A Stabilisation and Association Council (SAC) is hereby established which shall supervise the application and implementation of this Agreement. It shall meet at an appropriate level at regular intervals, and call extraordinary meetings as circumstances require. It shall examine any major issues arising within the framework of this Agreement and any other issues of mutual interest.
Article 127.
1. The SAC shall consist of representatives of the EU, on the one hand, and of Kosovo on the other.
2. The SAC shall establish its rules of procedure.
3. The members of the SAC may arrange to be represented, in accordance with the conditions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.
4. The SAC shall be chaired in turn by a representative of the EU and a representative of Kosovo, 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 SAC.
Article 128.
The SAC 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 SAC may also make appropriate recommendations. It shall draw up its decisions and recommendations by agreement between the Parties.
Article 129.
1. The SAC shall be assisted in the performance of its duties by a Stabilisation and Association Committee, composed of representatives of the EU, on the one hand, and of Kosovo, on the other.
2. In its rules of procedure the SAC shall determine the duties of the Stabilisation and Association Committee, which shall include the preparation of meetings of the SAC, and shall determine how the Committee shall function.
3. The SAC 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 128.
Article 130.
The Stabilisation and Association Committee may create subcommittees and special groups. Before the end of the first year after the 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 131.
The SAC may decide to set up other special committees or bodies that can assist it in carrying out its duties. In its rules of procedure, the SAC shall determine the composition and duties of such committees or bodies and how they shall function.
Article 132.
A Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Parliamentary Committee’) is hereby established. It shall be a forum for Members of the European Parliament and Members of the Parliament of Kosovo to meet and exchange views. It shall meet at intervals that it shall itself determine, but at least once a year.
The Parliamentary Committee shall consist of Members of the European Parliament and Members of the Parliament of Kosovo.
The Parliamentary Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
The Parliamentary Committee shall be chaired in turn by a member of the European Parliament and by a member of the Parliament of Kosovo, in accordance with the provisions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.
The Parliamentary Committee may make recommendations to the SAC.
Article 133.
Within the scope of this Agreement, the Parties undertake to ensure that natural and legal persons of the other Party have access, free of discrimination, to appropriate legal redress for the defence of their rights.
Article 134.
This Agreement shall not prevent a Party from taking any measures which it considers necessary to prevent the disclosure of information contrary to its essential security interests.
Article 135.
1. In the fields covered by this Agreement:
(a) the arrangements applied by Kosovo in respect of the EU shall not give rise to any discrimination between the Member States, their nationals, their companies or firms;
(b) the arrangements applied by the EU in respect of Kosovo shall not give rise to any discrimination between citizens of Kosovo as well as between Kosovo companies or firms.
2. Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to any special provisions contained in this Agreement, including and in particular to Article 70(3).
Article 136.
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 SAC any dispute relating to the application or interpretation of this Agreement. In that case, Article 137 and, as the case may be, Protocol V shall apply.
The SAC 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 SAC 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 SAC and shall be the subject of consultations, if the other Party so requests, within the SAC, the Stabilisation and Association Committee or any other body set up on the basis of Article 130 and Article 131.
5. Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall in no way affect and are without prejudice to Articles 34, 42, 43, 44, 48 and Protocol III (Definition of the concept of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation).
6. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article shall not apply to Articles 5 and 13.
Article 137.
1. When a dispute arises between the Parties concerning the interpretation or the implementation of this Agreement, either Party shall notify to the other Party and the SAC 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 136(4).
2. The Parties shall endeavour to resolve the dispute by entering into good faith consultations within the SAC 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 SAC 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 SAC, unless the arbitration procedure as provided for in Protocol V has been initiated. A dispute shall be deemed to be resolved when the SAC has taken a binding decision to settle the matter as provided for in Article 136(3), or when it has declared that there is no longer a dispute.
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 130 and 131, 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 V, 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 of this Article.
Article 138.
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 Kosovo, on the other.
Article 139.
Annexes I to VII, Protocols I, II, III, IV and V, and the Declaration shall form an integral part of this Agreement.
Article 140.
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 all or part of this Agreement, with immediate effect, in the event of the non-compliance by the other Party of one of the essential elements of this Agreement.
The EU may take measures it deems appropriate, including suspending all or part of this Agreement, with immediate effect, in the event of the non-compliance by Kosovo with essential principles as set out in Articles 5 and 13.
Article 141.
This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community are applied and under the conditions laid down in those Treaties, and to the territory of Kosovo, on the other.
Article 142.
The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union shall be the depositary of this Agreement.
Article 143.
This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Albanian and Serbian languages, each text being equally authentic.
Article 144.
The Parties shall approve this Agreement in accordance with their own procedures.
This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Parties notify each other that the procedures referred to in the first paragraph have been completed.
Conclusion
Done at Strasbourg on the twenty-seventh day of October in the year two thousand and fifteen.
For the European Union
For the European Atomic Energy Community
For Kosovo