Article 91. Investment Promotion and Protection
Cooperation between the Parties, within the scope of their respective competencies, in the field of investment promotion and protection shall aim to bring about a favourable climate for private investment, both domestic and foreign, which is essential to economic and industrial revitalisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article 92. Industrial Cooperation
Cooperation shall aim to promote the modernisation and restructuring of industry and individual sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It shall also cover industrial cooperation between economic operators, with the objective of strengthening the private sector under conditions, which ensure that the environment is protected. Industrial cooperation initiatives shall reflect the priorities determined by both Parties. They shall take into account the regional aspects of industrial development, promoting transnational partnerships when relevant. The initiatives should seek in particular to establish a suitable framework for undertakings, to improve management and knowhow and to promote markets, market transparency and the business environment. Cooperation shall take due account of the Community acquis in the field of industrial policy.
Article 93. Small and Mediumsized Enterprises
Cooperation between the Parties shall be aimed at developing and strengthening private sector small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) and shall take due account of priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of SMEs, as well as the ten guidelines enshrined in the European Charter for Small Enterprises.
Article 94. Tourism
Cooperation between the Parties in the field of tourism shall be mainly aimed at strengthening the flow of information on tourism (through international networks, databanks, etc.), strengthening cooperation between tourism enterprises, experts and governments and their competent agencies in the field of tourism, and transferring knowhow (through training, exchanges, seminars). Cooperation shall take due account of Community acquis related to this sector. Cooperation may be integrated into a regional framework of cooperation.
Article 95. Agriculture, and the Agroindustrial Sector
Cooperation between the Parties shall focus on priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of agriculture and veterinary and phytosanitary domains. Cooperation shall notably aim at modernising and restructuring the agriculture and agroindustrial sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular to reach veterinary and phytosanitary Community requirements and at supporting the progressive approximation of the legislation and practices of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Community rules and standards.
Article 96. Fisheries
The Parties shall explore the possibility of identifying mutually beneficial areas of common interest in the fisheries sector. Cooperation shall take due account of priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of fisheries, including the respect of international obligations concerning International and Regional Fisheries Organisation rules of management and conservation of fishery resources.
Article 97. Customs
The Parties shall establish cooperation in this area with a view to guarantee compliance with the provisions to be adopted in the area of trade and to achieve the approximation of the customs system of Bosnia and Herzegovina to that of the Community, thereby helping to pave the way for the liberalisation measures planned under this Agreement and for the gradual approximation of the customs legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the acquis. Cooperation shall take due account of priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of customs. The rules on mutual administrative assistance between the Parties in the customs field are laid down in Protocol 5.
Article 98. Taxation
The Parties shall establish cooperation in the field of taxation including measures aiming at the further reform of Bosnia and Herzegovina's fiscal system and the restructuring of tax administration with a view to ensuring effectiveness of tax collection and reinforcing the fight against fiscal fraud. Cooperation shall take due account of priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of taxation and in the fight against harmful tax competition. Elimination of harmful tax competition should be carried out on the basis of the principles of the Code of Conduct for business taxation agreed by the Council on 1 December 1997. Cooperation shall also be geared to enhancing transparency and fighting corruption, and include exchange of information with the Member States in an effort to facilitate the enforcement of measures preventing tax fraud, evasion or avoidance. Bosnia and Herzegovina shall also complete the network of bilateral Agreements with Member States, along the lines of the latest update of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital as well as on the basis of the OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information in Tax Matters, to the extent that the requesting Member State subscribes to these.
Article 99. Social Cooperation
The Parties shall cooperate to facilitate the development of the employment policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the context of strengthened economic reform and integration. Cooperation shall also seek to support the adaptation of the social security system of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the new economic and social requirements, with a view to ensuring equity of access and effective support to all vulnerable people and may involve the adjustment of the legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning working conditions and equal opportunities for women and men, for people with disabilities and for all vulnerable people including those belonging to minority groups as well as the improvement of the level of protection of the health and safety of workers, taking as a reference the level of protection existing in the Community. Cooperation shall take due account of priority areas related to the Community acquis in this field.
