Article 8 Decisions and recommendations

The Joint Committee shall take decisions and draw up recommendations by common agreement of the Parties in accordance with the Agreement. They shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’, followed by a sequential number, the date of adoption and a reference to their subject matter.

The decisions and recommendations of the Joint Committee shall be signed by the Chair and the Secretaries and shall be circulated to the Parties.

Each Party may decide to publish any decision or recommendation adopted by the Joint Committee in its respective official journal. The Parties shall inform each other of their intention to publish a decision or recommendation.

The Joint Committee may adopt its decisions or recommendations by written procedure if the Parties so agree. The written procedure shall consist of an exchange of notes between the Secretaries, acting in agreement with the Parties. For that purpose, the text of the proposal shall be circulated, within a time-limit of no less than 30 calendar days, within which any reservations or amendments shall be made known. The Chair may reduce that time-limit, in consultation with the Parties, in order to take account of special circumstances. Once the text is agreed, the decision or the recommendation shall be signed by the Chair and the Secretaries.

Decisions of the Joint Committee that amend the Annexes to the Agreement shall be adopted in the authentic languages of the Agreement.

During the provisional application of Articles 11-13 of the Agreement, the Joint Committee may prepare decisions that are necessary for implementing the Agreement. A formal decision of the Joint Committee with a binding effect will only have effects after the entry into force of the Agreement.