2005/521/EC: Council Decision of 22 November 2004 concerning the signing of a Framework Agreement between the European Community and Serbia and Montenegro on the general principles for the participation of Serbia and Montenegro in Community programmes

Serbia and Montenegro shall be allowed to participate in the following Community programmes: 1. the running Community programmes which are listed in the Annex, which are open to the participation of Serbia and Montenegro once the present agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) enters into force, 2. Community Programmes established or renewed after the entry into force of the Agreement and which contain an opening clause which foresees the participation of Serbia and Montenegro.

Serbia and Montenegro shall contribute financially to the general budget of the European Union corresponding to the specific programmes in which it participates.

Serbia and Montenegro's representatives shall be allowed to take part, as observers and for the points which concern Serbia and Montenegro, in the management committees responsible for monitoring the programmes to which Serbia and Montenegro contributes financially.

Projects and initiatives submitted by participants from Serbia and Montenegro shall, as far as possible, be subject to the same conditions, rules and procedures pertaining to the programmes concerned as are applied to Member States.

The specific terms and conditions regarding the participation of Serbia and Montenegro in each particular programme, in particular the financial contribution payable, will be determined by agreement, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding, between the Commission, acting on behalf of the Community, and Serbia and Montenegro. If Serbia and Montenegro applies for Community external assistance on the basis of Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 of 5 December 2000, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2415/2001 of 10 December 2001 on assistance for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or pursuant to any similar Regulation providing for Community external assistance to Serbia and Montenegro that may be adopted in future, the conditions governing the use by Serbia and Montenegro of the Community assistance shall be determined in a financing agreement.

The Memorandum of Understanding shall stipulate, in accordance with the Community's Financial Regulation, that financial control or audits will be carried out by, or under the authority of, the European Commission, OLAF and the Court of Auditors of the European Communities. Detailed provisions shall be made on financial control and auditing, administrative measures, penalties and recovery enabling the European Commission, OLAF and the Court of Auditors to be granted powers equivalent to their powers with regard to beneficiaries or contractors established in the Community.

The Agreement shall apply for an indeterminate period. Either Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by written notification to the other Contracting Party. This Agreement shall terminate six months after the date of such notification.

No later than three years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, and every three years thereafter, both Contracting Parties may review the implementation of this Agreement on the basis of actual participation of Serbia and Montenegro in one or more Community programmes.

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territory of Serbia and Montenegro.

This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of receipt of the last written notification through diplomatic channels by which each Contracting Party informs the other that its procedure for the entry into force of this Agreement has been completed.

1 The Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish languages and the official language of Serbia and Montenegro.

2 Once the institutions of the European Union will be bound to publish all official acts in Maltese in the Official Journal of the European Union, the Agreement will also be drawn up in duplicate in Maltese.

3 Each of the language texts is equally authentic.