Article 100. Education and Training
The Parties shall cooperate with the aim of raising the level of general education and vocational education and training in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as youth policy and youth work, including nonformal education. A priority for higher education systems shall be the achievement of the objectives of the Bologna Declaration in the intergovernmental Bologna process. The Parties shall also cooperate with the aim of ensuring that access to all levels of education and training in Bosnia and Herzegovina is free of any discrimination on the grounds of gender, colour, ethnic origin or religion. A priority should be for Bosnia and Herzegovina to comply with the commitments assumed in the framework of relevant international conventions dealing with these issues. The relevant Community programmes and instruments shall contribute to the upgrading of educational and training structures and activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cooperation shall take due account of priority areas related to the Community acquis in this field.
Article 101. Cultural Cooperation
The Parties undertake to promote cultural cooperation. This cooperation serves inter alia to raise mutual understanding and esteem between individuals, communities and peoples. The Parties also undertake to cooperate to promote cultural diversity, notably within the framework of the UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of diversity of cultural expressions.
Article 102. Cooperation In the Audiovisual Field
The Parties shall cooperate to promote the audiovisual industry in Europe and encourage coproduction in the fields of cinema and television. Cooperation could include inter alia programmes and facilities for the training of journalists and other media professionals, as well as technical assistance to the media, the public and private, so as to reinforce their independence, professionalism and links with the European media. Bosnia and Herzegovina shall align its policies on the regulation of content aspects of crossborder broadcasting with those of the Community and shall harmonise its legislation with the relevant Community acquis. Bosnia and Herzegovina shall pay particular attention to matters relating to the acquisition of intellectual property rights for programmes broadcast by satellite, terrestrial frequencies and cable.
Article 103. Information Society
Cooperation shall primarily focus on priority areas related to the Community acquis regarding the information society. It shall mainly support Bosnia and Herzegovina's gradual alignment of its policies and legislation in this sector with those of the Community. The Parties shall also cooperate with a view to further developing the Information Society in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Global objectives will include preparing society as a whole for the digital age, attracting investments and ensuring the interoperability of networks and services.
Article 104. Electronic Communications Networks and Services
Cooperation shall primarily focus on priority areas related to the Community acquis in this field. The Parties shall, in particular, strengthen cooperation in the area of electronic communications networks and electronic communications services, with the ultimate objective of the adoption by Bosnia and Herzegovina of the Community acquis in the sector one year after the entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 105. Information and Communication
The Community and Bosnia and Herzegovina shall take the measures necessary to stimulate the mutual exchange of information. Priority shall be given to programmes aimed at providing the general public with basic information about the Community and professional circles in Bosnia and Herzegovina with more specialised information.
Article 106. Transport
Cooperation between the Parties shall focus on priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of transport. Cooperation may notably aim at restructuring and modernising the transport modes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, improving the free movement of passengers and goods, enhancing the access to the transport market and facilities, including ports and airports, supporting the development of multimodal infrastructures in connection with the main TransEuropean networks, notably to reinforce regional links in the South East Europe in line with the Memorandum of Understanding on the development of the Core Regional Transport Network, achieving operating standards comparable to those in the Community, developing a transport system in Bosnia and Herzegovina compatible and aligned with the Community system and improving the protection of environment in transport.
Article 107. Energy
Cooperation shall focus on priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of energy, including, as appropriate, nuclear safety aspects. It shall be based on the Treaty establishing the Energy Community and shall be developed with a view to the gradual integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into Europe's energy markets.
