3. In the performance of its duties the Committee of Ambassadors shall meet at least every six months.
Article 273.
1. The office of Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors shall be held alternately by a Permanent Representative of a Member State designated by the Community and a head of mission representing an ACP State designated by the ACP States.
2. Any member of the Committee of Ambassadors unable to attend may be represented. The representative shall exercise all the rights of that member.
3. The Committee of Ambassadors shall lay down its rules of procedure, which shall be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval.
Chapter 3. Provisions Common to the Council of Ministers and the Committee of Ambassadors
Article 274.
A representative of the Bank shalt be present at meetings of the Council of Ministers or Committee of Ambassadors when matters from the areas which concern the Bank are on the agenda.
Article 275.
The secretariat duties and other work necessary for the functioning of the Council of Ministers and the Committee of Ambassadors or other joint bodies shall be carried out on a basis of parity and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the rules of procedure of the Council of Ministers.
Chapter 4. The Joint Assembly
Article 276.
The Joint Assembly shall consider the annual report drawn up under Article 269(4).
It may adopt resolutions on matters concerning or covered by this Convention.
It may, in order to attain the objectives of this Convention, submit to the Council of Ministers any conclusions and make any recommendations it considers appropriate, in particular when examining the Council of Ministers' annual report.
Article 277.
1. The Joint Assembly shall appoint its Bureau and shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
2. It shall hold a general session twice a year, alternately in the Community and in an ACP State.
3. It may set up ad hoc working parties to undertake such specific preparatory activities as it shall determine.
4. The secretariat duties and other work necessary for the functioning of the Joint Assembly shall be carried out on the basis of parity and in accordance with the conditions laid down in its rules of procedure.
Chapter 5. Other Provisions
Article 278.
1. Any dispute which arises between one or more Member States or the Community on the one hand, and one or more ACP States on the other, concerning the interpretation or the application of this Convention shall be referred to the Council of Ministers.
2. Between meetings of the Council of Ministers, such disputes shall be referred to the Committee of Ambassadors for settlement.
3. If the Committee of Ambassadors fails to settle the dispute, it shall refer the matter to the Council of Ministers at its next meeting.
4. If the Council of Ministers fails to settle the dispute at that meeting it may, at the request of either Contracting Party, initiate a good offices procedure, the result of which shall be transmitted to the Council in the form of a report at its next meeting.
5. (a) If a settlement of the dispute is not reached, the Council of Ministers shall initiate an arbitration procedure at the request of either Contracting Party. Two arbitrators shall be appointed by the parties to the dispute within thirty days, one by either side as set out in paragraph 1. The two arbitrators in question shall then appoint a third arbitrator within two months. Should the latter not be appointed within the time-limit set, he shall be appointed by the co-Presidents of the Council of Ministers from among eminent persons providing every guarantee of independence.
(b) The decision of the arbitrators shall be taken by majority vote, as a general rule within five months.
(c) Each party to the dispute must take the measures required for the implementation of the arbitrators' decision.
Article 279.
The Contracting Parties shall endeavour, without prejudice to the provisions of this Convention, to reach a joint interpretation where there are differences of opinion between the Community and the ACP States as to the interpretation of the texts in connection with the application of this Convention. To this end, such problems shall undergo joint examination by the institutions with a view to resolving them.
Article 280.
The operating expenses of the institutions of this Convention shall be defrayed in accordance with the terms set out in Protocol 2.
Article 281.
The privileges and immunities for the purposes of this Convention shall be as laid down in Protocol 3.
Part Five. Final Provisions
Article 282.
No treaty, convention, agreement or arrangement of any kind between one or more Member States of the Community and one or more ACP States may impede the implementation of this Convention.
Article 283.
Subject to the special provisions regarding the relations between the ACP States and the French overseas departments provided for therein, this Convention shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territories of the ACP States.
Article 284.
1. Should a third country wish to accede to the Community, the latter shall, as soon as it has decided to enter into negotiations on such accession, inform the ACP States of its decision.
