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Document 22024A01414
Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and derived products to the European Union (FLEGT)
Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and derived products to the European Union (FLEGT)
Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and derived products to the European Union (FLEGT)
ST/12902/2023/INIT
OJ L, 2024/1414, 27.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree/2024/1414/oj (BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, GA, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
Date of entry into force unknown (pending notification) or not yet in force.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree/2024/1414/oj
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Official Journal |
EN L series |
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2024/1414 |
27.5.2024 |
Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and derived products to the European Union (FLEGT)
THE EUROPEAN UNION, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Union’,
and
THE REPUBLIC OF CÔTE D'IVOIRE, hereinafter referred to as ‘Côte d'Ivoire’;
hereinafter referred to individually as a ‘Party’ and collectively as ‘the Parties’,
CONSIDERING the close cooperation between the Union and Côte d'Ivoire, in particular under the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 and revised in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005, and the stepping-stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Côte d'Ivoire, of the one part, and the European Community and their Member States, of the other part, signed in Abidjan on 26 November 2008 and in Brussels on 22 January 2009;
CONSIDERING the Communication from the European Commission to the Council of the European Union and to the European Parliament on ‘Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) — Proposal for an EU Action Plan’ of 21 May 2003 as a first step towards tackling the urgent issue of illegal logging and associated trade;
SEIZED of the importance of the principles set out in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of 3-14 June 1992, and in particular Principle 10 on the importance of access to information, public awareness and public participation in environmental issues, Principle 20 on the vital role of women in environmental management and development, and Principle 22 on the vital role of indigenous peoples and communities and other local communities in environmental management and development;
CONSIDERING the Non-Legally-Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests, also adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of 3-14 June 1992, and the Non-Legally-Binding Resolution on all types of forests, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 17 December 2007;
HAVING REGARD TO the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, adopted in Maputo on 11 July 2003;
HAVING REGARD TO the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and in particular the need for CITES export permits or certificates of origin issued by CITES parties for specimens of the tree species listed in Appendices II or III thereto;
REAFFIRMING the importance attached by the Parties to the principles and rules which govern multilateral trade, in particular the rights and obligations laid down in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and in other multilateral agreements listed in Annex 1A to the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) signed in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994, and the need to apply them in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner;
HAVING REGARD to Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 on the establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community (1);
RECOGNISING the contribution that implementing a FLEGT voluntary partnership agreement will make in combating climate change and to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including conservation, increasing carbon stocks and sustainable forest management (REDD+);
RECOGNISING the role of forests in mitigating the effects of climate change and recalling in this context the Paris Agreement adopted on 12 December 2015 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in particular Article 5 thereof on action to conserve and, where appropriate, enhance sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases, including forests;
REAFFIRMING the commitments to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030 contained in the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use, signed by the Parties at the World Climate Summit (COP26) held in Scotland from 31 October to 13 November 2021;
REAFFIRMING the Parties' commitment and determination as regards the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in particular the contribution that implementing a FLEGT voluntary partnership agreement will make to achieving Goals 5 and 15 on promoting, respectively, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as sustainable forest management, halting deforestation and adopting measures to tackle the issue of illegal wildlife products;
RECOGNISING the efforts made by Côte d'Ivoire to set up a legality verification system aimed at ensuring that all timber and timber products comply with the relevant legal framework and applicable to the domestic market and exports of timber and timber products from Côte d'Ivoire;
CONSIDERING the importance attached by the Parties to the participation of all relevant stakeholders, without discrimination, including civil society, the private sector and the local population, and to the success of forest governance policies, in particular by means of consultations and public information;
CONSIDERING Côte d'Ivoire's Forest Preservation, Rehabilitation and Extension Policy and the country's forest regulations aimed at preserving biodiversity, achieving 20 % forest cover by 2030, maintaining a favourable climate for the development of socio-economic and agricultural activities, and complying with Côte d'Ivoire's international commitments;
WHEREAS this Agreement constitutes one of the central pillars of the programme to improve forest governance in Côte d'Ivoire, chiefly as regards application of the Forestry Code, the Rural Land Act, the Labour Code, the Environment Code, customs and trade regulations, and other national and international regulations governing sustainable forest management and the timber trade;
WHEREAS Côte d'Ivoire's forestry legislation lays down rules on sustainable forest management and provides a framework conducive to implementing the Forest Preservation, Rehabilitation and Extension Policy;
