Article 1

The signing, on behalf of the Union and its Member States, of the Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, Romania, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the European Union is hereby authorised, subject to the conclusion of that Protocol^f1.