The Participants undertake a programme designed to design, develop, build, orbit, manage and control a meteorological preoperational satellite (Meteosat), as well as development and implementation Place of associated ground installations, as defined in Annex A to this Agreement.

1. The Organization, pursuant to Art. VIII ¹ Of the Convention, carries out the programme referred to in Art. 1 of this Agreement, in accordance with the timetable and the provisions of Annex A to this Agreement.

2. For the purposes of carrying out this programme, the Organisation makes use of the results of the studies undertaken previously in the framework of the French national programme, certain means and the staff provided by the Centre National d' Etudes Spatiales (hereinafter referred to as "CNES") of France. The terms and conditions under which CNES brings its competition, and according to which the Organization makes use of it, are determined by an Agreement to be concluded between the Organization and CNES.

1. A Programme Governing Council, composed of the representatives of the Participants, shall take responsibility for the programme and shall take all decisions concerning it, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

2. For problems affecting more than one programme of the Organization, the Programme Governing Council acts as an advisory body to the Council of the Organization, to which it shall make any necessary recommendations.

3. The Program Steering Board is also responsible for maintaining close links with national and international meteorological agencies, and for defining the rules for the use of the system.

4. The Programme Governing Council may establish the advisory bodies that it considers necessary to ensure the proper implementation of the programme.

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the decisions of the Program Governing Council referred to in s. 3 shall be taken in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Council of the Organization, which shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Organization shall carry out the programme in accordance with the rules and procedures in force at the Organization. It shall consult with CNES, as appropriate, in areas where cooperation is provided for in the Agreement referred to in paragraph 1. 2 of the art. 2 of this Agreement.

The expenses resulting from the performance of the program by the Organization under this Arrangement shall be borne by the Participants, in accordance with the detailed provisions set out in Annex B to this Agreement, and within the limits An overall financial envelope of one hundred and fifteen million units of account (at the mid-1971 price level).

2. The annual budgets for the programme shall be approved by a two-thirds majority by the Programme Governing Council within the envelope referred to in par. 1 of this section or revised in accordance with s. 7.

The Participants agree, in order to permit the revision of the envelope referred to in the foregoing Article, in the event of a change in the price level, to apply the procedure in force to the Organization at that time.

2. If the envelope is to be revised for reasons other than a change in the price level, the following provisions shall apply:

(a)

If the cumulative exceedances of the cost estimate at the completion of the program do not exceed 20 % of the amount of the envelope referred to in par. 1 of the art. 6, the Program Steering Board sets out the additional expenditures by a two-thirds majority of the Participants;

(b)

If the cumulative exceedances of the cost estimate at the completion of the program are greater than 20 % of the amount of the envelope, the Participants who so wish may withdraw from the program subject to the provisions of s. 17. Those who wish to continue their execution shall consult each other and lay down the arrangements for its continuation. They shall inform the Council of the Organization, which shall take all necessary decisions, if necessary.

Intellectual property rights and access to technical information resulting from the implementation of the programme shall be reserved for the Participants; however, the Organization shall have the right to use them free of charge for all its activities.

The Participants shall enable the Organization to conclude the contracts necessary for the implementation of the programme in accordance with the regulations and procedures of the Organization. However, during the award of contracts and sub-contracts for the implementation of the programme, preference shall be given, to the extent possible, to the execution of the work in the territory of the Participants, taking into consideration the decisions of the Council of the Organisation on industrial policy and distribution of work.

2. The sums paid by the Organization to the CNES for the costs of personnel put by it at the disposal of the Organization and the invoiced tests which it executes, are taken into account for the calculation of France's share of the Concerns the geographical distribution of the Organization's contracts.

The Organisation, acting on behalf of the Participants, is the owner of the satellite carried out under the programme, as well as the facilities and equipment acquired for its execution, up to the pre-operational phase included.

The Participants shall indemnify the Organization for any obligations it may incur if its international responsibility is incurred as a result of the implementation of the Programme.

2. Any compensation for damage received by the Organization under the programme shall be credited to the annual budgets of the programme referred to in par. 2 of the art. 6.

1. Any dispute between two or more Participants or between one or more Participants and the Organization concerning the interpretation or application of the Agreement, which cannot be settled amicably, shall be submitted, at the request of one of the Parties to the dispute, to a single arbitrator appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice. The arbitrator may not be a national of a State party to the dispute.

