PURPOSE: the renewal for a further five years of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and Ukraine.
NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2011/182/EU concerning the renewal of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and Ukraine.
CONTENT: by means of this Decision, the Council approves on behalf of the European Union the renewal of the scientific and technological cooperation Agreement between the European Community and Ukraine for a further five years.
The scientific and technological cooperation agreementbetween the European Community and Ukraine was signed in Copenhagen on 4 July 2002 and entered into force on 11 February 2003. Article 12 (b) of that Agreement stipulates: “This Agreement shall be concluded for an initial period ending 31 December 2002 and will be renewable between the parties for additional periods of five years”.
By Council Decision 2003/737/EC, the Agreement was renewed a first time for an additional period of five years, from 8 November 2004. The Agreement expired on 7 November 2009.
Given that it is in the interest of the Parties to renew the Agreement a second time in order to continue and encourage cooperation with Ukraine in the joint priority areas in the scientific and technological fields, the Parties decided, following negotiations held in Kyiv, on 26-27 November 2008 to renew this Agreement for a further period of five years. The material content of the renewed Agreement is identical to that of the Agreement that expired on 7 November 2009.
It should be noted that this Agreement is concluded “on behalf of the European Union” this time and not “on behalf of the European Community”, as a result of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009 whereby the European Union substitutes for and succeeds the European Community.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: the Decision will enter into force on 9 March 2011. The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the EU’s Official Journal.