Ethiopia
Gambia
Guinea
Guinea (Bissau)
Guinea (Equatorial) Haiti
Kiribati
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania Mozambique
Niger
Republic of Cape Verde Rwanda
Samoa
S&o Tomé and Principe Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands Somalia
Sudan
Tanzania
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tuvalu
Uganda
Vanuatu
Zambia
Article 2. Landlocked Acp States
Specific measures and provisions have been made to support landlocked ACP States in their efforts to overcome the geographical difficulties and the other obstacles hampering their development so as to enable them to speed up their
respective rates of growth.
The landlocked ACP States are:
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Central African Republic Chad
Ethiopia
Lesotho
Malawi
Article 3. Mali
Niger Rwanda Swaziland Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Article 4. Island Acp States
Specific measures and provisions have been made to support island ACP States in their efforts to overcome the natural and geographical difficulties and the other obstacles hampering their development so as to enable them to speed up their
respective rates of growth.
List of island ACP States:
Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas
Barbados
Cape Verde Comoros
Cook Islands Dominica Dominican Republic Fiji
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
Kiribati Madagascar Marshall Islands Mauritius Micronesia
Article 5. Nauru
Niue
Palau
Papua New Guinea Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa
S&o Tomé and Principe Seychelles
Solomon Islands Timor-Leste
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu
Vanuatu
THE COTONOU AGREEMENT
ANNEX VII POLITICAL DIALOGUE AS REGARDS HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AND THE RULE OF LAW
Article 1. Objectives
1, The consultations envisaged in Article 96(2)(a) will take place, except in cases of special urgency, after exhaustive political dialogue as envisaged in Article 8 and Article 9(4) of the Agreement.
2. Both Parties should conduct such political dialogue in the spirit of the Agree- ment and bearing in mind the Guidelines for ACP-EC Political Dialogue estab- lished by the Council of Ministers.
3. Political Dialogue is a process which should foster the strengthening of ACP-EC relations and contribute towards achieving the objectives of the Partnership.
Article 2. Intensified Political Dialogue Preceding Consultations Under Article 96 of the Agreement
1, Political dialogue concerning respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law shall be conducted pursuant to Article 8 and Article 9(4) of the Agreement and within the parameters of internationally recognised stand- ards and norms. In the framework of this dialogue the Parties may agree on joint agendas and priorities.
2. The Parties may jointly develop and agree specific benchmarks or targets with regard to human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law within the pa- rameters of internationally agreed standards and norms, taking into account spe- cial circumstances of the ACP State concerned, Benchmarks are mechanisms for reaching targets through the setting of intermediate objectives and timeframes for compliance.
3. The political dialogue set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be systematic and for- mal and shall exhaust all possible options prior to consultations under Article 96 of the Agreement.
4. Except for cases of special urgency as defined in Article 96(2)(b) of the Agree- ment, consultations under Article 96 may also go ahead without preceding inten- sified political dialogue, when there is persistent lack of compliance with commit- ments taken by one of the Parties during an earlier dialogue, or by a failure to engage in dialogue in good faith.
5. Political dialogue under Article 8 of the Agreement shall also be utilised be- tween the Parties to assist countries subject to appropriate measures under Arti- cle 96 of the Agreement, to normalise the relationship.
Article 3. Additional Rules on Consultation Under Article 96 of the Agreement
1, The Parties shall strive to promote equality in the level of representation during consultations under Article 96 of the Agreement.
2. The Parties are committed to transparent interaction before, during and after the formal consultations, bearing in mind the specific benchmarks and targets referred to in Article 2(2) of this Annex.
3. The Parties shall use the 30-day notification period as provided for in Arti- cle 96(2) of the Agreement for effective preparation by the Parties, as well as for deeper consultations within the ACP Group and among the Community and its Member States. During the consultation process, the Parties should agree flexible timeframes, whilst acknowledging that cases of special urgency, as defined in Article 96(2)(b) of the Agreement and Article 2(4) of this Annex, may require an immediate reaction.
4. The Parties acknowledge the role of the ACP Group in political dialogue based on modalities to be determined by the ACP Group and communicated to the Euro- pean Community and its Member States. The ACP Secretariat and the European Commission shall exchange all required information on the process of po- litical dialogue carried out before, during and after consultations undertaken under Articles 96 and 97 of this Agreement.
5. The Parties acknowledge the need for structured and continuous consultations under Article 96 of the Agreement. The Council of Ministers may develop further modalities to this end.
Protocols
PROTOCOL 1 ON THE OPERATING EXPENDITURE OF THE JOINT INSTITUTIONS
1, The Member States and the Community, on the one hand, and the ACP States, on the other, shall be responsible for such expenditure as they shall incur by reason of their participation in the meetings of the Council of Ministers and its dependent bodies, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and to postal and telecommunications expenses.
Expenditure in connection with interpreting at meetings, translation and repro- duction of documents, and the practical arrangements for meetings (such as premises, equipment and messengers) of the joint institutions of the present Agreement shall be borne by the Community or by one of the ACP States, accord- ing to whether the meetings take place in the territory of a Member State or in that of an ACP State.
