THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 14 and Articles 18(5) and 23(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)	On 17 October 2005, the Council adopted Joint Action 2005/724/CFSP (1) appointing the European Union Special Representative (EUSR) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

(2)	On 24 November 2005, the Council adopted Joint Action 2005/826/CFSP (2) on the establishment of an EU Police Advisory Team (EUPAT) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which designates a specific role for the EUSR in the chain of command.

(3)	On the basis of a review of Joint Action 2005/724/CFSP, the mandate of the EUSR should be amended and extended for a 12-month period,

HAS ADOPTED THIS JOINT ACTION:

Article 1

The mandate of Mr Erwan FOUÉRÉ as the EUSR in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as set out in Joint Action 2005/724/CFSP is hereby extended until 28 February 2007.

Article 2

1. The financial reference amount intended to cover the expenditure related to the EUSR’s mandate in the period from 1 March 2006 until 28 February 2007 shall be EUR 675 000.

2. Expenditure shall be eligible as from 1 March 2006.

Article 3

Joint Action 2005/724/CFSP is hereby amended as follows:

Article 3, subparagraphs (e) and (f) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(e)	provide local political guidance to the Head of the EU Police Advisory Team (EUPAT), ensure coordination between the EUPAT and other EU actors, and assume responsibility for relations between EUPAT and host party authorities and media;

(f)	together with the Head of EUPAT and in coordination with the presidency, conduct a regular dialogue with the authorities of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the progress of the activities of EUPAT.’;

Article 9 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 9

The implementation of this Joint Action and its consistency with other contributions from the European Union to the region shall be kept under regular review. The EUSR shall present to the Secretary-General/High Representative (SG/HR), Council and Commission a progress report before the end of June 2006 and a comprehensive mandate implementation report by mid-November 2006. These reports shall form a basis for evaluation of this Joint Action in the relevant Working Groups and by the Political and Security Committee (PSC). In the context of overall priorities for deployment, the SG/HR shall make recommendations to the PSC concerning the Council’s decision on renewal, amendment or termination of the mandate.’

Article 4

This Joint Action shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Article 5

This Joint Action shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.