WHEREAS international treaties on the environment and forestry ratified by Côte d'Ivoire form part of national legislation, which in turn forms the basis for formulating and implementing the country's forestry policy;
REAFFIRMING the Parties' principles of mutual respect, sovereignty, equality and non-discrimination and recognising the benefits arising from this Agreement;
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement,
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a) |
‘licensing authority’ shall mean the body designated or created by Côte d'Ivoire to issue and validate FLEGT licences; |
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b) |
‘FLEGT licence’ shall mean a document issued by Côte d'Ivoire, in paper or electronic form, certifying that timber or timber products from a shipment intended for export to the Union have been produced and verified in accordance with the regulations in force and with this Agreement; |
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c) |
‘competent authorities’ shall mean the authorities designated by the Member States of the Union to receive, verify and accept FLEGT licences; |
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d) |
‘timber and timber products’ shall mean the products listed in Annex I; |
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e) |
‘timber and timber products in transit’ shall mean any timber and timber products originating from a third country which enter the territory of Côte d'Ivoire under customs control and leave it in the same form and with the same country of origin, without having been processed or marketed; |
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f) |
‘legally produced timber’ shall mean timber and timber products harvested or imported in accordance with the legislation of Côte d'Ivoire listed in Annex II; in the case of imported timber, timber products harvested, produced and exported in accordance with the legislation of the country of harvest and the procedures described in Annex III; |
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g) |
‘HS code’ shall mean a code of up to six digits as set out in the nomenclature of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System established by the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of the World Customs Organization, done at Brussels on 14 June 1983, and the subsequent amendments thereto; |
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h) |
‘shipment’ shall mean a quantity of timber products covered by a FLEGT licence that is sent from Côte d'Ivoire by a consignor and is presented for release for free circulation at a customs office in the Union; |
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i) |
‘export’ shall mean the action of removing or having removed timber and timber products from the customs territory of Côte d'Ivoire; |
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j) |
‘import into the Union’ shall mean the release for free circulation into the Union within the meaning of Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 establishing the Union Customs Code (2), of timber products which cannot be classified as ‘goods of a non-commercial nature’ as defined in Article 1(21) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning certain provisions of the Union Customs Code (3); |
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k) |
‘release for free circulation’ shall mean a Union customs procedure which confers the customs status of Union goods on goods which are not from the Union in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. |
Article 2
Objective
1. The objective of this Agreement, in accordance with the joint commitment of the Parties to sustainably manage all types of forests, is to provide a legal framework to ensure that timber and timber products defined in Article 1, point (d) and imported into the Union from Côte d'Ivoire have been legally produced and to promote trade in said timber and timber products and implement the principle of sustainability.
2. This Agreement also provides a basis for dialogue and cooperation between the Parties aimed at facilitating and promoting its full implementation and at strengthening the enforcement of forest law and governance.
Article 3
FLEGT licensing scheme
1. A FLEGT licensing scheme shall be established between the Parties. The scheme shall lay down a set of procedures and requirements to verify and certify, by means of FLEGT licences, that timber and timber products shipped to the Union have been legally produced. In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 and with this Agreement, the Union shall not accept shipments from Côte d'Ivoire for import into the Union unless they are covered by FLEGT licences.
2. The FLEGT licensing scheme shall apply to the timber and timber products defined in Article 1, point (d).
3. The Parties shall agree to take all measures necessary to implement the FLEGT licensing scheme.
Article 4
Licensing authority
1. Côte d'Ivoire shall designate the licensing authority and send its contact details to the European Commission. The Parties shall make this information available to the public.
2. The licensing authority shall issue FLEGT licences covering shipments of timber produced legally produced in Côte d'Ivoire and intended for export to the Union, in accordance with the procedures set out in Annex V.
3. The licensing authority shall issue FLEGT licences only for shipments of timber and timber products that have been subject to verification checks ascertaining their legality, as provided for in Article 8.
4. In accordance with the principle of transparency, the licensing authority shall record and make public its procedures for issuing FLEGT licences. It shall also retain the records of all shipments covered by FLEGT licences and, in accordance with national data-protection legislation, make these records available for the purposes of independent audits, as provided for in Article 10 of this Agreement, and independent monitoring, as provided for in Annex III.
Article 5
Competent authorities
1. The European Commission shall provide Côte d'Ivoire with the contact details of the competent authorities. The Parties shall make this information available to the public.
2. The competent authorities shall verify that each shipment is covered by a valid FLEGT licence before releasing that shipment for free circulation in the Union. The release of the shipment may be suspended and the shipment may be held if there are doubts regarding the validity of the FLEGT licence.
3. The competent authorities shall maintain and publish annually a record of FLEGT licences received.
4. In accordance with national legislation on data protection, the competent authorities shall grant the independent auditor designated by Côte d'Ivoire access to the relevant documents and data.
