Key Benefits:
President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs,
Seen them Articles 52 to 55 of the Constitution ;
Vu le Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 amended on the ratification and publication of international commitments undertaken by France,
Decrete:
The agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Republic of Croatia on assistance and cooperation in the field of civil protection and security, signed in Paris on 10 October 2007, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs are responsible for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
A C C O R D
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CROATIA REPUBLIC RELATING TO ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF THE PROTECTION AND CIVIL SECURITY
The Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Republic of Croatia referred to as the Parties,
Recognizing the danger to Parties of major natural disasters and technological accidents,
Convinced of the need to strengthen cooperation and exchange of information among the relevant bodies of the Parties in the field of civil protection and security, including training for civil protection actors,
Attentives to the secular spirit of cordiality and friendship that presides over the relations between the two states,
agreed that:
Article 1
1. This Agreement sets out the conditions for the implementation of voluntary and reciprocal assistance in the event of disasters or serious accidents requested either by diplomatic means or by the competent authorities representing the Parties referred to in Article 3, paragraph 2, of this Agreement.
2. This assistance is realized through the sending of rescue teams, the provision of equipment or the transmission of information.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Agreement:
- "Applicant Party", the Party requesting assistance from the other Party in the form of the sending of experts, rescue teams or means of relief;
"Required Party", the Party receiving the request for assistance;
- "Assembly of assistance", members of relief teams or experts dispatched at the scene of a claim at the request of the requesting Party;
― "Emergency situation", the occurrence of a natural or technological disaster with serious human consequences or likely to have a significant impact on the environment;
- "Means of relief", additional equipment and other goods carried out for each mission and intended to be used by the assistance teams;
- "Equipment objects", equipment, vehicles and personal equipment intended to be used by the assistance teams;
― "Operating properties", the goods necessary for the use of equipment objects and the supply of assistance teams.
Article 3
1. For the implementation of this Agreement, Parties shall designate as competent authorities:
for the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the Government Agency for Protection and Relief of the Republic of Croatia;
for the Government of the French Republic, the Ministry of Interior, Overseas and Territorial Communities.
2. The Parties shall notify, through diplomatic means, of any changes in the designation of the competent administrations.
3. The request for assistance may be expressed orally, in this case it is confirmed in writing as soon as possible.
Article 4
1. Parties shall establish cooperation on:
- the prediction and prevention of major natural and technological risks;
- the protection and protection of persons, goods and the environment threatened by a natural disaster (such as earthquake, flooding, storm, forest fire) or major technology (fire or explosion in industrial facilities or facilities receiving the public, accident of transport of dangerous goods, rail, air, marine or road transport);
training for civil protection and security actors;
- mutual assistance in the event of disasters or serious accidents.
2. It is implemented within the limits of the budgetary opportunities and availability of each Party.
Article 5
Cooperation can take the following forms:
– help and advice for the organization of services;
- the development of texts on civil protection and security, the establishment of emergency plans and training for civil protection actors;
- a study of common issues of interest in the prediction, prevention, assessment and management of emergencies;
- exchanges of experts and specialists and exchanges of information and documentation on civil protection.
Article 6
1. In terms of training and within the limits of budgetary availability, cooperation may take the form of follow-up to an initial university training or initial training of firefighters officers provided in specialized schools of the other Party, but also of the sending of training officers, specialists and technicians to the schools or training institutes of the other Party, of the sending of trainers to the missions of the other Party that provide the appropriate education in schools and
2. The content and duration of each training shall be determined by the Joint Commission referred to in Article 15 of this Agreement.
3. In cases requiring specific expertise, each Party shall designate experts with the skills required to perform the mission.
Article 7
Parties shall provide mutual assistance in the event of major disasters and accidents as follows:
1. Each Party, upon official request of the other Party, shall provide all possible assistance in the event of an emergency. The request for assistance must be addressed through the usual diplomatic channels, specifying the nature of the disaster and transmitting a first estimate of its magnitude and aid needs.
