RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE JOINT CARIFORUM-EU COUNCIL

set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part

Article 1

Composition and Chair

1.   The Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council (hereinafter the ‘Joint Council’) is composed as provided for in Article 228(1) of the Agreement.

2.   The representative of the CARIFORUM States acting collectively, provided for in Article 228(2) of the Agreement shall be referred to as the ‘CARIFORUM High Representative’. The designation of the CARIFORUM High Representative and any change thereto shall be notified to the Chairperson of the Joint Council.

3.   Reference to ‘the Parties’ in the Rules of Procedure shall be in accordance with the definition provided for in Article 233(3) of the Agreement.

4.   The Joint Council shall be chaired, at least at Ministerial level, alternately for periods of 12 months, by a representative of the Council of the European Union and a representative of the European Commission on behalf of the EU Party, and by a representative of the CARIFORUM States. However, the period of the first Chair shall begin on the date of the first meeting of the Joint Council and shall end on 31 December of the following year. The Chair shall be held first by a representative of the CARIFORUM States.

Article 2

Representation

1.   In accordance with Article 228(5) of the Agreement, the members of the Joint Council may arrange to be represented.

2.   A member wishing to be represented by an alternate representative shall notify the Chairperson of the Joint Council of the name of his or her alternate representative before the meeting at which he or she is to be so represented. The alternate representative of a member of the Joint Council shall exercise all the rights of that member.

Article 3

Observers

1.   The Joint Council may decide to admit observers on a permanent basis.

2.   The Joint Council may decide to invite additional observers on an ad hoc basis.

3.   The Joint Council may decide to invite representatives of the CARIFORUM-EU Parliamentary Committee and of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee to inform the Joint Council of the work undertaken in the respective Committees.

Article 4

Meetings

1.   The Joint Council shall meet at regular intervals, not exceeding a period of two years, and shall hold extraordinary meetings whenever circumstances so require, if the Parties so agree.

2.   Each session of the Joint Council shall be held at a date and place agreed by both Parties.

3.   The meetings of the Joint Council shall be convened by the Secretary of the Joint Council by a notice issued no later than 35 days prior to the start of the session, except where an extraordinary meeting is called.

Article 5

Delegations

The members of the Joint Council may be accompanied by officials. Before each meeting, the Chairperson of the Joint Council shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegations of the Signatory CARIFORUM States, the EU Party and of any observers.

Article 6

Secretariat

The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and a CARIFORUM State shall act alternately for periods of 12 months as Secretary of the Joint Council. These periods shall coincide with the holding of the Chair by the EU Party and the CARIFORUM States respectively.

Article 7

Documents

Where the deliberations of the Joint Council are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated by the Secretary as documents of the Joint Council.

Article 8

Correspondence

1.   All correspondence addressed to the Joint Council shall be directed to the Secretary of the Joint Council.

2.   The Secretary shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Joint Council is forwarded to the Chairperson of the Council and circulated, where appropriate as documents referred to in Article 7, to the other members of the Joint Council. Correspondence circulated shall be sent to the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, the Permanent Representations of the Member States of the European Union in Brussels, the CARIFORUM Coordinator and the Coordinators of each Signatory CARIFORUM State provided for under Article 234(1) of the Agreement.

3.   Correspondence from the Chairperson of the Joint Council shall be sent to the recipients by the Secretary and circulated, where appropriate as documents referred to in Article 7, to the other members of the Joint Council through the addressees provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article.

Article 9

Agenda for the meetings

1.   A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretary of the Joint Council on the basis of proposals made by the Parties and the Signatory CARIFORUM States. It shall be forwarded, together with the relevant documents, by the Secretary of the Joint Council to the addressees referred to in Article 8(2) no later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting.

2.   The provisional agenda shall include items for which the Secretary has received a request for inclusion in the agenda, together with the relevant documents, no later than 28 days before the beginning of the meeting.

3.   The agenda shall be adopted by the Joint Council 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.

4.   The Chairperson of the Joint Council may, in agreement with the Parties, invite experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects.

5.   With the agreement of the Parties, the Secretary may abridge the time limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

Article 10

Minutes

1.   Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretary, normally within a month of the meeting.

2.   The minutes shall, as a general rule, summarise each item on the agenda, specifying where applicable:

(a)	all documents submitted to the Joint Council;

(b)	any statement that a member of the Joint Council has asked to be entered; and

(c)	the decisions taken, recommendations made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items.

3.   The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Joint Council or their alternate representatives who took part in the meeting, a list of the members of the delegations accompanying them and a list of any observers to the meeting.

