The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to nationals of the Parties residing or working legally in the territory of their host countries.
Article 70.
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 68.
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 71.
The provisions adopted by the Association Council in accordance with Article 70 shall not affect any rights or obligations arising from bilateral agreements linking Algeria and the Member States where those agreements provide for more favourable treatment of nationals of Algeria or of the Member States.
Chapter 2. Dialogue In Social Matters
Article 72.
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 Algerian and Community nationals residing legally in the territories of their host States.
3. The dialogue shall cover, inter alia, all issues related to:
(a) The living and working conditions of workers and their dependants;
(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 the host State;
(d) Schemes and programmes to encourage equal treatment between Algerian and Community nationals, mutual knowledge of cultures and civilisations, the furthering of tolerance and the removal of discrimination.
Article 73.
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 3. Cooperation In the Social Field
Article 74.
1. The Parties recognise the importance of social development, which must go hand in hand with economic development. They will give priority to respect for fundamental social rights.
2. 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.
In this context, the following shall be priority measures:
(a) Contributing to the improvement of living conditions, job creation and the development of 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) Productive investment or the creation of businesses in Algeria by Algerian workers legally settled in the Community;
(d) Promoting the role of women in the economic and social development process through education and the media, in keeping with Algerian policy;
(e) Bolstering Algerian family planning and mother and child protection programmes;
(f) Improving the social welfare and health systems;
(g) Implementing and financing exchange and leisure programmes for mixed groups of Algerian and European young people residing in the Member States, with a view to promoting mutual knowledge of their respective cultures and fostering tolerance;
(h) Improving living conditions in poor areas;
(i) Promoting socio-professional dialogue;
(j) Promoting respect for human rights in the socio-professional context;
(k) Contributing to the development of the housing sector, especially with regard to low-cost housing;
(l) Alleviating the adverse impact of the adjustment of economic and social structures;
(m) Improving the vocational training system.
Article 75.
Cooperation schemes may be carried out in conjunction with the Member States and the relevant international organisations.
Article 76.
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 4. Cooperation In the Fields of Education and Culture
Article 77.
This Agreement shall aim to promote the exchange of information and cultural cooperation, taking account of bilateral schemes in the Member States.
Greater knowledge and better mutual understanding of the respective cultures will be promoted.
Special attention must be paid to promoting joint activities in various fields, including the press, cinema and television, and to encouraging youth exchange schemes.
This cooperation could cover the following areas:
- Literary translation,
- Conservation and restoration of monuments and sites of historical and cultural interest,
- Training of persons working in the cultural field,
- Exchanges of artists and works of arts,
- Organisation of cultural events,
- Raising mutual awareness and disseminating information on important cultural events,
- Encouragement of cooperation in the audiovisual field, particularly training and co-production,
- Distribution of literary, technical and scientific journals and publications.
Article 78.
The aim of cooperation in the field of education and training shall be to:
(a) Contribute to the improvement of the education and training system, including vocational training;
(b) Place special emphasis on giving the female population access to education, including technical training, higher education and vocational training;
(c) Develop the level of expertise of senior staff in the public and private sectors;
(d) Encourage the establishment of lasting links between specialist bodies on the Parties' territories in order to pool and exchange experience and methods.
Article TITLE VII. Financial Cooperation
Article 79.
In order to support the objectives of this Agreement, Algeria shall receive financial cooperation Algeria in accordance with the appropriate procedures and with the appropriate financial resources.
These procedures shall be adopted by mutual agreement between the Parties by means of the most suitable instruments once this Agreement enters into force.
In addition to the areas covered by Titles V and VI of this Agreement, cooperation shall apply to the following:
- Facilitating reforms designed to modernise the economy, including rural development,
- Upgrading economic infrastructure,
- Promoting private investment and job-creating activities,
- Offsetting the effects on the Algerian economy of the progressive introduction of a free trade area, in particular where the updating and restructuring of industry is concerned,
- Accompanying measures for policies implemented in the social sectors.
Article 80.
Within the framework of the Community instruments designed to support structural adjustment programmes in the Mediterranean countries in order to restore key financial equilibria and create an economic environment conducive to faster growth and enhanced social welfare, the Community and Algeria, in close coordination with other contributors, in particular the international financial institutions, shall adapt the instruments intended to accompany development and liberalisation policies for the Algerian economy.
Article 81.
In order to ensure a coordinated approach to dealing with any exceptional macroeconomic or financial problems which might stem from the progressive implementation of the provisions of this Agreement, the Parties shall closely monitor the development of trade and financial relations between the Community and Algeria as part of the regular economic dialogue established under Title V.
Article TITLE VIII. Cooperation In the Field of Justice and Home Affairs
Article 82. Institution-building and the Rule of Law
In their cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs, the Parties shall attach particular importance to institution-building in the areas of law enforcement and the machinery of justice. This includes the consolidation of the rule of law.
In this context the Parties shall also ensure that the rights of nationals of both Parties are respected without discrimination in the territory of the other Party.
The provisions of this Article do not relate to differences of treatment based on nationality.
Article 83. Movement of Persons
Desirous of facilitating the movement of persons between them, the Parties shall ensure, in accordance with the relevant Community and national legislation in force, that the formalities for the issue of visas are carefully applied and executed and shall agree to examine, within the limits of their powers, ways of simplifying and speeding up the issue of visas to persons contributing to the implementation of this Agreement. The Association Committee shall periodically examine the implementation of this Article.