2. The Contracting Parties further agree:
(a) to establish, in the course of accession negotiations, regular contacts during which:
- the Community shall provide the ACP States with all rele- vant information on the progress of the negotiations;
- the ACP States shall inform the Community of their concerns and positions so that they may be taken fully into account;
(b) to examine without delay, after the conclusion of the accession negotiations, the effects of such accession on this Convention, and to engage in negotiations in order to establish a protocol of accession and adopt the measures of adaptation or transition that may become necessary, to be annexed to the said protocol, of which they shall constitute an integral part.
3. Without prejudice to any transitional arrangements that may be adopted, the Contracting Parties recognize that the provisions of the Convention do not apply in relations between the ACP States and a new Member State of the Community as long as the protocol of accession to the Convention referred to in paragraph 2(b) has not entered into force.
Article 285.
1. (a) As regards the Community, this Convention shall be validly concluded in accordance with the provisions of the EEC and ECSC Treaties; the conclusion shall be notified to the parties.
(b) This Convention shall be ratified by the Signatory States in conformity with their respective constitutional requirements.
2. The instruments of ratification and the act of notification of the conclusion of this Convention shall be deposited, as concerns the ACP States, with the Secretariat of the Council of the European Communities and, as concerns the Community and the Member States, with the Secretariat of the ACP States. The Secretariats shall give notice thereof forthwith to the Signatory States and the Community.
Article 286.
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification of the Member States and of at least two thirds of the ACP States, and of the act of notification of the conclusion of this Convention by the Community.
2. Any ACP State which has not completed the procedures set out in Article 285 by the date of the entry into force of this Convention as specified in paragraph | may do so only within the twelve months following such entry into force and shall be able to proceed with these procedures only during the twelve months following such entry into force, unless before the expiry of this period it gives notice to the Council of Ministers of its intention to complete these procedures not later than six months after this period and on the condition that it under- takes the deposit of its instrument of ratification within the same time-limit.
3. As regards those ACP States which have not completed the procedures set out in Article 285 by the date of entry into force of this Convention as specified in paragraph 1, this Convention shall become applicable on the first day of the second month following the completion of the said procedures.
4. Signatory ACP States which ratify this Convention in accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 shall recognize the validity of all measures taken in implementation of this Convention between the date of its entry into force and the date when its provisions become applicable to them. Subject to any extension which may be granted to them by the Council of Ministers they shall, not later than six months following the completion of the procedures referred to in Article 285, carry out all the obligations which devolve upon them under the terms of this Convention or of implementing decisions adopted by the Council of Ministers.
5. The rules of procedure of the joint institutions set up under this Convention shall lay down whether and under what conditions the representatives of Signatory States which, on the date of entry into force of this Convention have not yet completed the procedures referred to in Article 285, shall sit in those institutions as observers. The arrangements thus adopted shall be effective only until the date on which this Convention becomes applicable to these states: such arrangements shall in any case cease to apply on the date on which, pursuant to paragraph 2, the state concerned may no longer ratify this Convention.
Article 287.
1. The Council of Ministers shall be informed of any request by any state for membership of, or association with, the Community.
2. The Council of Ministers shall be informed of any request made by any state wishing to become a member of an economic grouping composed of ACP States.
Article 288.
1. Any request for accession to this Convention by a country or territory to which Part Four of the Treaty applies, and which becomes independent, shall be referred to the Council of Ministers.
2. With the approval of the Council of Ministers, the country in question shall accede to this Convention by depositing an instrument of accession with the Secretariat of the Council of the European Communities, which shall transmit a certified copy to the Secretariat of the ACP States and shall give notice thereof to the Signatory States.
3. That country shall then enjoy the same rights and be subject to the same obligations as the ACP States. Such accession shall not adversely affect the advantages accruing to the ACP States signatory to this Convention from the provisions on financial and technical co-operation and on the stabilization of export earnings.
Article 289.
1. Any request for accession to this Convention submitted by a state whose economic structure and production are comparable with those of the ACP States shall require approval by the Council of Ministers. The state concerned may accede to this Convention by concluding an agreement with the Community.