4.   The minutes shall be approved in writing by both Parties within three months of the date of the meeting. Once approved, two copies of the minutes shall be signed by the Secretary and each of the Parties shall receive one original of these authentic documents. Copies of the signed minutes shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 8(2).

Article 11

Decisions and recommendations

1.   The Joint Council shall adopt decisions and recommendations by agreement, as provided for in Article 229 of the Agreement.

2.   The Joint Council may decide to submit any general matter of an ACP-EU interest arising under the Agreement to the ACP-EU Council of Ministers as defined in Article 15 of the Cotonou Agreement.

3.   In the period between meetings, the Joint Council may adopt decisions or recommendations by written procedure if both Parties so agree. The written procedure shall consist of an exchange of notes between the Parties. The CARIFORUM High Representative shall have the power to exchange such notes and to confirm the agreement of the Signatory CARIFORUM States on any decision, after receiving the individual Signatory CARIFORUM States’ confirmation of their agreement on any decision, as necessary.

4.   Decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council within the meaning of Article 229 of the Agreement shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ respectively, and shall be followed by a serial number, their date of adoption and a description of their subject-matter. Each decision shall provide for the date of its entry into force.

5.   Decisions and recommendations adopted by the Joint Council shall be authenticated by a representative of the European Commission on behalf of the EU Party, and by the CARIFORUM High Representative on behalf of the CARIFORUM States.

6.   Decisions and recommendations shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 8(2) as documents of the Joint Council.

Article 12

Publicity

1.   Unless otherwise decided, meetings of the Joint Council shall not be public.

2.   Each Party or Signatory CARIFORUM State may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council in its respective official publication.

Article 13

Languages

1.   The working languages of the Joint Council shall be the official languages common to the Parties, namely, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.

2.   The Joint Council shall base its deliberations and adopt decisions and recommendations on documentation and proposals prepared in one of the 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 Joint Council, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regard 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 the provision of interpretation services at meetings, and translation of documents into, or from, any of the working languages of the Joint Council, shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting. Expenditure associated with the provision of interpretation services regarding other official languages of the institutions of the European Union, and translation of documents into, or from, those languages shall be borne by the EU Party.

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CARIFORUM-EU TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part

Article 1

Composition and Chair

1.   The CARIFORUM-EU Trade and Development Committee (hereinafter the ‘Trade and Development Committee’) is established in accordance with Article 230 of the Agreement for the purposes of assisting the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council (hereinafter the ‘Joint Council’) in the performance of its duties and of taking on the responsibility for the general implementation of the Agreement.

2.   As provided for in Article 230(1) of the Agreement, the Trade and Development Committee shall be composed of representatives of the members of the Council of the European Union and representatives of the European Commission, on the one hand, and of representatives of the Signatory CARIFORUM States, on the other hand, normally at senior officials level.

3.   The representative of the CARIFORUM States acting collectively, provided for in Article 230(1) of the Agreement, shall be referred to as the ‘CARIFORUM Senior Representative’. The designation of the CARIFORUM Senior Representative and any change thereto shall be notified to the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee.

4.   The Trade and Development Committee shall be chaired alternately for periods of 12 months by senior officials of the European Commission, on behalf of the EU Party, and by senior officials of the CARIFORUM States on their behalf. The period of the first Chair shall coincide with the period of the first Chair of the Joint Council. For that period and thereafter for each 12-month period, the Trade and Development Committee shall be chaired by the Party holding the Chair in the Joint Council. The Chair shall be held first by a representative of the CARIFORUM States.

5.   In addition to performing the specific tasks conferred upon it by the Agreement, the Trade and Development Committee shall prepare the meetings and deliberations of the Joint Council, monitor implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council where appropriate and, in general, ensure continuity of the proper functioning of the Agreement. It shall consider any matter referred to it by the Joint Council as well as any other matter which may arise in the course of the day-to-day implementation of the Agreement.

6.   In cases where the Agreement refers to possible consultations, such consultations may take place within the Trade and Development Committee. The consultations may continue in the Joint Council if the Parties so agree, except where otherwise provided for in the Agreement.

Article 2

Representation

1.   The members of the Trade and Development Committee may arrange to be represented.

2.   A member wishing to be represented by an alternate representative shall notify the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee of the name of his or her alternate representative before the meeting at which he or she is to be so represented. The alternate representative of a member of the Trade and Development Committee shall exercise all the rights of that member.

Article 3

Observers

1.   The Trade and Development Committee may decide to admit observers on a permanent basis.

2.   The Trade and Development Committee may decide to invite additional observers on an ad hoc basis.

3.   The Trade and Development Committee may decide to invite representatives of the CARIFORUM-EU Parliamentary Committee and of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee to inform the Trade and Development Committee of the work undertaken in the respective Committees.

