Joint Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted within the Joint Committee established by the EU-Afghanistan Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development, as regards the adoption of the Joint Committee’s rules of procedure and the setting-up of two special working groups

The EU-Afghanistan Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development was signed on 18 February 2017. The Agreement represents the first contractual relationship between the Union and Afghanistan and establishes a legal framework for their cooperation.

The Agreement reflects the principles and conditions on which the future EU-Afghanistan partnership will be based. It includes the essential clauses on human rights and non-proliferation. It also allows for cooperation in a broad range of areas, including development, trade and investment, and justice and the rule of law (clauses on the fight against organized crime, money laundering and counter-narcotics, and migration). The Agreement also contains chapters on a number of specific areas for sectoral cooperation.

Under Article 49 of the Agreement, a Joint Committee is established, composed of representatives of the parties at the highest possible level, to ensure, inter alia, the proper functioning and implementation of the Agreement. To assist the Joint Committee and facilitate expert-level discussions on key areas falling within the scope of the Agreement it is suggested that special working groups are created on Good governance, human rights and migration, and Economic and social development.

The aim of this proposal is to establish the EU's position in the Joint Committee on adopting the Joint Committee's rules of procedure and setting up the special working groups. The EU position will be based on the attached draft Joint Committee's decisions.

EUR-Lex: JOIN(2017)023: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=JOIN:2017:023:FIN

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