- land-use planning, including construction and urban planning,
- the modernization of Romania's postal and broadcasting services, including the legal and regulatory aspects.
Article 85. Banking, Insurance, other Financial Services and Audit Cooperation
1. The Parties shall cooperate with the aim of establishing and developing a suitable framework for the encouragement of a banking, insurance and financial services sector in Romania.
(a) Cooperation shall focus on:
- the adoption of an accounting system compatible with European standards,
- the strengthening and restructuring of the banking and financial systems,
- the improvement of the monitoring and regulation of banking and financial services,
- the preparation of glossaries of terminology,
- the exchange of information on the laws in force or being drafted.
(b) To this end, the cooperation shall include the provision of technical assistance and training.
2. The Parties shall cooperate with the aim of developing efficient auditing systems in Romania based on standard Community methods and procedures.
Article 86. Monetary Policy
At the request of Romanian authorities, the Community shall provide technical assistance designed to support the efforts of Romania towards the introduction of full convertibility of the leu and the gradual approximation of its policies to those of the European Monetary System. This will include informal exchange of information concerning the principles and the functioning of the European Monetary System.
Article 87. Money Laundering
1. The Parties will establish a framework for cooperation aimed at preventing the use of their financial systems for laundering of proceeds from criminal activities in general and drug offences 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 88. Regional Development
1. The Parties shall strengthen cooperation between them on regional development and land-use planning.
2. To this end, any of the following measures may be undertaken:
- the exchange of information by national, regional or local authorities on regional and land-use planning policy, and, where appropriate, the provision of assistance to Romania for the formulation of such policy,
- joint action by regional and local authorities in the area of economic development,
- exchange visits to explore the opportunities for cooperation and assistance,
- the exchange of civil servants or experts,
- the provision of technical assistance, with special emphasis on the development of disadvantaged areas,
- the establishment of programmes for the exchange of information and experience, by methods including seminars.
Article 89. Social Cooperation
1. With regard to health and safety, the Parties shall develop cooperation between them with the aim of improving 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 comprise the following in particular:
- the provision of technical assistance,
- the exchange of experts,
- cooperation between firms,
- information and training operations,
- cooperation in public health.
2. With regard to employment, cooperation between the Parties shall focus notably on:
- the organization on the labour market,
- the modernization of job-finding and careers advice services,
- the planning and the implementation of regional restructuring programmes,
- the encouragement of local employment development.
Cooperation in this field will take the form of studies, provision of the services of experts and information and training.
3. With regard to social security, cooperation between the Parties shall seek to adapt the Romanian social security system to the new economic and social situation, primarily by providing the services of experts and information and training.
Article 90. Tourism
The Parties shall increase and develop cooperation between them, which shall include:
- facilitating the tourist trade and encouraging tourist exchanges among young people,
- increasing the flow of information through international networks, data bases, etc.,
- transferring know-how through training, exchanges, seminars,
- studying the opportunities for joint operations (cross-border projects, town-twinning, etc.),
- Romania's participation in relevant European tourism organizations,
- harmonization of the statistical systems and the rules regarding tourism:
- exchanging news and providing for appropriate exchanges of information on major issues of mutual interest affecting the tourism sector,
- technical assistance for the commercial development of infrastructure conducive to the tourism sector.
Article 91. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
1. The Parties shall aim to develop and strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cooperation between SMEs in the Community and Romania.
2. They shall encourage the exchange of information and know-how in the following areas:
- bringing about the legal, administrative, technical, tax and financial conditions necessary to the setting-up and expansion of SMEs and for cross-border cooperation,
- the provision of the specialized services required by SMEs (management training, accounting, marketing, quality control, etc.) and the strengthening of agencies providing such services,
- the establishment of appropriate links with Community operators in order to improve the flow of information to SMEs and promoting cross-border cooperation (e.g. the Business Cooperation Network (BC-NET), Euro-Info Centres, conferences, etc.).
3. Cooperation will include the supply of technical assistance in particular for the establishment of appropriate institutional support for SME's, at both national and regional level, regarding financial, training, advisory, technological and marketing services.
