Paragraph 9 Agendas for the meetings

The Chair shall draw up a provisional agenda for each meeting. It shall be circulated by the Secretaries to the addressees referred to in Article 7 not later than 15 calendar days before the meeting.

The provisional agenda shall include the items in respect of which the Chair has received a request for inclusion in the agenda not later than 21 calendar days before the meeting. Such items shall be accompanied by the relevant supporting documents to be sent to the Secretaries before the date of dispatch of the agenda.

The agenda shall be adopted by the Joint Council at the beginning of each meeting. An item other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the Parties so agree.

The Chair may reduce, in consultation with the Parties, the time limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

The Joint Council may, by agreement between the Parties, invite independent experts in a subject area to attend its meetings as observers or in order to provide information on particular subjects. The Parties shall agree on a case-by-case basis on the terms and conditions under which these experts may attend the meetings and ensure that they respect any confidentiality requirements.