2. That state shall then enjoy the same rights and be subject to the same obligations as the ACP States.
3. The agreement may, however, stipulate the date on which certain of those rights and obligations shall become applicable to that state.
4. Such accession shall not, however, adversely affect the advantages accruing to the ACP States signatory to this Convention under the provisions on financial and technical co-operation, the stabilization of export earnings and industrial co-operation.
Article 290.
As from the entry into force of this Convention, the powers conferred upon the Council of Ministers by the second ACP- EEC Convention of Lomé, signed at Lomé on 31 October 1979, shall be exercised, insofar as is necessary and in compliance with the relevant provisions of the said Convention, by the Council of Ministers set up by this Convention.
Article 291.
This Convention shall expire after a period of five years from the first day of March 1985, namely on the twenty-eighth day of February 1990.
Eighteen months before the end of this period the Contracting Parties shall enter into negotiations in order to examine what provisions shall subsequently govern relations between the Community and the Member States on the one hand and the ACP States on the other.
The Council of Ministers shall adopt any transitional measures that may be required until the new Convention comes into force.
Article 292.
This Convention may be denounced by the Community in respect of each ACP State and by each ACP State in respect of the Community, upon six months' notice.
Article 293.
The Protocols annexed to this Convention shall form an integral part thereof.
Article 294.
This Convention, drawn up in two copies in the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek and Italian languages, all texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the Euro-pean Communities and the Secretariat of the ACP States, which shall both transmit a certified copy to the government of each of the Signatory States.
Conclusion
Done at Lome on the eighth day of December in the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-four.
For His Majesty the King of the Belgians,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark,
For The President of the Federal Republic of Germany,
For The President of the Hellenic Republic,
For The President of the French Republic,
For The President of Ireland,
For The President of the Italian Republic,
For His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg,
For Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands,
For Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
For the Council and the Commission of the European Communities,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Antigua and Barbuda,
For The Head of State of the Bahamas,
For The Head of State of Barbados,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Belize,
For The President of the People's Republic of Benin,
For The President of the Republic of Botswana,
For The President of the National Revolutionary Council, President of Burkina Faso, Head of the Government,
For The President of the Republic of Burundi,
For The President of the Republic of Cameroon,
For The President of the Republic of Cape Verde,
For The President of the Central African Republic,
For The President of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros,
For The President of the People's Republic of the Congo,
For The President of the Republic of the Ivory Coast,
For The President of the Republic of Djibouti,
For The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica,
For The General Secretary of the Ethiopian Workers' Party, Chairman of the Provisional Military Administrative Council and of the Council of Ministers and Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army of Ethiopia,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Fiji,
For The President of the Gabonese Republic,
For The President of the Republic of the Gambia,
For The Head of State and Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council of the Republic of Ghana,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Grenada,
For The President of the Republic of Guinea,
For The President of the Council of State of Guinea-Bissau,
For The President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea,
For The President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,
For The Head of the State of Jamaica,
For The President of the Republic of Kenya,
For The President of the Republic of Kiribati,
For His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of Lesotho,
For The President of the Republic of Liberia,
For The President of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar,
For The President of the Republic of Malawi,
For The President of the Republic of Mali,
For The Chairman of the Military Committee for National Safety, Head of State of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Mauritius,
For The President of the People's Republic of Mozambique,
For The President of the Supreme Military Council, Head of State of Niger,
For The Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria,
For The President of the Republic of Uganda,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Papua New Guinea,
For The President of the Rwandese Republic,
For Her Majesty the Queen of St Christopher and Nevis,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Saint Lucia,
For Her Majesty the Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
For The Head of Sate of Western Samoa,
For The President of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe,
For The President of the Republic of Senegal,
For The President of the Republic of Seychelles,
For The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone,
For Her Majesty the Queen of the Solomon Islands,
For The President of the Somali Democratic Republic,
For The President of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan,
For The President of the Republic of Suriname,
For Her Majesty the Queen Regent of the Kingdom of Swaziland,