PURPOSE: to renew the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.
BACKGROUND: by Decision 2003/96/EC, the Council approved the conclusion of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine. The Agreement was signed in Copenhagen on 4 July 2002 and entered into force on 11 February 2003.
The Agreement was concluded for an initial period ending on 31 December 2002 and was renewed for additional periods of five years with the last renewal expiring on 8 November 2024.
Given that Ukraine is an important actor in science, technology and innovation in the neighbourhood of the Union, both parties considered that the renewal of the Agreement would be in their mutual interest in order to continue facilitating cooperation in common science and technology priority areas. Therefore, both parties have confirmed their intention to renew the Agreement for an additional period of five years. The content of the renewed Agreement should remain identical to the content of the Agreement.
Therefore, it is now necessary to approve the renewal of the Agreement.
CONTENT: the draft Council Decision concerns the approval, on behalf of the Union, of the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine for an additional period of five years.
To ensure the continuity of the Agreement, the renewal should have retroactive effect as of 8 November 2024.