Article 84. Cooperation In the Prevention and Control of Illegal Immigration; Readmission
1. The Parties reaffirm the importance which they attach to the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in relation to the exchange of information on illegal immigration flows and agree to cooperate in order to prevent and control illegal immigration. To this end:
- Algeria, on the one hand, and each Member State of the Community, on the other hand, agree to readmit any of their nationals illegally present on the territory of the other Party after the necessary identification formalities have been completed,
- Algeria and the Member States of the Community shall provide their nationals with the appropriate identity documents for this purpose.
2. Desirous of facilitating the movement and residence of their nationals whose status is regular, the Parties agree to negotiate, at the request of either Party, the conclusion of agreements on combating illegal immigration and on readmission. If either Party considers it necessary, such agreements shall cover the readmission of nationals of other countries arriving in their territory direct from the territory of the other. The practical arrangements for the implementation of the abovementioned agreements shall be laid down, where appropriate, by the Parties in the agreements themselves or in their implementing protocols.
3. The Association Council shall examine the possibility of other forms of joint action for the prevention and control of illegal immigration, including ways of detecting forged documents.
Article 85. Legal and Judicial Cooperation
1. The Parties agree that cooperation in the legal and judicial fields is essential and a necessary adjunct to the other forms of cooperation provided for in this Agreement.
2. Such cooperation may include, where appropriate, the negotiation of agreements in these fields.
3. Civil judicial cooperation will in particular cover:
- Strengthening mutual assistance with regard to cooperation in the handling of disputes or cases of a civil, commercial or family nature,
- The exchange of experience in relation to managing and improving the administration of civil justice.
4. Criminal judicial cooperation will cover:
- Strengthening existing mutual assistance or extradition arrangements,
- The development of exchanges, in particular in relation to the practice of criminal judicial cooperation, the protection of individual rights and freedoms, action against organised crime and improving the efficiency of criminal justice.
5. Cooperation in this area shall in particular include the introduction of specialist training courses.
Article 86. Preventing and Tackling Organised Crime
1. The Parties agree to cooperate in order to prevent and fight organised crime, in particular in the following fields: human trafficking; exploitation for sexual purposes; the illicit traffic of prohibited, counterfeited or pirated products, and illegal transactions concerning, in particular, industrial refuse or radioactive material; corruption; the trafficking of stolen cars; the trafficking of firearms and explosives; computer crime; and trafficking in cultural goods.
The Parties shall cooperate closely in order to establish appropriate mechanisms and standards.
2. Technical and administrative cooperation in this field may include training and improving the effectiveness of the authorities and bodies responsible for fighting and preventing crime and the design of crime prevention measures.
Article 87. Combating 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 adopting and implementing suitable standards against money laundering equivalent to those adopted by the Community and international authorities active in this field, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
3. Cooperation shall have the objective of:
(a) Training agents of the services responsible for preventing, detecting and combating money laundering, and officials of the judiciary;
(b) Appropriate support for the creation of specialist institutions and the strengthening of existing institutions.
Article 88. Combating Racism and Xenophobia
The Parties agree to take appropriate steps to prevent and combat discrimination in all its forms and manifestations, whether it be on grounds of race, ethnic origin or religion, particularly in the fields of education, employment, training and housing.
Public information and awareness campaigns will be organised to this end.
The Parties shall in particular ensure in this context that all persons who consider themselves victims of such discrimination have access to judicial and administrative procedures.
The provisions of this Article do not relate to differences of treatment based on nationality.
Article 89. Combating Drugs and Drug Addiction
1. Cooperation shall be aimed at:
(a) Improving the effectiveness of policies and measures to prevent and combat the growing, production, supply and consumption of, and trafficking in, narcotics and psychotropic substances;
(b) Eliminating illicit consumption of such products.
2. The Parties shall determine together, in accordance with their respective laws, the strategies and cooperation methods appropriate for attaining these objectives. Their operations, other than joint operations, shall be the subject of consultation and close coordination.
Such action may involve the appropriate public and private sector institutions and international organisations, in collaboration with the Government of Algeria and the relevant authorities in the Community and the Member States.
3. Cooperation shall take the following forms in particular:
(a) Establishment or extension of social and health institutions 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;
(d) Support for the creation of special anti-drug trafficking services.
4. Both Parties shall encourage cooperation at regional and sub-regional level.
Article 90. Fight Against Terrorism
In accordance with the international conventions to which they are party and with their respective laws and regulations, both Parties agree to cooperate with a view to preventing and penalising acts of terrorism:
- through the implementation in its entirety of United Nations Security Council resolution 1373 and other related resolutions,
- Through the exchange of information on terrorist groups and their support networks in accordance with international and national law,
- By pooling experience of means and practices for combating terrorism, including experience in the technical and training fields.
Article 91. Fight Against Corruption
1. The Parties agree to cooperate, on the basis of the relevant international legal instruments, on action to combat corruption in international business transactions:
- By taking effective practical measures against all forms of corruption, bribery and illicit activities of every sort in international business transactions practised by individuals or corporate bodies,
- By providing mutual assistance in criminal investigations into acts of corruption.
2. Cooperation shall also cover technical assistance for the training of officials and magistrates responsible for tackling corruption and support for initiatives designed to organise action against this form of crime.
Article TITLE IX. Institutional, General and Final Provisions
Article 92.
An Association Council is hereby established which shall meet at ministerial level once a year, where possible, on the initiative of its Chair 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 93.
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 Algeria, 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 Algeria in accordance with the provisions laid down in its rules of procedure.
Article 94.
The Association Council shall, for the purpose of attaining the objectives of this Agreement, have the power to take decisions in the cases provided for therein.
These decisions 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 95.
1. Subject to the powers conferred upon the Association Council, an Association Committee is hereby established which shall be responsible for the implementation of this Agreement.
2. The Association Council may delegate to the Association Committee, in full or in part, any of its powers.