WHEREAS the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lebanon, of the other part (1) (‘the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement’), which entered into force on 1 April 2006, provides for scientific, technical and technological cooperation;

WHEREAS Decision (EU) 2017/1324 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) regulates the terms and conditions for the participation of the Member States of the Union and third countries associated to Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2014-2020 ‘Horizon 2020’) which are Participating States of the initiative, in particular their financial obligations and participation in the governing structures of the initiative;

WHEREAS in accordance with Decision (EU) 2017/1324 Lebanon is to become a Participating State in the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (‘PRIMA’) subject to the conclusion of an international agreement for scientific and technological cooperation with the Union setting out the terms and conditions for the participation of Lebanon in PRIMA;

WHEREAS Lebanon expressed its wish to join PRIMA as a Participating State and on an equal footing with the Member States of the Union and third countries associated to Horizon 2020 participating in PRIMA;

WHEREAS an international agreement between the Union and Lebanon is needed to regulate the rights and obligations of Lebanon as a Participating State in PRIMA;

WHEREAS full cooperation and coordination between competent authorities of both Parties is essential for implementation of this Agreement,

Article 1

The purpose of this Agreement is to set out the terms and conditions for the participation of Lebanon in the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (‘PRIMA’).

Article 2

The terms and conditions for the participation of Lebanon in PRIMA shall be those set out in Decision (EU) 2017/1324. The Parties shall comply with the obligations established by Decision (EU) 2017/1324 and take appropriate measures, in particular by providing all necessary assistance in order to ensure the application of Article 10(2) and Article 11(3) and (4) of that Decision. The detailed arrangements for assistance shall be agreed between the Parties, such arrangements being essential to their cooperation under this Agreement.

Article 3

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are applied and, on the other, to the territory of Lebanon.

Article 4

This Agreement shall be applied on a provisional basis from the date of its signature.

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

The dispute settlement procedure provided for in Article 82 of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement shall apply to all disputes related to the application or interpretation of this Agreement.

This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Arabic languages, each text being equally authentic.