2. The request for assistance may relate either to technical expertise or to strengthening human resources and technical equipment and equipment.
3. The receipt of the assistance request does not automatically imply a positive response from the requested Party. Each Party shall maintain its full freedom in the decision to provide or not to provide relief, including on the basis of the foreseeable risks to its territory, its own ongoing operations and the availability of its relief teams.
4. The requested Party shall inform the requesting Party as soon as possible of the response it intends to provide to the requesting Party, the nature of the assistance it provides by specifying the composition of the assistance teams, the speciality of the experts and the objects of equipment, means of relief and exploitative goods. It must also indicate the mode of transport used to travel to the scene of the disaster and the foreseeable point of passage from the border.
Article 8
1. The intention to use aircraft must be brought promptly to the attention of the competent authorities of the requested Party. In the event of an agreement on the disposition of aircraft, the requested Party shall indicate as accurately as possible the type and mark of the aircraft, the composition of the crew and the load, the time of departure, the intended itinerary and the place of landing.
2. The air traffic legislation of each Party remains applicable, including the transmission of flight information to the relevant control bodies.
Article 9
1. It is the responsibility of the requesting Party's authorities to direct relief operations and to provide any relevant instructions to the person responsible for the assistance team of the requested Party.
2. The assistance team of the requested Party shall remain under the exclusive authority of its official for the performance of the mission established by the requesting Party.
3. Members of the required Party's assistance team have free access in all places claiming their intervention within the boundaries of the area entrusted to them by the requesting Party.
4. As necessary, the requesting Party shall make an interpreter available to the assistance team of the requested Party and provide the necessary means of transmission to the Command of Relief Operations.
Article 10
1. For the purpose of ensuring the effectiveness and speed of interventions, each Party facilitates border crossing procedures.
2. To this end, each member of the assistance team of the requested Party must bear a valid travel document. As part of their mission, members of the assistance team may stay in the territory of the requesting Party without a visa or residence permit. They must comply with the applicable laws and regulations.
3. The person in charge of the assistance team of the requested Party shall be provided with a document attesting to the relief mission, the type of unit(s) that composes this team and the number of persons that are part of it. This document is issued by the authority to which the assistance team is subordinate.
4. Members of the assistance team of the requested Party may wear their uniforms during their intervention in the territory of the requesting Party.
5. No weapons, ammunition or explosives may be introduced by the members of the assistance team of the requested Party in the territory of the requesting Party.
Article 11
1. The head of each assistance team of the requested Party shall be provided with a summary statement of the equipment objects, means of relief and operating assets carried, certified, except in emergency cases, by the authority to which the team is subordinated. Assistance teams must carry only equipment, emergency or operational objects that are essential to the mission.
2. Equipment objects as well as emergency and operational assets that were not used during the relief mission must be re-routed to the territory of the requested Party. If special circumstances do not permit, the authority responsible for the assistance mission of the requested Party shall be informed of the request. In addition, the customs authority of the requesting Party must also be notified.
3. The emergency medical teams of the requested Party shall intervene with their regulatory equipment. The provision for emergency care of these teams includes drugs containing substances classified as narcotics and psychotropic to meet emergency medical needs. These drugs can only be used by qualified medical personnel acting in accordance with the legal and regulatory provisions of the requested Party. The requesting Party retains the ability to conduct on-site controls.
Article 12
1. The assistance teams of the requested Party shall be fed and housed for the duration of their mission and, where necessary, the aircraft shall be supplied at the cost of the requesting Party. They must also receive, if necessary, all necessary medical assistance.
2. The requesting Party may at any time cancel its request for assistance. In this case, the requested Party may request reimbursement of costs incurred by the requested Party. The reimbursement shall be made immediately after the request has been made.
3. The requested Party is required to ensure the members of the assistance teams sent.
Article 13
1. The requesting Party shall reimburse the required Party for the disbursements caused by an accident occurring during a assistance mission, whether the benefits paid or maintained to its agent or eligible persons, or for the repair or replacement of damaged, destroyed or lost equipment.