2. The arbitrators appointed in accordance with Article 98 of the Agreement shall be entitled to a refund of their travel and subsistence expenditure. The latter shall be determined by the Council of Ministers.
One half of travel and subsistence expenditure incurred by the arbitrators shall be borne by the Community and the other half by the ACP States. Expenditure relat- ing to any registry set up by the arbitrators, to preparatory inquiries into disputes, and to the organisation of hearings (such as premises, personnel and interpreting) shall be borne by the Community. Expenditure relating to special inquiries shall be settled together with the other costs and the Parties shall deposit advances as determined by an order of the arbitrators.
3. The ACP States shall set up a Fund, which will be managed by their General Secretariat, for the purpose of contributing to the financing of the expenses in- curred by ACP participants at meetings of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Ministers.
The ACP States shall contribute to this Fund. With the aim of encouraging the active participation of all ACP States in the dialogue conducted within the ACPEC institutions, the Community shall make a contribution to this Fund as provided for in the Financial Protocol (EUR 4 million according to the First Financial Protocol).
To be eligible for the Fund expenses must comply with the following conditions as well as those laid down in paragraph 1:
â They must be incurred by parliamentarians or, in their absence, other such ACP representatives travelling from the country they represent in order to take part in sessions of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, meetings of work- ing parties or missions under their aegis, or as a result of the participation of these same representatives and representatives of ACP civil society and economic and social operators in consultation meetings held under Arti- cles 15 and 17 of the Agreement.
â Decisions on the nature, organisation, frequency and location of meetings, missions and working groups must be taken in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Council of Ministers and the Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
4. Consultation meetings and meetings of ACP-EC economic and social operators shall be organised by the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union. In this specific instance, the Communityâs contribution to cover the participation of ACP economic and social operators shall be paid directly to the Economic and Social Committee.
The ACP Secretariat, the Council of Ministers and the Joint Parliamentary Assem- bly may, in agreement with the Commission, delegate the organisation of consul- tation meetings of ACP civil society to representative organisations approved by the Parties.
PROTOCOL 2 ON PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES
THE PARTIES,
DESIRING, by the conclusion of a Protocol on privileges and immunities, to facili- tate the smooth functioning of the Agreement, the preparation of its work and implementation of the measures adopted for its application;
WHEREAS it is therefore necessary to specify the privileges and immunities which may be claimed by persons participating in work relating to the application of the Agreement and to the arrangements applicable to official communications connect- ed with such work, without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol on the privileg- es and immunities of the European Communities, signed in Brussels on 8 April 1965;
WHEREAS it is also necessary to lay down the treatment to be accorded to the property, funds and assets of the Council of ACP Ministers, and its staff;
WHEREAS the Georgetown Agreement of 6 June 1975 constituted the ACP Group of States and instituted a Council of ACP Ministers, and a Committee of Ambas- sadors; whereas the organs of the ACP Group of States are to be serviced by the Secretariat of the ACP States;
HAVE AGREED upon the following provisions, which shall be annexed to the Agreement
Chapter 1. Persons Taking Part In the Work of the Agreement
Article 1.
The representatives of the Governments of the Member States and of the ACP States and the Representatives of the Institutions of the European Communities, and also their advisers and experts and the members of the staff of the Secre- tariat of the ACP States taking part, in the territory of the Member States or of the ACP States, in the work either of the institutions of the Agreement or of the coordinating bodies, or in work connected with the application of the Agreement, shall enjoy the customary privileges, immunities and facilities while carrying out their duties and while travelling to or from the place at which they are required to Carry out such duties.
The preceding paragraph shall also apply to members of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the Agreement, to the arbitrators who may be appointed under the Agreement, to members of the consultative bodies of the economic and social sectors which may be set up, to the officials and employees of these institutions, and also to the members of the agencies of the European Investment Bank and its staff, and to the staff of the Centre for the Development of Enterprise and the Centre for the Development of Agriculture.
Chapter 2. Property, Funds and Assets of the Council of Acp Ministers
Article 2.
The premises and buildings occupied by the Council of ACP Ministers for official purposes shall be inviolable. They shall be exempt from search, requisition, con- fiscation or expropriation.
Except when required for the purposes of investigating an accident caused by a motor vehicle belonging to the said Council or being used on its account, or in the event of an infringement of road traffic regulations or of an accident caused by such a vehicle, the property and assets of the Council of ACP Ministers shall not be the subject of any administrative or legal measures of constraints without the authorisation of the Council of Ministers set up under the Agreement.
Article 3.
The archives of the council of acp ministers shall be inviolable.
Article 4.
The Council of ACP Ministers, its assets, income and other property shall be ex- empt from all direct taxes.
The host State shall, wherever possible, take the appropriate measures to remit or refund the amount of indirect taxes or sales taxes included in the price of movable or immovable property, where the Council of ACP Ministers makes, strictly for its official use, substantial purchases, the price of which includes taxes of this kind.
No exemption shall be granted in respect of taxes, charges, duties or fees which represent charges for services rendered.
