than 21 calendar days before the date of the meeting.
2.The provisional agenda, together with the relevant documents, shall be circulated as provided for in Article 7 no later than 15 calendar days before the beginning of the meeting.
3.Subject to Article 8 of these Rules of Procedure, provisional agendas of the meetings shall be made public, if possible 10 calendar days before the meeting takes place.
4.The agenda shall be adopted by the Chair and the other Head of Delegation at the beginning of each meeting. Items other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the Parties so agree.
5.The Chair of the Sub-Committee may invite representatives of other bodies of the Parties or, upon agreement of the other Party, independent experts in a subject area on an ad‑hoc basis to attend its meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects. The Parties shall ensure that those observers or experts respect any confidentiality requirements.
6.The Chair of the Sub-Committee may reduce the time‑limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2, in consultation with the Parties, in order to take account of special circumstances.
Article 10
Minutes and operational conclusions
1.Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up jointly by the Secretaries of the Sub-Committee.
2.The minutes shall, as a general rule, include in respect of each item on the agenda:
(a)a list of the participants in the meeting, a list of officials accompanying them and a list of any observers or experts who attended the meeting;
(b)documentation submitted to the Sub-Committee;
(c)statements which the Sub-Committee has asked to be entered in the minutes; and
(d)operational conclusions of the meeting, if necessary, as provided for in paragraph 4.
3.The draft minutes shall be submitted to the Sub-Committee for approval. They shall be approved within 28 calendar days after each Sub-Committee meeting. A copy shall be sent to each of the addressees referred to in Article 7. Without prejudice to Article 8 of these Rules of Procedure, the Parties shall publish the approved minutes, which will include, as a general rule, the final agenda and a summary of the discussion under each agenda point as soon as possible upon approval.
4.Draft operational conclusions of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretary of the Sub-Committee of the Party holding the chairmanship of the Sub-Committee, and circulated to the Parties together with the agenda, no later than 15 calendar days before the beginning of the meeting. That draft shall be updated as the meeting proceeds so that at the end of the meeting, unless agreed otherwise by the Parties, the Sub-Committee adopts the operational conclusions, reflecting the follow‑up actions agreed by the Parties. Once agreed, the operational conclusions shall be attached to the minutes and their implementation shall be reviewed during any subsequent meeting of the Sub-Committee. To that end the Sub-Committee shall adopt a template, allowing for each action to be tracked against a specific deadline.
Article 11
Decisions
1.The Sub‑Committee shall have the power to adopt decisions in the cases provided for in Article 240(3) of the Agreement. The Sub-Committee shall adopt decisions by consensus, as provided for in Article 240(2) of the Agreement. They shall be binding upon the Parties, which shall take appropriate measures to implement them.
2.Each decision shall be authenticated by the Chair of the Sub‑Committee.
3.The Sub‑Committee may take decisions or adopt reports by written procedure, after completion of the respective internal procedures, if the Parties so agree. The written procedure shall consist of an exchange of notes between the Secretaries, acting in agreement with the Parties. For that purpose, the text of the proposal shall be circulated pursuant to Article 7, with a time‑limit of no less than 21 calendar days within which any reservations or amendments shall be made known. The Chair may reduce that time‑limit, in consultation with the Parties, in order to take account of special circumstances. The draft decisions shall be deemed adopted once the other Party expresses its agreement and shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Committee.
4.The acts of the Sub‑Committee shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Report’ respectively. Each decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption unless the decision provides otherwise.
5.The decisions shall be circulated to the Parties.
6.Each Party may decide on the publication of the decisions of the Sub‑Committee in its respective official publication.
Article 12
Reports
The Sub‑Committee shall report to the Partnership Committee in Trade configuration on its activities at each regular meeting of the latter.
Article 13
Languages
1.The working languages of the Sub‑Committee shall be English and Armenian. Parties may decide however to hold meetings only in English.
2.Unless otherwise decided, the Sub‑Committee shall base its deliberations on documentation prepared in those languages.
3.The Sub-Committee shall adopt decisions concerning the amendment or interpretation of the Agreement in the languages of the authentic text of the Agreement. All other decisions of the Sub-Committee shall be adopted in the working languages referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 14
Expenses
1.Each Party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Sub‑Committee, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regards to postal and telecommunications expenditure.
2.Expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.
3.Expenditure in connection with interpreting at meetings and translation of documents into or from English and Armenian as referred to in Article 13(1) shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.
Article 15
Amendment of Rules of Procedure
These Rules of Procedure may be amended by a decision of the Sub‑Committee in accordance with Article 240(2) of the Agreement.