These benefits, or repair or replacement costs, are assessed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State of origin of the agents or materials.
These stipulations are also applicable where the author of the harmful facts is a third party in relation to emergency operations.
2. If, in the territory of the requesting Party, in the course of a assistance mission, a member of a relief team of the requested Party shall cause injury to a natural or legal person, the compensation shall be provided by the requesting Party in accordance with the applicable legislation in the event of damages by nationals of the requesting Party participating in the elimination of an emergency situation.
The requesting Party shall indemnify the damage caused to the equipment of the requested Party in the performance of an emergency assistance mission.
3. The requesting Party may apply to the Requested Party for reimbursement of any costs incurred when an officer of the Requested Party has voluntarily caused unwarranted damage by the performance of its mission.
Article 14
1. The disengagement of the means implemented under this Agreement shall be carried out in accordance with the terms set out below.
2. At the end of the mission, where the requesting Party makes available to the requested Party the means that had been lent to it, the requesting Party shall, on the one hand, inform the person responsible for the means that have taken place and, on the other, the competent authorities of the requested Party.
3. In the course of a mission, the requested Party shall decide to discontinue the provision of its means by fax to the requesting Party which shall forthwith transmit this information to the person responsible for such means.
4. The decision of the requested Party must be implemented without delay and cannot be discussed by the requesting Party.
5. At the end of the mission, the requesting Party shall provide the requested Party with a summary of the magnitude of the disaster and the conduct of relief operations.
6. When the requested Party has carried out a mission of expertise, it is required to submit a report of expertise to the requesting Party as soon as possible.
Article 15
1. As part of this Agreement, the Parties shall form a Joint Commission on Civil Protection and Security. The Commission shall be composed of the Parties which shall notify before it the names of the persons constituting it.
2. The Commission ' s mission is to propose to the civil protection and security authorities of each Party, which determine its composition, any action to strengthen the collaboration between their services dedicated to prevention, protection and relief.
3. Actions related to cooperation among Parties are agreed and implemented within the framework of this Commission.
4. The Party shall issue opinions on the cases submitted to it by either Party and shall promote the exchange of information and experiences among them.
5. It meets regularly, but may also be convened at the request of one of the Parties.
Article 16
In order to promote and develop forecasting, prevention and mutual assistance in the event of disasters or serious accidents, Parties agree to establish regular contacts by exchanging all relevant information and proposing periodic meetings.
Article 17
With the exception of information that, under the laws or regulations of the requesting Party, is not communicable, information obtained during missions conducted under this Agreement may be published in accordance with the rules in force in each State.
Article 18
1. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties on a case-by-case basis, the areas of cooperation referred to in Articles 4, 5 and 6 shall be financed by the requesting Party within the limits of its budgetary availability.
2. The financial provisions applicable to the assistance provided for in Articles 7 to 14 shall be mutually agreed between the Parties, on a case-by-case basis and within the limits of their budgetary availability.
Article 19
This Agreement does not affect the rights and obligations of the Parties resulting from other international agreements.
Rule 20
Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled by consultation and negotiation between the Parties.
Article 21
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of receipt of the last notification transmitted by diplomatic means of the fulfilment by each Party of the required internal procedures with respect to the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. This Agreement shall be concluded for a period of five years and renewable for periods of the same duration by tacit renewal.
3. Each Party may denounce it at any time by written notification from the diplomatic channel to the other Party. This denunciation takes effect six months after the date of receipt of the notification. The denunciation of the Agreement does not jeopardize the implementation of the ongoing actions under the Agreement unless the Parties decide otherwise.
Done in Paris on 10 October 2007, in two copies, each in Croatian and French languages, both texts being equally authentic.
For the Government
of the French Republic:
Michèle Alliot-Marie
Minister of Interior,
from overseas
and territorial authorities
For the Government
of the Republic of Croatia:
Ivica Kirin
Minister of Interior
Done in Paris, December 31, 2008.
Nicolas Sarkozy
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
François Fillon
Minister for Foreign Affairs
and European,
Bernard Kouchner
