The Parties shall cooperate in developing:
(a) the use of Community rules in standardisation, metrology, quality control and conformity assessment;
(b) the updating of Tunisian laboratories, leading eventually to the conclusion of mutual recognition agreements for conformity assessment;
(c) the bodies responsible for intellectual, industrial and commercial property and for standardisation and quality in Tunisia.
Article 52. Approximation of Legislation
Cooperation shall be aimed at helping Tunisia to bring its legislation closer to that of the Community in the areas covered by this Agreement.
Article 53. Financial Services
The aim of cooperation shall be to achieve closer common rules and standards in areas including the following:
(a) bolstering and restructuring Tunisia's financial sectors;
(b) improving accounting, auditing, supervision and regulation of financial services and financial monitoring in Tunisia.
Article 54. Agriculture and Fisheries
The aim of cooperation shall be to:
(a) modernise and restructure agriculture and fisheries through methods including the modernisation of infrastructure and equipment, the development of packaging and storage techniques and the improvement of private distribution and marketing chains;
(b) diversify output and external markets;
(c) achieve cooperation in health, plant health and growing techniques.
Article 55. Transport
The aim of cooperation shall be to:
(a) achieve the restructuring and modernisation of road, rail, port and airport infrastructure of common interest, in correlation with major trans-European communication routes;
(b) define and apply operating standards comparable to those found in the Community;
(c) bring equipment up to Community standards, particularly where multimodal transport, containerisation and transhipment are concerned;
(d) gradually improve road transit and the management of airports, air traffic and railways.
Article 56. Telecommunications and Information Technology
Cooperation shall focus on:
(a) telecommunications in general;
(b) standardisation, conformity testing and certification for information technology and telecommunications;
(c) dissemination of new information technologies, particularly in relation to networks and the interconnection of networks (ISDN - integrated services digital networks - and EDI - electronic data interchange);
(d) stimulating research on and development of new communication and information technology facilities to develop the market in equipment, services and applications related to information technology and to communications, services and installations.
Article 57. Energy
Cooperation shall focus on:
(a) renewable energy;
(b) promoting the saving of energy;
(c) applied research relating to networks of databases linking the two Parties' economic and social operators;
(d) backing efforts to modernise and develop energy networks and the interconnection of such networks with Community networks.
Article 58. Tourism
The aim of cooperation shall be to develop tourism, particularly with regard to:
(a) catering management and quality of service in the various fields connected with catering;
(b) development of marketing;
(c) promotion of tourism for young people.
Article 59. Cooperation In Customs Matters
1. The aim of cooperation shall be to ensure fair trade and compliance with trade rules. It shall focus on:
(a) simplifying customs checks and procedures;
(b) the use of the Single Administrative Document and creating a link between the Community and Tunisian transit systems.
2. Without prejudice to other forms of cooperation provided for in this Agreement, and particularly those provided for in Articles 61 and 62, the Contracting Parties' administrative authorities shall provide mutual assistance in accordance with the terms of Protocol No 5.
Article 60. Cooperation In Statistics
The aim of cooperation shall be to bring the methods used by the Parties closer together and to put to use data on all areas covered by this Agreement for which statistics can be collected.
Article 61. Money Laundering
1. The Parties agree on the need to work towards and cooperate on preventing the use of their financial systems to launder the proceeds of criminal activities in general and drug trafficking in particular.
2. Cooperation in this area shall include administrative and technical assistance with the purpose of establishing suitable standards against money laundering equivalent to those adopted by the Community and international fora in this field, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Article 62. Combating Drug Use and Trafficking
1. The aim of cooperation shall be to:
(a) improve the effectiveness of policies and measures to prevent and combat the production and supply of and trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances;
(b) eliminate illicit consumption of such products.
2. The Parties shall together set out appropriate strategies and methods of cooperation, in accordance with their own legislation, to attain those objectives. For any action which is not conducted jointly, there shall be consultations and close coordination. Such action may involve the appropriate public and private sector institutions and international organisations, in collaboration with the government of the Republic of Tunisia and the relevant authorities in the Community and the Member States.
3. Cooperation shall take the following forms in particular:
(a) the establishment or expansion of clinics/hostels and information centres for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts;
(b) the implementation of prevention, information, training and epidemiological research projects;
(c) the establishment of standards for preventing diversion of precursors and other essential ingredients for the illicit manufacture of narcotics and psychotropic substances, which are equivalent to those adopted by the Community and the appropriate international authorities, particularly the Chemicals Action Task Force (CATF).
Article 63.
The two Parties shall together establish the procedures needed to achieve cooperation in the fields covered by this Title.
Title VI. COOPERATION IN SOCIAL AND CULTURAL MATTERS
Chapter I. Workers
Article 64.