Article 108. Environment
The Parties shall develop and strengthen their cooperation in the environmental field with the vital task of halting further degradation and start improving the environmental situation with the aim of sustainable development. The Parties shall, in particular, establish cooperation with the aim of strengthening administrative structures and procedures to ensure strategic planning of environment issues and coordination between relevant actors and shall focus on the alignment of Bosnia and Herzegovina's legislation to the Community acquis. Cooperation could also centre on the development of strategies to significantly reduce local, regional and transboundary air and water pollution, including waste and chemicals, to establish a system for efficient, clean, sustainable and renewable production and consumption of energy, and to execute environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment. Special attention shall be paid to the ratification and the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.
Article 109. Cooperation on Research and Technological Development
The Parties shall encourage cooperation in civil scientific research and technological development on the basis of mutual benefit and, taking into account the availability of resources, adequate access to their respective programmes, subject to appropriate levels of effective protection of intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights. Cooperation shall take due account of the priority areas related to the Community acquis in the field of research and technological development.
Article 110. Regional and Local Development
The Parties shall seek to strengthen regional and local development cooperation, with the objective of contributing to economic development and reducing regional imbalances. Specific attention shall be given to crossborder, transnational and interregional cooperation. Cooperation shall take due account of the priorities of the Community acquis in the field of regional development.
Article 111. Public Administration Reform
Cooperation will aim to further the development of an efficient and accountable public administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, building on the reform efforts undertaken to date in this area. Cooperation in this area shall focus mainly on institution building, in line with European Partnership requirements, and will include aspects such as the development and implementation of transparent and impartial recruitment procedures, human resources management and career development for the public service, continued training, the promotion of ethics within the public administration and the strengthening of the policy making process. Reforms will take due account of fiscal sustainability objectives, including aspects of fiscal architecture. Cooperation shall cover all levels of public administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Section TITLE IX. Financial Cooperation
Article 112.
In order to achieve the objectives of this Agreement and in accordance with Articles 5, 113 and 115 Bosnia and Herzegovina may receive financial assistance from the Community in the form of grants and loans, including loans from the European Investment Bank. Community aid is conditional on further progress in satisfying the Copenhagen political criteria and in particular on progress in meeting the specific priorities of the European Partnership. Account shall also be taken of the assessment provided by the annual Progress Reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Community assistance shall also be subject to the conditions of the Stabilisation and Association process, in particular as regards the recipients' undertaking to carry out democratic, economic and institutional reforms. Aid granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be geared to addressing identified needs and agreed priorities, shall reflect capacity to absorb and when appropriate repay and shall implement measures taken to reform and restructure the economy.
Article 113.
Financial assistance, in the form of grants, may be provided in accordance with the relevant Council Regulation within a multiannual indicative framework based on annual action programmes, established by the Community following consultations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Financial assistance may cover any sectors of cooperation, paying particular attention to Justice and Home Affairs, approximation of legislation and economic development.
Article 114.
In order to permit optimum use of the resources available, the Parties shall ensure that Community contributions are made in close coordination with those from other sources such as the Member States, other countries and international financial institutions. To this effect, information on all sources of assistance shall be exchanged regularly between the Parties.
Section TITLE X. Institutional, General and Final Provisions
Article 115.
A Stabilisation and Association Council is hereby established which shall supervise the application and implementation of this Agreement. It shall meet at an appropriate level at regular intervals and when circumstances require. It shall examine any major issues arising within the framework of this Agreement and any other bilateral or international issues of mutual interest.
Article 116.
1. The Stabilisation and Association Council shall consist of the members of the Council of the European Union and members of the European Commission, on the one hand, and of members of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other.
2. The Stabilisation and Association Council shall establish its rules of procedure.
3. The members of the Stabilisation and Association Council may arrange to be represented, in accordance with the conditions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.
4. The Stabilisation and Association Council shall be chaired in turn by a representative of the Community and a representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the provisions to be laid down in its rules of procedure. 5. In matters that concern it, the European Investment Bank shall take part, as an observer, in the work of the Stabilisation and Association Council.
Article 117.