Article 92. Information and Communication
1. The Community and Romania shall take appropriate steps to stimulate the effective 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 Romania with more specialized information, including, where possible, access to Community databases.
Article 93. Consumer Protection
1. The Parties shall cooperate with the aim of achieving full compatibility between the systems of consumer protection in Romania and the Community.
2. To this end, cooperation shall comprise, within existing possibilities:
- the exchange of information and experts,
- access to Community databases,
- training operations and technical assistance.
Article 94. Customs
1. The aim of cooperation shall be to guarantee compliance with all the provisions scheduled for adoption in connection with trade and fair trade and to achieve the approximation of Romania's customs system to that of the Community, thus helping to ease the steps towards liberalization planned under this Agreement.
2. Cooperation shall include the following in particular:
- the exchange of information,
- the introduction of the single administrative document and the combined nomenclature,
- the interconnection between the transit systems of the Community and Romania,
- the simplification of inspections and formalities in respect of the carriage of goods,
- the organization of seminars and placements of trainees.
Technical assistance shall be provided where appropriate.
3. Without prejudice to further cooperation foreseen in this Agreement, and in particular Article 97, the mutual assistance between administrative authorities in customs matters of the Parties shall take place in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 6.
Article 95. Statistical Cooperation
1. Cooperation in this area shall have as its aim the development of an efficient statistical system to provide, in a rapid and timely fashion, the reliable statistics needed to support and monitor the process of economic reform and contribute to the development of private enterprise in Romania.
2. The Parties shall cooperate in particular:
- to strengthen Romania's statistical apparatus,
- to bring about harmonization with international (and particularly Community) methods, standards and classifications,
- to provide the data needed to maintain and monitor economic and social reform,
- to provide private-sector economic operators with the appropriate macro-economic and micro-economic data,
- to guarantee the confidentiality of data,
- to exchange statistical information,
- to build up databases.
3. Technical assistance shall be provided by the Community as appropriate.
Article 96. Economics
1. The Community and Romania will facilitate the process of economic reforms and integration by cooperating to improve understanding of the fundamentals of their respective economies and the devising and implementing of economic policy in market economies.
2. To these ends the Community and Romania will:
- exchange information on macroeconomic performance and prospects and on strategies for development,
- analyse jointly economic issues of mutual interest, including the framing of economic policy and the instruments for implementing it,
- through the programme of Action for Cooperation in Economics (ACE) in particular, encourage extensive cooperation among economists and managers in the Community and Romania, in order to expedite the transfer of know-how for the drafting of economic policies, and provide for wide dissemination of the results of policy-relevant research.
Article 97. Drugs
1. The cooperation is in particular aimed at increasing the efficiency of policies and measures to counter the supply and illicit traffic of narcotics and psychotropic substances and the reduction of abuse of these products.
2. The Parties shall agree on the necessary methods of cooperation to attain these objectives, including the modalities of the implementation of common actions. Their actions will be based on consultation and close coordination over the objectives and the policy measures in the fields targeted in paragraph 1.
3. Cooperation between the Parties will comprise technical and administrative assistance which could deal in particular with the following areas:
- the drafting and implementation of national legislation,
- the creation of institutions and information centres and of social and health centres,
- the training of personnel and research,
- the prevention of diversion of precursors and other chemical substances used for the purpose of illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.
Cooperation in this area shall include administrative and technical assistance with the purpose of establishing suitable standards against the misuse of the products in question equivalent to those adopted by the Community and relevant international bodies, in particular the Chemical Action Task Force (CATF).
The Parties may agree to include other areas.
Article 98. Public Administration
The Parties shall promote cooperation between their public administration authorities, including the setting up of exchange programmes, in order to improve mutual knowledge of the structure and functioning of their respective systems.
Title VII. CULTURAL COOPERATION
Article 99.
1. Taking into account the Solemn Declaration on European Union, the Parties undertake to promote, encourage and facilitate cultural cooperation. Where appropriate, the Community's cultural cooperation programmes or those of one or more Member States may be extended to Romania and further activities of interest to both sides developed.