1. The treatment accorded by each Member State to workers of Tunisian nationality employed in its territory shall be free from any discrimination based on nationality, as regards working conditions, remuneration and dismissal, relative to its own nationals.
2. All Tunisian workers allowed to undertake paid employment in the territory of a Member State on a temporary basis shall be covered by the provisions of paragraph 1 with regard to working conditions and remuneration.
3. Tunisia shall accord the same treatment to workers who are nationals of a Member State and employed in its territory.
Article 65.
1. Subject to the provisions of the following paragraphs, workers of Tunisian nationality and any members of their families living with them shall enjoy, in the field of social security, treatment free from any discrimination based on nationality relative to nationals of the Member States in which they are employed. The concept of social security shall cover the branches of social security dealing with sickness and maternity benefits, invalidity, old-age and survivors' benefits, industrial accident and occupational disease benefits and death, unemployment and family benefits. These provisions shall not, however, cause the other coordination rules provided for in Community legislation based on Article 51 of the EC Treaty to apply, except under the conditions set out in Article 67 of this Agreement.
2. All periods of insurance, employment or residence completed by such workers in the various Member States shall be added together for the purpose of pensions and annuities in respect of old age, invalidity and survivors' benefits and family, sickness and maternity benefits and also for that of medical care for the workers and for members of their families resident in the Community.
3. The workers in question shall receive family allowances for members of their families who are resident in the Community.
4. The workers in question shall be able to transfer freely to Tunisia, at the rates applied by virtue of the legislation of the debtor Member State or States, any pensions or annuities in respect of old age, survivor status, industrial accident or occupational disease, or of invalidity resulting from industrial accident or occupational disease, except in the case of special non-contributory benefits.
5. Tunisia shall accord to workers who are nationals of a Member State and employed in its territory, and to the members of their families, treatment similar to that specified in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4.
Article 66.
The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to nationals of the Parties residing or working illegally in the territory of their host countries.
Article 67.
1. Before the end of the first year following the entry into force of this Agreement, the Association Council shall adopt provisions to implement the principles set out in Article 65.
2. The Association Council shall adopt detailed rules for administrative cooperation providing the necessary management and monitoring guarantees for the application of the provisions referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 68.
The provisions adopted by the Association Council in accordance with Article 67 shall not affect any rights or obligations arising from bilateral agreements linking Tunisia and the Member States where those agreements provide for more favourable treatment of nationals of Tunisia or of the Member States.
Chapter II. Dialogue In Social Matters
Article 69.
1. The Parties shall conduct regular dialogue on any social matter which is of interest to them.
2. Such dialogue shall be used to find ways to achieve progress in the field of movement of workers and equal treatment and social integration for Tunisian and Community nationals residing legally in the territories of their host countries.
3. Dialogue shall cover in particular all issues connected with:
(a) the living and working conditions of the migrant communities;
(b) migration;
(c) illegal immigration and the conditions governing the return of individuals who are in breach of the legislation dealing with the right to stay and the right of establishment in their host countries;
(d) schemes and programmes to encourage equal treatment between Tunisian and Community nationals, mutual knowledge of cultures and civilizations, the furthering of tolerance and the removal of discrimination.
Article 70.
Dialogue on social matters shall be conducted at the same levels and in accordance with the same procedures as provided for in Title I of this Agreement, which can itself provide a framework for that dialogue.
Chapter III. Cooperation In the Social Field
Article 71.
With a view to consolidating cooperation between the Parties in the social field, projects and programmes shall be carried out in any area of interest to them. Priority will be afforded to:
(a) reducing migratory pressure, in particular by creating jobs and developing training in areas from which emigrants come;
(b) resettling those repatriated because of their illegal status under the legislation of the state in question;
(c) promoting the role of women in the economic and social development process through education and the media in step with Tunisian policy on the matter;
(d) bolstering and developing Tunisia's family planning and mother and child protection programmes;
(e) improving the social protection system;
(f) enhancing the health cover system;
(g) improving living conditions in poor, densely populated areas;
(h) implementing and financing exchange and leisure programmes for mixed groups of Tunisian and European young people residing in the Member States, with a view to promoting mutual knowledge of their respective cultures and fostering tolerance.
Article 72.
Cooperation schemes may be carried out in coordination with Member States and relevant international organisations.
Article 73.
A working party shall be set up by the Association Council by the end of the first year following the entry into force of this Agreement. It shall be responsible for the continuous and regular evaluation of the implementation of Chapters 1 to 3.
Chapter IV. Cooperation on Cultural Matters
Article 74.
1. In order to boost mutual knowledge and understanding, taking account of activities already carried out, the Parties shall undertake - while respecting each other's culture - to provide a firmer footing for lasting cultural dialogue and to promote continuous cultural cooperation between them, without ruling out a priori any field of activity.