The Stabilisation and Association Council shall, for the purpose of attaining the objectives of this Agreement, have the power to take decisions within the scope of this Agreement 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 Stabilisation and Association Council may also make appropriate recommendations. It shall draw up its decisions and recommendations by agreement between the Parties.
Article 118.
1. The Stabilisation and Association Council shall be assisted in the performance of its duties by a Stabilisation and Association Committee, composed of representatives of the Council of the European Union and of representatives of the European Commission, on the one hand, and of representatives of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other.
2. In its rules of procedure the Stabilisation and Association Council shall determine the duties of the Stabilisation and Association Committee, which shall include the preparation of meetings of the Stabilisation and Association Council, and shall determine how the Committee shall function.
3. The Stabilisation and Association Council may delegate to the Stabilisation and Association Committee any of its powers. In this event the Stabilisation and Association Committee shall take its decisions in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 117.
Article 119.
The Stabilisation and Association Committee may create subcommittees. Before the end of the first year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Stabilisation and Association Committee shall set up the necessary subcommittees for the adequate implementation of this Agreement. A subcommittee that will address migration issues shall be created.
Article 120.
The Stabilisation and Association Council may decide to set up any other special committee or body that can assist it in carrying out its duties. In its rules of procedure, the Stabilisation and Association Council shall determine the composition and duties of such committees or bodies and how they shall function.
Article 121.
A Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee is hereby established. It shall be a forum for Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the European Parliament to meet and exchange views. It shall meet at intervals that it shall itself determine. The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee shall consist of Members of the European Parliament and of Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee shall establish its rules of procedure. The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee shall be chaired in turn by a member of the European Parliament and by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the provisions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.
Article 122.
Within the scope of this Agreement, each Party undertakes to ensure that natural and legal persons of the other Party have access free of discrimination in relation to its own nationals to the competent courts and administrative organs of the Parties to defend their individual rights and their property rights.
Article 123.
Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent a Party from taking any measures:
(a) which it considers necessary to prevent the disclosure of information contrary to its essential security interests;
(b) which relate to the production of, or trade in, arms, munitions or war materials or to research, development or production indispensable for defence purposes, provided that such measures do not impair the conditions of competition in respect of products not intended for specifically military purposes;
(c) which it considers essential to its own security in the event of serious internal disturbances affecting the maintenance of law and order, in time of war or serious international tension constituting threat of war or in order to carry out obligations it has accepted for the purpose of maintaining peace and international security.
Article 124.
1. In the fields covered by this Agreement and without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein:
(a) the arrangements applied by Bosnia and Herzegovina in respect of the Community shall not give rise to any discrimination between the Member States, their nationals, companies or firms;
(b) the arrangements applied by the Community in respect of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall not give rise to any discrimination between nationals, companies or firms of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the right of the Parties to apply the relevant provisions of their fiscal legislation to taxpayers who are not in identical situations as regards their place of residence.
Article 125.
1. The Parties shall take any general or specific measures required to fulfil their obligations under this Agreement. They shall ensure that the objectives set out in this Agreement are attained.
2. The Parties agree to consult promptly through appropriate channels at the request of either Party to discuss any matter concerning the interpretation or implementation of this Agreement and other relevant aspects of the relations between the Parties.
3. Each Party shall refer to the Stabilisation and Association Council any dispute relating to the application or interpretation of this Agreement. In that case, Article 126 and, as the case may be, Protocol 6, shall apply. The Stabilisation and Association Council may settle the dispute by means of a binding decision.
4. If either Party considers that the other Party has failed to fulfil an obligation under this Agreement, it may take appropriate measures. Before so doing, except in cases of special urgency, it shall supply the Stabilisation and Association Council with all relevant information required for a thorough examination of the situation with a view to seeking a solution acceptable to the Parties. In the selection of measures, priority must be given to those which least disturb the functioning of this Agreement. These measures shall be notified immediately to the Stabilisation and Association Council and shall be the subject of consultations, if the other Party so requests, within the Stabilisation and Association Council, the Stabilisation and Association Committee or any other body set up on the basis of Articles 119 and 120. 5. The provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 shall in no way affect and are without prejudice to Articles 30, 38, 39, 40, and 44 and Protocol 2.
