2. The Committee may establish any special technical groups to deal with specific matters falling within their competence.
3. The Committee shall determine the rules of procedure of the special technical groups established under paragraph 2 of this Article.
4. The Committee shall report and be responsible to the Joint Council.
5. The Committee shall take decisions or make recommendations in the cases provided for in this Agreement or where such power has been delegated to it by the Joint Council. In this event the Committee shall take its decisions by consensus.
6. The Committee shall have, in particular, the following functions:
(a) In the area of trade, to:
(i) monitor and evaluate the implementation of the decisions of the Joint Council;
(ii) facilitate and supervise the implementation of the provisions of this Agreement;
(iii) consider and recommend cooperation priorities to the Joint Council;
(iv) make appropriate recommendations to the Joint Council to avoid potential conflicts which might arise in areas covered by this Agreement;
(v) carry out any other function assigned to it by the Joint Council;
(vi) supervise the work of the special technical groups as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article;
(vii) monitor the development of regional integration and of economic and trade relations between the Parties;
(viii) discuss and undertake actions that may facilitate trade, investment and business opportunities between the Parties; and
(ix) discuss any matters pertaining to this Agreement and any issue liable to affect the attainment of its objectives.
(b) In the area of development cooperation, to:
(i) monitor the implementation of the cooperation provisions laid down in this Agreement and coordinate such action with third party donors;
(ii) make recommendations on trade-related cooperation between the Parties;
(iii) keep under periodic review the cooperation priorities set out in this Agreement, and make recommendations on the inclusion of new priorities, as appropriate;
(iv) review and discuss cooperation issues pertaining to regional integration and implementation of this Agreement; and
(v) monitor and assess the impact of the implementation of this Agreement on the sustainable development of the Parties.
Part VI.
Chapter 15. General and Final Provisions
Article 97. Definition of the Parties and Fulfilment of Obligations
1. The Contracting Parties of this Agreement shall be Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Mozambique hereinafter referred to, for ease of reference, as the "SADC EPA States", of the one part, and the European Community or its Member States or the European Community and its Member States, within their respective areas of competence as derived from the Treaty establishing the European Community, hereinafter referred to as the "EC Party", of the other part.
2. For the purposes of this Agreement:
(a) the term "Parties" shall refer to the SADC EPA States acting collectively and the EC Party. The term "Party" shall refer to the SADC EPA States acting collectively or the EC Party as the case may be;
(b) the term "SADC EPA States" shall refer to the SADC EPA States acting individually.
3. The SADC EPA States and the EC Party shall adopt any general or specific measures required for them to fulfil their obligations under this Agreement and shall ensure that they comply with the objectives laid down in this Agreement.
Article 98. Exchange of Information
1. In order to facilitate communication relating to the effective implementation of this Agreement, the Parties shall designate a focal point for the exchange of information upon entry into force of this Agreement. The designation of a focal point for the exchange of information is without prejudice to the specific designation of competent authorities under specific Titles or Chapters of this Agreement.
2. On the request of the focal points for exchange of information, each Party shall indicate the office or official responsible for any matter pertaining to the implementation of this Agreement and provide the required support to facilitate communication with the requesting Party.
3. On request of the other Party, and to the extent legally possible, each Party or the SADC EPA States, as the case may be, shall provide information and reply promptly to any question from the other Party relating to an actual or proposed measure that might affect trade between the Parties.
Article 99. Transparency
1. A Party, or an SADC EPA State, as the case may be, shall publish or make publicly available its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general application as well as any other commitments under an international agreement relating to any trade matter covered by this Agreement. Any such measures adopted after the entry into force of this Agreement shall be brought to the attention of the other Party.
2. Without prejudice to specific transparency provisions in this Agreement, the information referred to under this Article shall be considered to have been brought to the attention of the other Party when the information has been made available:
(a) by appropriate notification to the WTO; or
(b) on the official, fee-free and publicly accessible website; or
(c) to a focal point of the other Party.
However, where the EC Party has provided such information and it has not been notified to the WTO through an official, fee-free and publicly accessible website, an SADC EPA State, which, because of capacity constraints, has difficulties accessing such a website, may request the EC Party to provide such information to the relevant focal point.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall require any Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private, except to the extent that it may be necessary to be disclosed in the context of a dispute settlement proceeding under this Agreement. Where such disclosure is considered necessary by a panel established under this Agreement, the panel shall ensure that confidentiality is fully protected.
Article 100. Temporary Difficulties In Implementation
In the event that a Party, as a result of factors beyond its control, encounters difficulties in meeting its obligations under this Agreement, it shall immediately bring the matter to the attention of the Joint Council.
Article 101. Regional Preferences
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall oblige a Party to extend to the other Party to this Agreement any more favourable treatment which is applied by a Party as part of its respective regional integration process.
2. Any more favourable treatment and advantage that may be granted under this Agreement by any SADC EPA State to the EC Party shall be enjoyed by the other SADC EPA States.
