Association Committee

13/05/2019 21:32

Main points

Role: the highest body of the Association at the expert level.
Composition: consists of representatives of ministries, mainly at the level of Deputy Ministers for European integration.
Chairmanship: alternately.​
Created: the first meeting was held on July 13-14, 2015.
Venue: held each year alternately in Ukraine and the EU (most often in Kyiv and Brussels).
Website: Association Committee.

What does the Association Committee do?

The Committee assists the Association Council in the performance of its duties and functions and implements the tasks stipulated by the Agreement and assigned to it by the Association Council:

  • ensures continuity of the Association's relations and proper implementation of the Agreement as a whole;
  • prepares meetings and discussions of the Association Council and provides the Association Council with proposals or draft decisions or recommendations for their approval;
  • the Association Council may authorize the Association Committee to make a decision;
  • the Association Council may delegate to the Association Committee any of its powers, including the power to make binding decisions. Such decisions are binding on the Parties that take the necessary measures to implement them;
  • implements the decisions of the Association Council, if necessary.

Composition

The Association Committee consists of representatives of the Parties, mainly at the level of senior officials, who are authorized to solve specific issues during the meeting.

In particular, according to the CMU Resolution of December 10, 2014 No. 700, the members of the Association Committee on the Ukrainian Part are Deputy Ministers for European Integration, Director of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade (Trade representative of Ukraine), Deputy Heads of other Central Executive authorities, whose powers include the implementation of the Association Agreement.

The Secretary of the Association Committee from the Ukrainian Side is a representative of the Government office for coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

How does the Association Committee work?

The Association Committee meets at least once a year and when circumstances so require. Special meetings of the Association Committee may be convened at the request of one of the Parties by agreement of the Parties.

The parties chair the Association Committee in turn for 12 months. The first term of the chairmanship begins on the day of the first meeting of the Association Committee and ends on 31 December of the same year.

Each meeting of the Association Committee is convened by the Chairman on the day and place agreed by the Parties.

The official from the EU Part and the official from the Ukrainian Part act as Secretaries of the Association Committee and jointly perform the tasks of the Secretariat. The Secretariat of the Association Committee forms the provisional agenda for each meeting of the Association Committee, as well as working conclusions on the basis of proposals provided by the Parties.

The draft minutes of each meeting of the Association Committee are drawn up jointly by the Secretaries of the Association Committee. The Association Committee approves the draft minutes at its next meeting.

The draft working conclusions of each meeting is drawn up by the Secretary of the Association Committee  of the presiding Party and sent to the Parties together with the agenda, usually not later than 15 calendar days before the meeting. Once agreed, the working conclusions are attached to the minutes and the status of their implementation is considered at any next meeting of the Association Committee. To this end, the Association Committee creates a matrix that tracks the implementation of each activity according to a specific time frame.

Decisions and recommendations are taken by mutual agreement of the Parties after the completion of the relevant domestic procedures. Each decision and recommendation is signed by the Chairman of the Association Committee and is certified by the Secretaries of the Association Committee.

According to the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of July 8, 2015 No. 646, the Government Office for the coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine coordinates the work of subcommittees on the Ukrainian Part, as well as coordinates and monitors the implementation reached during the meetings of the subcommittees of the agreements.

Meetings held

Since 2015, 4 meetings of the EU–Ukraine Association Committee were held:

  • First meeting – July 13-14, 2015 (Brussels);
  • The second meeting – July 5-6, 2016 (Kyiv);
  • Third meeting – June 29-30, 2017 (Brussels);
  • Fourth meeting – October 5, 2018 (Kyiv).

The fifth meeting of the EU–Ukraine Association Committee is scheduled to be held in Brussels in 2019.

Subcommittees

The Association Committee provides for the functioning of sectoral subcommittees, in particular, under the Decision of the EU–Ukraine Association Council No. 2/2014 the following subcommittees were formed:

(1) Subcommittee on Freedom, Security and Justice:

  • First meeting – July 23-24, 2015 (Kyiv);
  • Second meeting – June 3, 2016 (Brussels);
  • Third meeting – June 14, 2017 (Kyiv);
  • Fourth meeting – June 1, 2018 (Brussels);
  • Fifth meeting – March 22, 2019 (Kyiv).

(2) Subcommittee on Economic and other Sectoral Cooperation, which consists of 6 clusters:

cluster 1: macroeconomic cooperation, public finance management: fiscal policy, internal control and external audit, statistics, accounting and auditing, anti-fraud:

  • First meeting – October 8-9, 2015 (Kyiv);
  • Second meeting – September 28-29, 2016 (Kyiv);
  • Third meeting – September 21, 2017 (Brussels);
  • Fourth meeting – October 3, 2018 (Kyiv).

cluster 2: industrial and business policy, mining and metallurgy, tourism, space, company law and corporate governance, consumer protection, taxation:

  • First meeting – March 3, 2017 (Brussels);
  • Second meeting –  March 27-28, 2018 (Kyiv);
  • Third meeting – March 14, 2019 (Brussels).

cluster 3: energy cooperation, including nuclear issues, environment, including climate change and civil protection, transport:

  • First meeting – September 28-29, 2015 (Kyiv);
  • Second meeting – October 24-25, 2016 (Brussels);
  • Third meeting – October 19-20, 2017 (Kyiv);
  • Fourth meeting – November 19-20, 2018 (Brussels).

cluster 4: cooperation in science and technology, information society, audiovisual policy, education, training and youth, culture, cooperation in sports and physical culture:

  • First meeting – June 3, 2016 (Brussels);
  • Second meeting – May 16-17, 2017 (Kyiv);
  • Third meeting – July 11, 2018 (Brussels).

cluster 5: agriculture and rural development, fisheries and marine policy, Danube region, transboundary and regional cooperation:

  • First meeting – April 26, 2016 (Brussels);
  • Second meeting – May 18, 2017 (Kyiv);
  • Third meeting – April 25, 2018 (Brussels).

cluster 6: cooperation in employment, social policy and equal opportunities, health:

  • First meeting – June 10, 2016 (Kyiv);
  • Second meeting – June 8, 2017 (Brussels);
  • Third meeting – June 26, 2018 (Kyiv).

The meetings of the subcommittees are held on a flexible schedule, as required, in person, in Brussels or in Ukraine, or, for example, by videoconference. The subcommittees are platforms for monitoring the progress of the approximation in specific areas, to discuss certain issues and problems arising in the process and to formulate recommendations and working conclusions.

Working groups

According to the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of July 8, 2015 No. 646 working groups are formed for the organization of the work of subcommittees, which task is to study matters on preparation for the meetings of such subcommittees, organization of implementation of agreements reached with the EU, as well as preparation of matters for consideration at a meeting of the Government Committee, the powers of which include matters of European integration.

Members of the working groups on organizing the work of the subcommittees are representatives of the Government Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other state bodies.

The Annex of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 646 provides for the operation of 14 working groups.