2. In putting together cooperation projects and programmes and carrying out joint activities, the Parties shall place special emphasis on young people, on written and audio-visual means of expression and communication, and on the protection of their heritage and the dissemination of culture.
3. The Parties agree that cultural cooperation programmes already under way in the Community or in one or more of its Member States may be extended to Tunisia.
Title VII. FINANCIAL COOPERATION
Section TITLE VII. Financial Cooperation
Article 75.
With a view to full attainment of the Agreement's objectives, financial cooperation shall be implemented for Tunisia in line with the appropriate financial procedures and resources. These procedures shall be adopted by mutual agreement between the Parties by means of the most suitable instruments once the Agreement enters into force. In addition to the areas covered by the Titles V and VI of this Agreement, cooperation shall entail:
- facilitating reforms aimed at modernizing the economy,
- updating economic infrastructure, - promoting private investment and job creation activities,
- taking into account the effects on the Tunisian economy of the progressive introduction of a free trade area, in particular where the updating and restructuring of industry is concerned,
- flanking measures for policies implemented in the social sectors.
Article 76.
Within the framework of Community instruments intended to buttress structural adjustment programmes in the Mediterranean countries - and in close coordination with the Tunisian authorities and other contributors, in particular the international financial institutions - the Community will examine suitable ways of supporting structural policies carried out by Tunisia to restore financial equilibrium in all its key aspects and create an economic environment conducive to boosting growth, while at the same time enhancing social welfare.
Article 77.
In order to ensure a coordinated approach to dealing with exceptional macroeconomic and financial problems which could stem from the progressive implementation of the Agreement, the Parties shall closely monitor the development of trade and financial relations between the Community and Tunisia as part of the regular economic dialogue established under Title V.
Title VIII. INSTITUTIONAL, GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 78.
An Association Council is hereby established which shall meet at ministerial level once a year and when circumstances require, on the initiative of its Chairman and in accordance with the conditions laid down in its rules of procedure. It shall examine any major issues arising within the framework of this Agreement and any other bilateral or international issues of mutual interest.
Article 79.
1. The Association Council shall consist of the members of the Council of the European Union and members of the Commission of the European Communities, on the one hand, and of members of the Government of the Republic of Tunisia, on the other.
2. Members of the Association Council may arrange to be represented, in accordance with the provisions laid down in its rules of procedure.
3. The Association Council shall establish its rules of procedure.
4. The Association Council shall be chaired in turn by a member of the Council of the European Union and a member of the Government of the Republic of Tunisia in accordance with the provisions laid down in its rules of procedure.
Article 80.
The Association Council shall, for the purpose of attaining the objectives of the Agreement, have the power to take decisions in the cases provided for therein. The decisions taken shall be binding on the Parties, which shall take the measures necessary to implement the decisions taken. The Association Council may also make appropriate recommendations. It shall draw up its decisions and recommendations by agreement between the Parties.
Article 81.
1. Subject to the powers of the Council, an Association Committee is hereby established which shall be responsible for the implementation of the Agreement.
2. The Association Council may delegate to the Association Committee, in full or in part, any of its powers.
Article 82.
1. The Association Committee, which shall meet at the level of officials, shall consist of representatives of members of the Council of the European Union and of members of the Commission of the European Communities, on the one hand, and of representatives of the Government of the Republic of Tunisia, on the other.
2. The Association Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
3. The Association Committee shall be chaired in turn by a representative of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and by a representative of the Government of the Republic of Tunisia. The Association Committee shall normally meet alternately in the Community and in Tunisia.
Article 83.
The Association Committee shall have the power to take decisions for the management of the Agreement as well as in those areas in which the Council has delegated its powers to it. It shall draw up its decisions by agreement between the Parties. These decisions shall be binding on the Parties, which shall take the measures necessary to implement the decisions taken.
Article 84.
The Association Council may decide to set up any working group or body necessary for the implementation of the Agreement.
Article 85.
The Association Council shall take all appropriate measures to facilitate cooperation and contacts between the European Parliament and the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Tunisia, and between the Economic and Social Committee of the Community and the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Tunisia.
Article 86.
1. Either Party may refer to the Association Council any dispute relating to the application or interpretation of this Agreement.
2. The Association Council may settle the dispute by means of a decision.
3. Each Party shall be bound to take the measures involved in carrying out the decision referred to in paragraph 2.
4. In the event of it not being possible to settle the dispute in accordance with paragraph 2, either Party may notify the other of the appointment of an arbitrator; the other Party must then appoint a second arbitrator within two months. For the application of this procedure, the Community and the Member States shall be deemed to be one Party to the dispute. The Association Council shall appoint a third arbitrator. The arbitrators' decisions shall be taken by majority vote. Each party to the dispute shall take the steps required to implement the decision of the arbitrators.