Article 126.
1. When a dispute arises between the Parties concerning the interpretation or the implementation of this Agreement, any Party shall notify to the other Party and the Stabilisation and Association Council a formal request that the matter in dispute be resolved. Where a Party considers that a measure adopted by the other Party, or a failure of the other Party to act, constitutes a breach of its obligations under this Agreement, the formal request that the dispute be resolved shall give the reasons for this opinion and indicate, as the case may be, that the Party may adopt measures as provided for in Article 125(4).
2. The Parties shall endeavour to resolve the dispute by entering into good faith consultations within the Stabilisation and Association Council and other bodies as provided in paragraph 3, with the aim of reaching as soon as possible a mutually acceptable solution.
3. The Parties shall provide the Stabilisation and Association Council with all relevant information required for a thorough examination of the situation. As long as the dispute is not resolved, it shall be discussed at every meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council, unless the arbitration procedure as provided for in Protocol 6 has been initiated. A dispute shall be deemed to be resolved when the Stabilisation and Association Council has taken a binding decision to settle the matter as provided for in Article 125(3), or when it has declared that there is no dispute anymore. Consultations on a dispute can also be held at any meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Committee or any other relevant committee or body set up on the basis of Articles 119 or 120, as agreed between the Parties or at the request of any of the Parties. Consultations may also be held in writing. All information disclosed during the consultations shall remain confidential.
4. For matters within the scope of application of Protocol 6, any Party may submit the matter in dispute for settlement through arbitration in accordance with that Protocol, when the Parties have failed to resolve the dispute within two months after the initiation of the dispute settlement procedure in accordance with paragraph 1.
Article 127.
This Agreement shall not, until equivalent rights for individuals and economic operators have been achieved under this Agreement, affect rights ensured to them through existing Agreements binding one or more Member States, on the one hand, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other.
Article 128.
Annexes I to VII and Protocols 1 to 7 shall form an integral part of this Agreement. The Framework Agreement between the European Community and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the general principles for the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Community Programmes 1 , signed on 22 November 2004, and the Annex thereto shall form an integral part of this Agreement. The review provided for in Article 8 of that Framework Agreement shall be carried out within the Stabilisation and Association Council, which shall have the power to amend, if necessary, the Framework Agreement.
Article 129.
This Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period. Either Party may denounce this Agreement by notifying the other Party. This Agreement shall terminate six months after the date of such notification. Either Party may suspend this Agreement, with immediate effect, in the event of non compliance by the other Party with one of the essential elements of this Agreement.
Article 130.
For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "Parties" shall mean the Community, or its Member States, or the Community and its Member States, in accordance with their respective powers, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the other part. OJ L 192, 22.7.2005, p. 9.
Article 131.
This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaties establishing the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community are applied and under the conditions laid down in those Treaties, and to the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other.
Article 132.
The Secretary General of the Council of the European Union shall be the depositary of this Agreement.
Article 133.
This Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages, each text being equally authentic.
Article 134.
The Parties shall ratify or approve this Agreement in accordance with their own procedures. The instruments of ratification or approval shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of the deposit of the last instrument of ratification or approval.
Article 135. Interim Agreement
In the event that, pending the completion of the procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement, the provisions of certain parts of this Agreement, in particular those relating to the free movement of goods as well as the relevant provisions on transport, are put into effect by means of an Interim Agreement between the Community and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parties agree that, in such circumstances for the purpose of the provisions of Title IV, Articles 71 and 73 of this Agreement, Protocols 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and relevant provisions of Protocol 3 hereto, the terms "date of entry into force of this Agreement" mean the date of entry into force of the Interim Agreement in relation to obligations contained in the abovementioned provisions.