5. When timber and timber products from species listed in the Appendices to the CITES and covered by a FLEGT licence enter the Union, they shall undergo only the examination laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (4). Whatever the case, the FLEGT licence scheme provides assurance of the legal harvesting of these products.
Article 6
FLEGT licences
1. FLEGT licences shall be issued by the licensing authority as a means of attesting that timber products have been legally produced.
2. FLEGT licences shall be issued using the form given in Appendix 1 to Annex V. They shall be written in French.
3. The Parties may, by common agreement, establish electronic systems for the issuing, transmission and receipt of FLEGT licences.
4. The procedure for issuing FLEGT licences and the technical specifications for FLEGT licences are set out in Annex V.
Article 7
Legally produced timber
For the purposes of this Agreement, a definition of ‘legally produced timber’ is given in Article 1(f), and more precise information in given in Annex II. That Annex describes the Côte d'Ivoire legislation that must be complied with in order for timber and timber products to be covered by a FLEGT licence. That Annex also includes documentation containing the principles, criteria and indicators serving to prove compliance with such legislation.
Article 8
Verification of legally produced timber and timber products
1. Côte d'Ivoire shall set up a system for verifying that timber and timber products intended for shipment have been legally produced and that only shipments verified as such are exported to the Union (‘legality verification system’ or ‘LVS’). The LVS shall include compliance checks and procedures to ensure that no timber of illegal or unknown origin enters the supply chain. By means of this system, Côte d'Ivoire also verifies the legality of imported timber and timber products.
2. The LVS is described in Annex III.
Article 9
Release for free circulation of shipments covered by a FLEGT licence
1. The procedures governing release for free circulation in the Union for shipments covered by a FLEGT licence are described in Annex IV.
2. Where the competent authorities have reasonable grounds to suspect that a FLEGT licence is not valid or authentic or does not conform to the shipment it purports to cover, the competent authority concerned shall apply the procedures described in Annex IV.
3. Where persistent disagreements or difficulties arise in consultations concerning FLEGT licences, they may be referred to the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) established pursuant to Article 19.
Article 10
Independent auditor
1. The Parties shall agree on the need to call on the services of an independent auditor at agreed intervals to check the performance and efficiency of the Côte d'Ivoire LVS, as defined in Annex VI.
2. Côte d'Ivoire shall engage the services of an independent auditor, in consultation with the Union, to perform the tasks listed in Annex VI.
3. The independent auditor shall submit their observations to the Parties by means of reports, in accordance with the procedure described in Annex VI. Reports of the independent auditor shall be published in accordance with the procedure set out in Annex VI.
4. The Parties shall facilitate the work of the independent auditor, in particular by ensuring that the auditor has access to the information necessary for the performance of their functions. However, the Parties may, in accordance with its legislation on data protection, withhold any information that they is not permitted to disclose.
Article 11
Irregularities
The Parties shall inform each other in writing, in accordance with Article 21 of this Agreement, if they suspect or have found evidence of any circumvention or irregularity in the FLEGT licensing scheme, including in relation to the following:
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a) |
fraudulent trade, in particular the diversion of trade from Côte d'Ivoire to the Union via a third country where there is reason to believe that this is done with the intention of avoiding licensing; |
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b) |
FLEGT licences covering timber and timber products which contain timber from third countries and are suspected of being illegally produced; |
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c) |
fraud in obtaining or using FLEGT licences. |
Article 12
Start-up date for implementation of the FLEGT licensing scheme
1. The Parties shall notify each other via the JIC when they consider they have made the necessary preparations for the FLEGT licensing scheme to become fully operational.
2. The Parties shall commission an independent assessment of the FLEGT licensing scheme on the basis of the criteria set out in Annex VII. The independent assessment shall determine whether the LVS underpinning the FLEGT licensing scheme is adequately fulfilling its functions.
3. On the basis of the recommendations of the JIC, the Parties shall agree on a start date for the FLEGT licensing scheme.
4. The Parties shall notify each other of that date in writing, in accordance with Article 21 of this Agreement.
Article 13
Application of the LVS to timber and timber products not exported to the Union
By means of the LVS, Côte d'Ivoire shall endeavour to verify the legality of timber and timber products for both domestic consumption and export to markets other than the Union.
Article 14
Timetable for implementation
1. The Parties shall approve, via the JIC, a timetable for implementing this Agreement.
2. The JIC shall assess the progress made in the implementation of this Agreement against the agreed timetable.
Article 15
Support measures
1. The areas where support measures, including additional technical and financial resources, are needed to implement this Agreement and to address the causes and drivers of illegal logging are indicated in Annex VIII.