Article 4

Meetings

1.   The Trade and Development Committee shall meet once a year or when circumstances so require, with the agreement of both Parties. If both Parties agree, the meetings of the Trade and Development Committee may be held by video or teleconference. In such case, the Parties shall agree on how to share any costs associated with holding a meeting by such means.

2.   Each meeting of the Trade and Development Committee shall be convened by the Secretary at a date and place agreed by both Parties. The convening notice of the meeting shall be issued no later than 35 days prior to the start of the session, except in cases of urgency.

Article 5

Delegations

Before each meeting, the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegations attending the meeting.

Article 6

Secretariat

The European Commission and a CARIFORUM State shall act alternatively for periods of 12 months as Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee. These periods shall coincide with the holding of the Chair by the EU Party and the CARIFORUM States respectively.

Article 7

Documents

Where the deliberations of the Trade and Development Committee are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated by the Secretary as documents of the Trade and Development Committee.

Article 8

Correspondence

All correspondence with the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee shall be forwarded to the Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee for circulation to the members of the Committee and the Secretary and the Chairperson of the Joint Council and, where appropriate, to the members of the Joint Council.

Article 9

Agenda for the meetings

1.   A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee. It shall be forwarded, together with the relevant documents, to the members of the Trade and Development Committee as well as the Chairperson and Secretary of the Joint Council no later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting.

2.   The provisional agenda shall include items in respect of which the Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee has received a request for inclusion in the agenda, together with the relevant documents, no later than 28 days before the beginning of the meeting.

3.   The agenda shall be adopted by the Trade and Development Committee 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.

4.   The Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, invite experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects.

5.   The Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, abridge the time periods specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

Article 10

Minutes

1.   Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretary, normally within a month of the meeting.

2.   The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate in respect of each item on the agenda:

(a)	the documents submitted to the Trade and Development Committee;

(b)	any statement that a member of the Trade and Development Committee has asked to be entered; and

(c)	the decisions taken, recommendations made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items.

3.   The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Trade and Development Committee or their alternate representatives who took part in the meeting, a list of the members of the delegations accompanying them and a list of any observers to the meeting.

4.   The minutes shall be approved in writing by the CARIFORUM Senior Representative and the senior European Commission official(s) who participated in the meeting within two months of the date of the meeting. Once approved, two copies of the minutes shall be signed by the Secretary and each of the Parties shall receive one original of these authentic documents. Copies of the signed minutes shall be forwarded to the members of the Trade and Development Committee and to the Chairperson and Secretary of the Joint Council.

Article 11

Decisions and Recommendations

1.   Where the Trade and Development Committee is empowered under the Agreement to adopt decisions or recommendations, such acts shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ respectively, and shall be followed by a serial number, their date of adoption and a description of their subject-matter. Each decision shall provide for the date of its entry into force.

2.   Whenever the Trade and Development Committee takes a decision, Article 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Council shall apply mutatis mutandis.

3.   Decisions and recommendations of the Trade and Development Committee shall be forwarded to the addressees referred to in Article 8.

Article 12

Publicity

1.   Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Trade and Development Committee shall not be public.

2.   Each Party or Signatory CARIFORUM State may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of the Trade and Development Committee in its respective official publication.

Article 13

Languages

1.   The working languages of the Trade and Development Committee shall be the official languages common to the Parties, namely, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.

2.   The Trade and Development Committee shall base its deliberations and adopt decisions and recommendations on documentation and proposals prepared in one of the 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 Trade and Development Committee, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regard 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 the provision of interpretation services at meetings and translation of documents into, or from, any of the working languages of the Trade and Development Committee shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting. Expenditure associated with the provision of interpretation services regarding other official languages of the institutions of the European Union, and translation of documents into, or from, those languages shall be borne by the EU Party.

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEES

set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part

Article 1

Composition and Chair

1.   Unless otherwise specified in the Agreement or agreed by the CARIFORUM-EU Trade and Development Committee (hereinafter the ‘Trade and Development Committee’), a Special Committee shall be composed of representatives of the European Commission and representatives of the members of the Council of the European Union for the EU Party, on the one hand, and of representatives of the Signatory CARIFORUM States, on the other.

2.   The CARIFORUM States shall mandate one of their representatives to act on their behalf and present their position on all matters under this Agreement for which they have agreed to act collectively. Such representative shall be referred to as the ‘CARIFORUM Representative’. The designation of the CARIFORUM Representative and any change thereto shall be notified to the Chairperson of the Special Committee.

