DECISION No 1/2008 OF THE EC-MONTENEGRO INTERIM COMMITTEE

of 22 January 2008

on its Rules of Procedure including the terms of reference and structure of the EC-Montenegro subcommittees

(2008/128/EC)

THE EC-MONTENEGRO INTERIM COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Interim Agreement on trade and trade related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other part (1) (hereinafter referred to as the Interim Agreement), signed on 15 October 2007, and in particular Article 44 thereof,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Chairmanship

The Interim Committee shall be chaired alternately, for periods of 12 months, by a representative of the Commission of the European Communities (hereinafter referred to as European Commission) on behalf of the European Community (hereinafter referred to as the Community), and a representative of the Government of Montenegro. However, the first period shall begin on the date of the first Interim Committee meeting and end on 31 December of the same year.

Article 2

Meetings

The Interim Committee shall meet regularly once a year in Brussels or Podgorica as agreed by both Parties. Special meetings of the Interim Committee may be convened by mutual agreement at the request of either Party.

The meetings shall be convened by the Chairman.

Unless otherwise agreed, the meetings of the Interim Committee shall not be public.

Article 3

Delegations

Before each meeting, the Chairman shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegation of each Party.

A representative of the European Investment Bank (EIB) may attend the meetings of the Interim Committee, as an observer, when matters which concern the EIB appear on the agenda.

The Interim Committee may invite non-members to attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects.

The Member States of the Community shall be informed about the meetings of the Interim Committee.

Article 4

Secretariat

An official of the European Commission and an official of Montenegro shall act jointly as Secretaries of the Interim Committee.

Article 5

Correspondence

All correspondence to and from the Chairman of the Interim Committee shall be forwarded to both Secretaries. The two Secretaries shall ensure that correspondence is circulated, where appropriate, to their respective representatives in the Interim Committee.

Article 6

Agenda of the meetings

1.   The Chairman and the Secretaries shall draw up a provisional agenda for each meeting not later than 15 working days before the beginning of the meeting.

The provisional agenda shall include the items in respect of which a request for inclusion has been received by the Secretaries not later than 21 working days before the beginning of the meeting, save that items shall not be written into the provisional agenda unless the supporting documentation has been forwarded to the Secretaries not later than the date of dispatch of the provisional agenda.

The agenda shall be adopted by the Interim Committee at the beginning of each meeting. Items other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be included in the agenda if the two Parties so agree.

2.   The Chairman may, in agreement with the two Parties, shorten the time limits specified in paragraph 1 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

Article 7

Minutes

Draft minutes of each Interim Committee meeting shall be drawn up by the Party hosting the meeting. They shall indicate the decisions and recommendations taken and the conclusions adopted. Within the two months following the meeting, the draft minutes shall be submitted to the Interim Committee for approval. When approved, the minutes shall be signed by the Chairman and the two Secretaries and one original copy shall be filed by each of the Parties. A copy of the minutes shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 5.

Article 8

Deliberations

The Interim Committee shall take its decisions and formulate its recommendations by mutual agreement between the Parties.

During the inter-session period, the Interim Committee may take decisions or make recommendations by written procedure if both Parties so agree.

The decisions and recommendations of the Interim Committee within the meaning of Article 45 of the Interim Agreement shall be entitled respectively ‘Decision’ and ‘Recommendation’ and followed by a serial number, by the date of their adoption and by a description of their subject.

The decisions and recommendations of the Interim Committee shall be signed by the Chairman and authenticated by the two Secretaries.

The decisions taken by the Interim Committee shall be published by the Parties in their respective official publications. Each Party may decide on the publication of any other act adopted by the Interim Committee.

Article 9

Languages

The official languages of the Interim Committee shall be the official languages of the two Parties.

Unless otherwise decided, the Interim Committee shall base its deliberations on documentation prepared in those languages.

Article 10

Expenses

The Community and Montenegro shall each defray the expenses they incur by reason of their participation in the meetings of the Interim Committee and of subcommittees, both in respect of staff, travelling and subsistence expenditure and of postal and telecommunications costs.

Expenditure in connection with interpretation, translation and reproduction of documents at meetings as well as any other expenditure relating to the material organisation of meetings shall be borne by the Party hosting the meetings.

Article 11

Subcommittees

The terms of reference and the structure of the sub-committees set up to assist the Interim Committee in carrying out its duties are set out in the Annex.

The subcommittees shall be composed of representatives of both Parties. They shall be chaired alternately by the two Parties, in accordance with Article 1.

The subcommittees shall work under the authority of the Interim Committee, to which they shall report after each of their meetings. They shall not take decisions but may make recommendations to the Interim Committee.

The Interim Committee may decide to abolish any existing subcommittee, modify its terms of reference or establish new subcommittees to assist it in carrying out its duties.

(1)  OJ L 345, 28.12.2007, p. 2.