2. Côte d'Ivoire shall ensure that the implementation of this Agreement is integrated into its national planning instruments and national budget.
3. The Parties shall ensure that activities associated with the implementation of this Agreement are coordinated with existing and future development programmes and initiatives, in particular those related to REDD+.
4. All resources necessary for the implementation of this Agreement shall be made available in accordance with the procedures of the Union and its Member States governing programming cooperation with Côte d'Ivoire and with Côte d'Ivoire's budgetary procedures.
Article 16
Stakeholder involvement
1. Côte d'Ivoire shall involve its relevant stakeholders in the implementation of this Agreement, including civil society organisations, private-sector businesses and trade unions, and local populations, via the traditional authorities.
2. Côte d'Ivoire shall ensure that this Agreement is implemented and monitored in a transparent manner, with the participation of the relevant stakeholders.
3. The Parties shall ensure the gender aspect is taken into account, in particular as regards greater acknowledgement of the role of women and girls in forest governance and in the implementation of this Agreement.
4. The Union shall hold regular consultations with stakeholders on the implementation of this Agreement, taking into account its obligations under the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters of 1998, signed in Aarhus on 25 June 1998.
Article 17
Social safeguards
1. In order to minimise potential adverse effects on the stakeholders listed in Article 16(1), including local populations, the Parties hereby agree to assess the impact of this Agreement on their way and conditions of life.
2. The Parties shall monitor the impact of this Agreement on the stakeholders listed in Article 16(1), including local populations, taking reasonable and appropriate steps to mitigate any adverse effects. The Parties may agree on additional measures to address any adverse effects, on the basis of a method of assessing this Agreement agreed upon by the Parties.
Article 18
Market-related incentives
Taking into account their international obligations, the Union shall promote favourable access to its market for timber and timber products, including via the promotion of public and private procurement policies that acknowledge efforts to ensure a supply of legal timber products.
Article 19
Joint Implementation Committee
1. In order to ensure the governance of this Agreement, the Parties shall establish a Joint Implementation Committee (JIC). The specific functions and tasks of the JIC shall include managing, monitoring and assessing this Agreement and fostering dialogue and exchange of information between the Parties. These functions and tasks are described in Annex X.
2. The JIC shall be established within three months of the entry into force of this Agreement. To this end, each Party shall designate its representatives at the JIC. The JIC shall make its decisions by consensus. It shall be co-chaired by two senior officials, one appointed by each Party.
3. The JIC shall establish its rules of procedure.
4. The JIC shall meet at least twice a year in the first two years and at least once per year thereafter, on a date and with an agenda agreed in advance by the Parties. Additional meetings may be convened at the request of either of the Parties.
5. The JIC shall ensure that its work is transparent and that information about their work and decisions are made available to the public.
6. The JIC shall publish an annual report. The information to be included in that report are given in Annex IX.
Article 20
Transparency and access to public information
1. In order to improve governance, provision of information to stakeholders shall be central to this Agreement. Information shall be published regularly to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of the FLEGT licensing scheme, increase transparency and improve stakeholder and consumer confidence, and ensure that the Parties are accountable. Details of the information to be published are set out in Annex IX.
2. Each Party shall put in place the most appropriate communication mechanisms (including online means and the media, publishing documents or reports, organising workshops) to pass information on the public.
3. In particular, the Parties commit to give the various stakeholders reliable, relevant and up-to-date information.
4. In accordance with their respective legislation, the Parties agree not to disclose confidential information exchanged under this Agreement. Neither Party shall disclose to the public any information exchanged under this Agreement concerning trade secrets or confidential commercial information, nor permit its authorities or the staff or contractors of those authorities to disclose such information.
Article 21
Communication on implementation
1. The representatives of the Parties responsible for official communications concerning the implementation of this Agreement shall be:
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— |
for the European Union, the Head of the European Union Delegation in Côte d'Ivoire; |
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for Côte d'Ivoire: the Minister for Forestry. |
2. The Parties shall communicate the information necessary for implementing this Agreement to each other in a timely manner.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to communicate with the public in a coordinated and non-contradictory manner on the interpretation and implementation of this Agreement.
Article 22
Territorial application
This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply, under the conditions laid down in those Treaties, and, on the other, to the territory of Côte d'Ivoire.
Article 23
Consultations and mediation
1. The Parties shall at all times endeavour to agree on the interpretation and implementation of this Agreement. In the event of disagreement or conflict, the Parties shall endeavour to find solutions through consultation and mediation.