3.   The meetings of a Special Committee shall be chaired alternately by an official of the European Commission and by an official of a CARIFORUM State.

Article 2

Representation

1.   The members of a Special Committee may arrange to be represented.

2.   A member wishing to be represented by an alternate representative shall notify the Chairperson of the Special Committee of the name of his or her alternate representative before the meeting at which he or she is to be so represented. The alternate representative of a member of the Special Committee shall exercise all the rights of that member.

Article 3

Observers

1.   A Special Committee may decide to admit observers on a permanent basis.

2.   A Special Committee may decide to invite additional observers, including representatives of the CARIFORUM-EU Parliamentary Committee and of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee, on an ad hoc basis.

Article 4

Meetings

1.   Unless otherwise specified in the Agreement, a Special Committee shall meet upon request of either Party at a date and place agreed in advance between the Parties. If both Parties agree, the meetings of a Special Committee may be held by video or teleconference. In such case, the Parties shall agree on how to share any costs associated with holding a meeting by such means.

2.   Each meeting of a Special Committee shall be convened by the Secretary of that Special Committee by a notice issued no later than 35 days prior to the start of the session, except in cases of urgency.

Article 5

Delegations

Before each meeting, the Chairperson of a Special Committee shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegations attending the meeting.

Article 6

Secretariat

The European Commission and a CARIFORUM State shall act alternately for periods of 12 months as Secretary of the Special Committees. These periods shall coincide with the holding of the Chair by the EU Party and the CARIFORUM States respectively.

Article 7

Documents

Where the deliberations of a Special Committee are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated by the Secretary as documents of that Special Committee.

Article 8

Correspondence

All correspondence with the Chairperson of a Special Committee shall be forwarded to the Secretary of that Special Committee for circulation to the members of the Special Committee, to the Secretary and the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee as well as, where appropriate, to the members of the Trade and Development Committee.

Article 9

Agenda for the meetings

1.   A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretary of the Special Committee. It shall be forwarded, together with the relevant documents, to the members of the Special Committee as well as the Chairperson and Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee no later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting.

2.   The provisional agenda shall include those items in respect of which the Secretary of the Special Committee has received a request for inclusion in the agenda, together with the relevant documents, no later than 28 days before the beginning of the meeting.

3.   The agenda shall be adopted by the Special Committee 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.

4.   The Chairperson of the Special Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, abridge the time limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

5.   The Chairperson of the Special Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, invite experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects.

Article 10

Minutes

1.   Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretary, normally within a month of the meeting.

2.   The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate in respect of each item on the agenda:

(a)	the documents submitted to the Special Committee;

(b)	any statements that a member of the Special Committee has asked to be entered; and

(c)	the decisions taken, recommendations made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items.

3.   The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Special Committee or their alternate representatives who took part in the meeting, a list of the members of the delegations accompanying them and a list of any observers to the meeting.

4.   The minutes shall be approved in writing by the CARIFORUM Representative and the European Commission official who participated in the meeting within one month of the date of the meeting. Once approved, two copies of the minutes shall be signed by the Secretary and each of the Parties shall receive one original of these authentic documents. Copies of the signed minutes shall be forwarded to the members of the Special Committee and the Chairperson and Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee.

Article 11

Decisions and recommendations

1.   Where a Special Committee is empowered under the Agreement, or under the Joint Council decision establishing it, to adopt decisions or recommendations, such acts shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ respectively, and shall be followed by a serial number, their date of adoption and a description of their subject-matter. Each decision shall specify the date of its entry into force.

2.   Whenever a Special Committee makes a recommendation or takes a decision, Article 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Council shall apply mutatis mutandis.

3.   Decisions and recommendations of Special Committees shall be forwarded to the addressees referred to in Article 8.

Article 12

Publicity

1.   Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Special Committees shall not be public.

2.   Each Party or Signatory CARIFORUM State may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of a Special Committee in its respective official publication.

Article 13

Languages

1.   The working languages of the Special Committees shall be the official languages common to the Parties, namely, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.

2.   The Special Committees shall base their deliberations and adopt decisions and recommendations on documentation and proposals prepared in one of the languages referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 14

Expenses

1.   Each Party shall each meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Special Committees, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regard 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 meetings.

3.   Expenditure in connection with the provision of interpretation services at meetings and the translation of documents into, or from, any of the working languages of the Special Committee shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting. Expenditure associated with the provision of interpretation services regarding other official languages of the institutions of the European Union, and translation of documents into, or from, those languages shall be borne by the EU Party.

Article 15

Reporting

The Special Committees shall report to the Trade and Development Committee.