Article 5.
The Council of ACP Ministers shall be exempt from all customs duties, prohibi- tions and restrictions on imports in respect of articles intended for its official use; articles so imported may not be sold or otherwise disposed of, whether or not in return for payment, in the territory of the country into which they have been imported, except under conditions approved by the Government or that country.
Chapter 3. Official Communications
Article 6.
For their official communications and the transmission of all their documents, the European Community, the institutions of the Agreement and the coordinating bodies shall enjoy in the territory of the States party to the Agreement the treat- ment accorded to intemational organisations.
Official correspondence and other official communications of the European Com- munity, the joint institutions of the Agreement and the coordinating bodies shall not be subject to censorship.
Chapter 4. Staff of the Secretariat of the Acp States
Article 7.
1. The Secretary or Secretaries and Deputy Secretary or Deputy Secretaries of the Council of ACP Ministers and the other permanent members of the staff of senior rank as designated by the ACP States, of the Council of ACP Ministers shall enjoy, in the state in which the Council of ACP Ministers is established, under the re- sponsibility of the Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of ACP Ambassadors, the advantages accorded to the diplomatic staff of diplomatic missions. Their spouses and their children under age living in their household shall be entitled, under the same conditions, to the advantages accorded to the spouses and children under age of such diplomatic staff.
2. Permanent ACP staff members not referred to in paragraph 1 shall be exempt- ed by their host country from any taxes on salaries, emoluments or allowances paid to them by the ACP States from the day on which such income becomes subject to tax levied for the benefit of the ACP States.
The above provision shall not apply either to pensions paid the ACP Secretariat to its former staff members or their dependants, or to salaries, emoluments or allowances paid to its local staff.
Article 8.
The state in which the Council of ACP Ministers is established shall grant immu- nity from legal proceedings to permanent members of the staff of the Secretariat of the ACP States, apart from those referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 7, only in respect of acts done by them in the performance of their official duties. Such immunity shall not, however, apply to infringements of road traffic regulations by a permanent member of the staff of the Secretariat of the ACP States or to dam- age caused by a motor vehicle belonging to, or driven by, him or her.
Article 9.
The names, positions and addresses of the Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of ACP Ambassadors, the Secretary or Secretaries and Deputy Secretary or Dep- uty Secretaries of the Council of ACP Ministers and of the permanent members of the staff of the Secretariat of the ACP States shall be communicated periodically by the President of the Council of ACP Ministers to the Government of the state in whose territory the Council of ACP Ministers is established.
Chapter 5. Commission Delegations In the Acp States
Article 10.
The commission head of delegation and staff appointed to the delegation, the delegations, to the exception of locally recruited staff, shall be exempted fromany direct taxes in the acp state where they are in post.
2. Article 31(2)(g) of Annex IV, chapter 4 shall also apply to the staff referred to in paragraph 1.
Chapter 6. General Provisions
Article 11.
The privileges, immunities and facilities provided for in this protocol shall be ac- corded to those concerned solely in the interests of the proper execution of their official duties. each institution or body referred to in this protocol shall be required to waive im- munity wherever its consider that the waiver of such immunity is not contrary to its own interests.
Article 12.
Article 98 of the Agreement shall apply to disputes relating to this protocol. The Council of ACP Ministers and the European Investment Bank may be party to proceedings during an arbitration procedure.
Protocol 3: On South Africa
Article 1. Qualified Status
1, The participation of South Africa in this Agreement is subject to the qualifica- tions set out in this Protocol.
2. The provisions of the bilateral Agreement on Trade, Development and Coop- eration between the European Community, its Member States and South Africa as amended by the Agreement signed on 11 September 2009, hereinafter re- ferred as the âTDCA, shall take precedence over the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 2. General Provisions, Political Dialogue and Joint Institutions
1. The general, institutional and final provisions of this Agreement shall apply to South Africa.
2. South Africa shall be fully associated in the overall political dialogue and par- ticipate in the joint institutions and bodies set out under this Agreement. However, in respect of decisions to be taken in relation to provisions that do not apply to South Africa under this Protocol, South Africa shall not take part in the decision- making process.
Article 3. Cooperation Strategies
The provisions on cooperation strategies of this Agreement shall apply to coop- eration between the Community and South Africa.
Article 4. Financial Resources
1, The provisions of this Agreement on development finance cooperation shall not apply to South Africa.
2. However, in derogation from this principle, South Africa shall have the right to participate in ACP-EC development finance cooperation listed in Article 8 of this Procotol, on the basis of the principles of reciprocity and proportionality, un- derstanding that South Africaâs participation will be financed from the resources provided for under Title VII of the TDCA. Where resources from the TDCA are deployed for participation in operations in the framework of ACP-EC financial cooperation, South Africa will enjoy the right to participate fully in the decision- making procedures governing implementation of such aid.
3. South African natural or legal persons shall be eligible for award of contracts financed from the financial resources provided for under this Agreement. In this respect, South African natural or legal persons shall, however, not enjoy the pref- erences accorded to natural and legal persons from ACP States.