This cooperation may notably cover:
- non commercial exchange of works of art and artists,
- literary translations,
- conservation and restoration of monuments and sites (architectural and cultural heritage),
- training for those dealing with cultural affairs,
- the organization of European-oriented cultural events,
- dissemination of outstanding cultural achievements including the training of Romanian specialists in this field.
2. The Parties shall cooperate in the promotion of the audiovisual industry in Europe. The audiovisual sector in Romania could most notably take part in activities set up by the Community in the framework of the Media programme under procedures laid down by the bodies responsible for managing each activity and in accordance with the provisions of the Decision of the Council of the European Communities of 21 December 1990, which established the programme. The Community will encourage the Romanian audiovisual sector to participate in the appropriate Eureka programmes.
The Parties shall coordinate, and where appropriate, harmonize their policies regarding the regulation of cross-border broadcasting, technical norms in the audiovisual field and the promotion of European audiovisual technology.
Cooperation could include inter alia the exchange of programmes, bursaries and facilities for the training of journalists and other media professionals.
Title VIII. FINANCIAL COOPERATION
Article 100.
In order to achieve the objectives of this Agreement and in accordance with Articles 101, 102, 104 and 105, without prejudice to Article 103, Romania shall benefit from temporary financial assistance from the Community in the form of grants and loans, including loans from the European Investment Bank according to the provisions of Article 18 of the Statute of the Bank, to accelerate the economic transformation of Romania and to help Romania to cope with the economic and social consequences of structural readjustment.
Article 101.
This financial assistance shall be covered:
- either within the framework of the Operation Phare foreseen in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89, as amended, on a multiannual basis, or within a new financial multiannual framework established by the Community following consultations with Romania and taking into account the considerations set out in Articles 104 and 105 of this Agreement,
- by the loans provided by the European Investment Bank until the expiry date of the availability thereof; following consultations with Romania the Community shall fix the maximum amount and period of availability of loans from the European Investment Bank for Romania for subsequent years.
Article 102.
The objectives and the areas of the Community's financial assistance shall be laid down in an indicative programme to be agreed between the two Parties. The Parties shall inform the Association Council.
Article 103.
1. The Community shall, in case of special need, taking into account the G-24's guidelines for action and the availability of all financial resources, on request of Romania and in coordination with international financial institutions, in the context of the G-24, examine the possibility of granting temporary financial assistance
- to support measures with the aim to introduce and maintain the convertibility of the Romanian currency,
- to support medium-term stabilization and structural adjustment efforts, including balance of payments assistance.
2. This financial assistance is subject to Romania's presentation of IMF supported programmes in the context of the G-24, as appropriate, for convertibility and/or for restructuring its economy, to the Community's acceptance thereof, to Romania's continued adherence to these programmes and, as an ultimate objective, to rapid transition to reliance on finance from private sources.
3. The Association Council will be informed of the conditions under which this assistance will be provided and of the respect of the obligations undertaken by Romania concerning such assistance.
Article 104.
The Community financial assistance shall be evaluated in the light of the needs which arise and of Romania's development level, and taking into account established priorities and the absorption capacity of Romania's economy, the ability to repay loans and progress towards a market economy system and restructuring in Romania.
Article 105.
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, including the G-24, and international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Title IX. INSTITUTIONAL, GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 106.
An Association Council is hereby established which shall supervise the implementation of this Agreement. It shall meet at ministerial level once a year and when circumstances require. It shall examine any major issues arising within the framework of the Agreement and any other bilateral or international issues of mutual interest.
Article 107.
1. The Association Council shall consist of the members of the Council of the European Communities and members of the Commission of the European Communities, on the one hand, and of members appointed by the Government of Romania, on the other.
2. Members of the Association Council may arrange to be represented, in accordance with the conditions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.
3. The Association Council shall establish its rules of procedure.
4. The Association Council shall be presided in turn by a member of the Council of the European Communities and a member of the Government of Romania, in accordance with the provisions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.
5. Where appropriate, the European Investment Bank will take part, as an observer, in the work of the Association Council.
Article 108.
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 two Parties.
Article 109.
1. Each of the two Parties may refer to the Association Council any dispute relating to the application or interpretation of this Agreement.