Article 102. Outermost Regions of the European Community
1. Taking account of the geographical proximity of the outermost regions of the European
Community and the SADC EPA States and in order to reinforce economic and social links between those regions and the SADC EPA States, the Parties shall endeavour to facilitate cooperation in all areas covered by this Agreement between the outermost regions of the European Community and the SADC EPA States.
2. The objectives enunciated in paragraph 1 of this Article shall also be pursued, wherever possible, through fostering the joint participation of the SADC EPA States and the outermost regions of the European Community in the framework and specific programmes of the European Community in areas covered by this Agreement.
3. The EC Party shall endeavour to ensure coordination between the different financial instruments of the European Community's cohesion and development policies in order to foster cooperation between SADC EPA States and the outermost regions of the European Community in the areas covered by this Agreement.
4. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the EC Party from applying existing measures aimed at addressing the structural social and economic situation of its outermost regions pursuant to Article 299(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community. This provision shall not permit the maintenance of tariffs on trade between the Parties other than those permitted pursuant to paragraph 9 of Annex 2 of this Agreement.
Article 103. Relations with the Cotonou Agreement
1. With the exception of development cooperation provided for in Title II of Part III of the Cotonou Agreement, in case of any inconsistency between the provisions of this Agreement and the provisions of Title II of Part III of the Cotonou Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail to the extent of such inconsistency.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed so as to prevent the adoption by the EC Party or an SADC EPA State of appropriate measures pursuant to the Cotonou Agreement.
Article 104. Relations with the Wto Agreement
The Parties agree that nothing in this Agreement requires them or the SADC EPA States to act in a manner inconsistent with their WTO obligations.
Article 105. Entry Into Force
1. This Agreement shall be signed, ratified or approved in accordance with the applicable constitutional or internal rules and procedures of each Party or SADC EPA State as the case may be.
2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the deposit of the last instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
3. Notifications shall be sent to the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, who shall be the depository of this Agreement.
4. Pending entry into force of this Agreement, the European Community and the SADC EPA States agree to apply the provisions of this Agreement which fall within their respective competences ("provisional application"). This may be effected either by provisional application where possible or by ratification of this Agreement.
5. Provisional application shall be notified to the depositary. This Agreement shall be applied provisionally ten days after either the receipt of notification of provisional application from the European Community or of ratification or provisional application from all the SADC EPA States, whichever is the later.
6. Notwithstanding paragraph 4, the European Community, the EC Party and SADC EPA States may unilaterally take steps to apply this Agreement, before provisional application, to the extent feasible.
Article 106. Duration
1. This Agreement shall be valid indefinitely.
2. The EC Party or an SADC EPA State may give written notice of its intention to denounce this Agreement.
3. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the notification referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 107. Territorial Application
This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, and, on the other hand, to the territories of the SADC EPA States.
Article 108. Revision Clause
1. Without prejudice to Article 67, the Parties agree to review this Agreement no later than five years after its entry into force.
2. As regards the implementation of this Agreement, either Party may make suggestions oriented towards adjusting trade related cooperation, taking into account the experience acquired during the implementation thereof.
3. The Parties agree that this Agreement may need to be reviewed in light of further developments in international economic relations and in the light of the expiration of the Cotonou Agreement.
Article 109. Amendments
1. Any Party may submit proposals for amendments to this Agreement to the Joint Council for consideration and approval.
2. Amendments to this Agreement shall, after approval by the Joint Council, be submitted to the Parties for ratification, acceptance or approval in accordance with their respective constitutional or internal legal requirements.
Article 110. Accession of New Eu Member States
1. The Joint Council shall be advised of any request made by a third state to become a member of the European Union. During the negotiations between the Union and the applicant State, the EC Party shall provide the SADC EPA States with any relevant information and they, in turn, shall convey their concerns to the EC Party so that it can take them fully into account. The SADC EPA States shall be notified by the EC Party of any accession to the European Union (EU).
2. Any new Member State of the EU shall accede to this Agreement from the date of its accession to the EU by means of a clause to that effect in the act of accession. If the act of accession to the EU does not provide for such automatic accession of the EU Member State to this Agreement, the EU Member State concerned shall accede by depositing an act of accession with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, which shall send certified copies to the SADC EPA States.
3. The Parties shall review the effects of the accession of new EU Member States on this Agreement. The Joint Council may decide on any transitional or amending measures that might be necessary.
Article 111. Accession
1. A third state or organisation having competence for the matters covered by this Agreement, may request to accede to this Agreement. If the Joint Council agrees to consider such a request, the Parties and the state or organisation requesting to accede shall conduct negotiations on the terms of accession. The Protocol of Accession shall be approved by the Joint Council and then submitted for ratification, acceptance or approval in accordance with the Parties' respective constitutional or internal legal requirements.
2. The Parties shall review the effects of such accession on this Agreement. The Joint Council may decide on any transitional or amending measures that might be necessary.
Article 112. Languages and Authentic Texts
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 and Swedish languages, each of these texts being equally authentic. In the event of a contradiction, reference shall be made to the language in which this Agreement was negotiated, namely English.
Article 113. Annexes
The Annexes and Protocols to this Agreement shall form an integral part thereof.
Conclusion
In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have affixed their signatures below this Agreement.