2. A party wishing to launch a consultation process shall notify the other Party and the JIC in writing of its request, specifying the subject matter and summarising the reasons.
3. The consultation process shall start within 40 days and shall be deemed to be concluded within 90 days of the date on which the request for a consultation process was submitted, unless the Parties agree otherwise. However, in urgent cases, either Party may ask for a consultation process be launched within 5 days and concluded within 30 days of the request, unless the Parties agree otherwise.
4. If a consultation process does not lead to a mutually agreed resolution of the disagreement or conflict, the Parties may agree to call upon the services of a mediator. Notwithstanding any such request, either Party may refer the matter to arbitration directly.
5. The Parties shall agree on the selection of a mediator within 15 days of reaching agreement on the mediation request. The mediator shall receive submissions from the Parties and agree on a mediation session. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, within 60 days of their being selected, the mediator shall submit to both Parties an opinion on resolving the disagreement or conflict in accordance with this Agreement.
6. The mediator's opinion shall not be legally binding.
Article 24
Arbitration
1. If the consultation procedure or, where applicable, mediation fails to lead to the resolution of the disagreement or conflict as provided for in Article 23, any dispute, difference of opinion or complaint arising from or relating to this Agreement or the existence, interpretation, implementation, non-performance, resolution or nullity thereof shall be resolved via arbitration in accordance with the arbitration rules of the Permanent Court of Arbitration of 2012.
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a) |
The number of arbitrators shall be three. |
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b) |
Arbitration shall take place in The Hague, Netherlands. |
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c) |
The language to be used in arbitration proceedings shall be French. |
2. Either Party may request the establishment of a court of arbitration by notifying the other Party and the Permanent Court of Arbitration of 2012 thereof in writing.
3. Rulings of the court of arbitration shall be legally binding on the Parties, who shall take all measures necessary to implement them in good faith.
4. Each Party shall inform the other Party and the JIC of the measures taken to implement the ruling of the court of arbitration. The JIC shall analyse the measures taken and, if necessary, may recommend additional or remedial measures to ensure that the ruling of the court of arbitration is complied with. Either Party may ask the court of arbitration to rule on compliance with its original arbitration ruling.
5. Le JIC shall establish arbitration procedures insofar as they may differ from the arbitration rules of the Permanent Court of Arbitration of 2012.
Article 25
Suspension
1. A Party wishing to suspend this Agreement shall notify the other Party in writing of its intention to do so, specifying the reasons. The matter shall subsequently be discussed by the Parties, taking into account the opinions of relevant stakeholders.
2. Either Party may suspend the implementation of this Agreement if the other Party:
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a) |
fails to fulfil its obligations under this Agreement; |
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b) |
fails to maintain the regulatory and administrative measures and means required to implement this Agreement; |
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c) |
acts or fails to act in a way that poses significant risks to the environment, health, safety or security of the people of either the Union or Côte d'Ivoire. |
3. The conditions of this Agreement shall cease to apply 30 calendar days after notification under paragraph 1 is given.
4. Application of this Agreement shall resume 30 calendar days after the Party that has suspended its application informs the other Party that the reasons for the suspension no longer apply.
Article 26
Amendments
1. A Party wishing to amend this Agreement shall submit a proposal to the other Party at least 90 calendar days before the next meeting of the JIC. The Committee shall discuss the proposal and, if a consensus is reached, make a recommendation. Each Party shall consider the recommendation and, if it is in agreement, inform the other Party in order to agree upon a date for signing the amendment. Once the amendment is signed, each Party shall adopt or ratify it in accordance with its own procedures.
2. Any amendment so adopted or ratified by the Parties shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which the Parties notify each other of the completion of the procedures necessary for this purpose.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, upon recommendation by the JIC and approval by the Parties, the JIC may adopt amendments to the Annexes to this Agreement.
4. Notification of any amendment shall be sent to the depository of this Agreement.
Article 27
Duration
This Agreement shall be valid for 10 years from its entry into force. It shall be automatically extended for consecutive periods of 10 years, unless a Party terminates it in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 28.
Article 28
Termination
Either Party may terminate this Agreement by giving written notification to the other Party. This Agreement shall cease to apply 12 months after the date of such notification.
Article 29
Annexes
The Annexes to this Agreement shall form an integral part thereof.
Article 30
Authentic Texts
This Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish, each language version being equally authentic. In the event of divergence, the French version shall prevail.
Article 31
Entry into force
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which the Parties give final notification in writing of completion of their respective procedures necessary for this purpose.
2. Notifications shall be sent to the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, who shall be the depository of this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, duly authorised to that effect, have signed this Agreement.