(2) The parties to the Agreement which are not parties to the dispute shall have the right to take part in the proceedings, and the decision of the arbitrator shall be binding on all Participants and the Organization, whether or not they have taken part in the proceedings.

(1) This Agreement is open for signature by the Participants until September 30, 1972.

(2) States shall become party to the Agreement:

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By the signature without reservation of ratification or approval,

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By the deposit of an instrument of ratification or approval with the Government of the French Republic, if the Agreement has been signed subject to ratification or approval.

(3) This Agreement shall enter into force when it has been signed by the Organization and the States whose participation, in accordance with the scale set out in Annex B, amounts to two thirds of the total contributions, have become party to The Arrangement under s. 2 of this article.

4. For the purposes of s. 3 of this Article, the deposit with the depositary government of a declaration notifying the intention to apply the Agreement on a provisional basis and to seek to obtain, as soon as possible, the ratification or approval shall be regarded as the Deposit of an instrument of ratification or approval.

5. The Government of a Member State of the Organization that has not signed the Agreement as of September 30, 1972, may become party to the Agreement after its entry into force, provided that the other Governments party to the Agreement give effect Their accreditation. The Government concerned must deposit an instrument of accession with the Government of the French Republic.

6. Unless the Programme Governing Council decides otherwise unanimously, a Government which becomes a party to this Agreement after its entry into force shall pay a contribution equal to that which it would have paid had it been a party to the The Agreement as soon as it enters into force and this contribution shall be credited to the other Parties in the programme budget in proportion to their respective contributions.

The Government of a non-member State may submit to the Council of the Organization an application for membership of the Programme; the Council shall act unanimously on this request in agreement with the Programme Governing Council, which shall determine to Unanimity on the conditions of accession.

The Organization shall notify the Participants, after consultation with the Programme Governing Council, of the completion of the programme in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, which shall expire upon receipt of such notification.

The Participants may decide to terminate the programme by a two-thirds majority of at least two-thirds of the contributions to the programme.

1. If a Participant wishes to withdraw from the program pursuant to s. 2 (b) of s. 7, it shall notify its withdrawal to the Organization. Such withdrawal shall take effect on the date of the notification, subject to the following provisions:

(a)

The withdrawing Participant is required to pay in the manner agreed upon the amount of its contributions under the current annual budget;

(b)

The withdrawing Participant is required to honour the payment appropriations corresponding to the commitment appropriations approved and used on the date of notification of the withdrawal;

(c)

The withdrawing Participant remains a member of the Programme Governing Council until the fulfilment of its obligations under (a) and (b) above. It has a right to vote only on matters that are directly related to these obligations.

2. The withdrawing Participant retains acquired rights up to the date on which the withdrawal takes effect. For actions and achievements decided upon after withdrawal, no right or obligation relating to the withdrawing Participant may arise from the part of the programme to which he no longer contributes, unless otherwise agreed between him and Other Participants. The provisions of Art. XVII ¹ Of the Convention of the Organization shall apply mutatis mutandis.

3. If a non-member State of the Organization which has acceded to the programme under the provisions of Art. 14 shall withdraw from the programme, the provisions of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Annexes A and B to this Agreement shall form an integral part thereof.

(1) This Agreement may be revised at the request of a Participant or of the Organization. The amendments shall enter into force when all parties have notified their acceptance to the depositary Government.

2. The Annexes to this Agreement may be revised by the Programme Governing Council in accordance with the provisions of the revision clauses of these Annexes.

Upon entry into force of the Agreement, the Government of the French Republic shall register it with the Secretariat of the United Nations, in accordance with art. 102 of the United Nations Charter.

The Government of the French Republic is the depositary of this Agreement and notifies the Participants and the Organization of the date of entry into force of the Agreement and of the amendments to it, as well as the deposits of the instruments of Ratification, approval, accession and provisional application of the Agreement.

In witness whereof, The undersigned representatives, duly authorized to that effect, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Neuilly-sur-Seine this twelfth day of July one thousand nine hundred and seventy-twelve, in the English and French languages, the two texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which will be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Republic French, which will issue certified copies to each of the Participants and the Organization.

(Suivent signatures)