Αποφάσεις - Ανακοινώσεις — ΦΕΚ A' 204/2006

Τις διατάξεις της Συμφωνίας μεταξύ της Κυβέρνησης της Ελλάδας και της Κυβέρνησης της Σοσιαλιστικής Δημοκρατίας της Ρουμανίας που αφορά τη σύσταση Μεικτής Ελληνο−ρουμανικής Επιτροπής Συνεργασίας που υπογράφηκε στο Βουκουρέστι στις 30 Ιουνίου 1971 και κυρώθηκε με το ν.δ. 17/18.6.1973, που δημοσιεύθηκε στο υπ’ αριθμ. 157 Φύλλο της Εφημερίδας της Κυβερνήσεως τεύχος Α΄, της 26ης Ιουλίου 1973.

Τις διατάξεις του άρθρου 90 της Κωδικοποίησης της νομοθεσίας για την Κυβέρνηση και τα κυβερνητικά όργανα (π.δ. 63−ΦΕΚ 98/Α/22.4.2005).

Το γεγονός ότι εκ της εφαρμογής των διατάξεων του υπό έγκριση Πρωτοκόλλου δεν προκαλείται πρόσθετη δαπάνη σε βάρος του κρατικού προϋπολογισμού πλέον αυτής που προκύπτει από τις βασικές διατάξεις της Συμφωνίας και που είχε εκτιμηθεί στην Έκθεση του Γενικού Λογιστηρίου του Κράτους.

Το περιεχόμενο του υπό έγκριση Πρωτοκόλλου, αποφασίζουμε: Εγκρίνουμε ως έχει και στο σύνολό του το Πρωτόκολλο της 18ης Συνόδου της Μεικτής Διακυβερνητικής Επιτροπής Οικονομικής, Βιομηχανικής και Τεχνικής Συνεργασίας μεταξύ της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας και της Ρουμανίας που υπογράφηκε στο Βουκουρέστι στις 22 Φεβρουαρίου 2006 το κείμενο του οποίου σε πρωτότυπο στην αγγλική γλώσσα και σε μετάφραση στην ελληνική έχει ως εξής: Η απόφαση αυτή να δημοσιευθεί στην Εφημερίδα της Κυβερνήσεως. Αθήνα, 14 Σεπτεμβρίου 2006 Ol ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΙ ΕΞΩΤΕΡΙΚΩΝ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ Θ. ΜΠΑΚΟΓΙΑΝΝΗ Δ. ΣΙΟΥΦΑΣ ΠΕΡΙΒΑΛΛΟΝΤΟΣ, ΧΩΡΟΤΑΞΙΑΣ ΕΘΝΙΚΗΣ ΠΑΙΔΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΩΝ ΕΡΓΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΘΡΗΣΚΕΥΜΑΤΩΝ Γ. ΣΟΥΦΛΙΑΣ Μ. ΓΙΑΝΝΑΚΟΥ ΑΠΑΣΧΟΛΗΣΗΣ ΑΓΡΟΤΙΚΗΣ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΚΗΣ ΠΡΟΣΤΑΣΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΟΦΙΜΩΝ Σ. ΤΣΙΤΟΥΡΙΔΗΣ Ε. ΜΠΑΣΙΑΚΟΣ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ ΤΟΥΡΙΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ Γ. ΒΟΥΛΓΑΡΑΚΗΣ Φ. ΠΑΛΛΗ ΠΕΤΡΑΛΙΑ ΜΕΤΑΦΟΡΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΠΙΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΩΝ ΕΜΠΟΡΙΚΗΣ ΝΑΥΤΙΛΙΑΣ Μ. Γ. ΛΙΑΠΗΣ Ε. ΚΕΦΑΛΟΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ PROTOCOL - of the XVIII Session of the Intergovernmental Joint Committee for Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation between the Hellenic Republic and Romania Bucharest, 22 February 2006 PROTOCOL of the XVIII Session of the Intergovernmental Joint Committee for Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation between the Hellenic Republic and Romania The XVIII Session of the Intergovernmental Joint Committee for Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation between the Hellenic Republic and Romania was held on February 22, 2006, in Bucharest. The Greek delegation was headed by H. E. Evripidis Stylianidis, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, President of the Greek Side in the Committee. 2243 of Economy and Commerce of Romania, President of the Romanian Side in the Committee. The composition of both delegations is presented in the Annexes I and II to this Protocol The XVIII Session of the Committee approved the Agenda in Annex III to this Protocol. The results of the deliberations of the Intergovernmental Joint Committee for Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation are summarized as follows:

TRADE, INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN GREECE AND ROMANIA a) Overall assessment of economic and trade relations − Future prospects Both Sides exchanged information on the current economic situation and the development of their national economies, the legal and institutional framework, as well as the economic policy measures in the two countries, which can facilitate and further strengthen the development of the bilateral trade relations and economic cooperation. Both Sides expressed satisfaction with the long standing and dynamic economic co−operation between the two countries. After 1990, Greece and Romania have permanently been important economic partners. In 2005, the trade flow between Greece and Romania reached almost 850 million Euro and both Sides expressed their willingness to further develop and diversify the cooperation in foreign trade. The bilateral trade exchanges are currently concentrated in several sectors. Both Parties agreed that these exchanges should also be enhanced in sectors like services, energy, transports, raw materials. Both sides underlined that Greece is one of the most active investors in Romania, in various fields of economy, with emphasis to the banking sector telecommunications, constructions, food industry. With a view to fostering the bilateral trade and investment relations, the authorities in both countries envisage to maintain a close dialogue, at ministerial and expert level, as well as to organize a series of promotional events, such as economic missions, participation in trade fairs, economic seminars etc., in Romania and Greece. b) Bilateral issues: Several problems related to the bilateral trade and investment relations have been raised by both Sides. In this respect, the Greek Side mentioned issues in the field of application of standards, customs procedures, VAT reimbursement etc. in Romania. The Romanian Side mentioned issues related to the tender procedures for public procurement and technical standards applied to food packaging in Greece. Both Sides agreed that these problems will be examined in detail at expert level.

ENHANCING COOPERATION IN PRIORITY SECTORS a) Transport − Land Transport: Both Sides expressed satisfaction with the so far positive developments in the bilateral relations in the field of land transportation and agreed that the forthcoming meeting of the Joint Road Transport Commission (Athens, 2728/02/06) shall address the specific bilateral issues in this field, including the harmonization of the Romanian legislation to the relevant EU legislation, particularly with regards to charges, weights and dimensions of vehicles, and further facilitation of the regular transportation of passengers between the two countries. Furthermore, both Sides expressed their willingness to promote the concept of a high performance railway network in the region of South East Europe and, consequently, negotiate and sign an Agreement on the development of this network during the Greek SEECP Chairmanshipin− Office. − Maritime Transport: The Greek Side informed that the Greek Shipping Community is interested in the development of sea river transport on the Danube. The efficiency of port operations, the development of port infrastructure and dredging, combined with the elimination of legal and institutional problems as regards access to the Black Sea/Danube Sea−River Transport are essential prerequisites for the development of such transport. The Romanian Side informed that the Maritime Danube Administration, the River Danube Ports Administration and Navigable Channels Administration are interested in diversifying the types of goods in transit, being able to provide spaces and platforms for the transport of goods and related operations in the river maritime ports, on the basis of contracts concluded between the interested entities. The Greek Side will inform the interested companies in this respect. − Transport Infrastructure − Pan−European Corridors IV and IX : The Greek Side informed that Greece and Bulgaria agreed, during 2005, on the following: a) In February 2005, both countries’ Ministers of Transport agreed on the construction of the Motorway Thessaloniki/ Sofia by 2009, and b) In December 2005, they also agreed on the completion of the construction of the Motorway Thessaloniki/ Sofia/ Vidin /Lom by 2013. Taking into consideration that the above mentioned Motorway constitutes a part of the Pan−European Corridor IV and that the bridge Calafat − Vidin will also be built by that time, the Greek Side considers that the completion of this Motorway until the Romanian−Hungarian borders is of utmost importance for both countries and proposed the Romanian Side to assume similar commitments. The Romanian Side acknowledged the information kindly provided by the Greek Side and reaffirmed that the PanEuropean Transport Corridor IV represents the top priority for the Romanian Side. Both parties expressed their interest in developing the infrastructure on the Pan−European Transport Corridor no.IX. b) Energy: Both Sides agreed that there are good prospects for bilateral cooperation for the development of regional projects in the energy field. The Romanian Side stated its interest in attracting investors for the development of the hydro power sector (privatization of the micro−hydropower plants) as well as of the thermo power sector, by establishing joint venture partnerships and green/brown field capacities. In the natural gas sector, the Romanian Side is interested in setting up public −private partnerships for implementation storage capacity and rehabilitation of the compression units. The Greek Side informed that the Public Power Corporation and the Hellenic Petroleum S.A., two of the most important Greek energy companies, wish to invest in Romania. More specifically, the Public Power Corporation is interested in participating in the forthcoming international tenders for the privatization of the remaining three electricity distribution companies and the energy complexes in Turceni, Rovinari and Craiova. The Hellenic Petroleum S.A. has an interest to identify investment opportunities in Romania as far as the development of a retail oil products network is concerned. The Romanian Side asked the Greek Side to support, within the framework of Energy Community, the Romanian Power Exchange to become a regional one, based on the experience gained in the last 4 years of efficient operation of the Romanian energy market. The Greek Side took note of the Romanian request and will refer it to the competent authority. c) Tourism Both Sides expressed their resolve to substantially increase the tourist flows towards both directions. In particular, they agreed on the need to further develop cultural and religious tourism, eco−tourism, as well as to cooperate in the field of tourism education and training. The Joint Commission on Tourism provides the necessary forum for the development of such cooperation, while both Sides agreed that the opening in the near future of a Greek National Tourist Organization Office in Bucharest will contribute to that end. d) Twinning Projects: The Greek Side indicated that the cooperation in this field is of utmost importance for the development of the overall bilateral relationship between Greece and Romania. It expressed the wish that, henceforth, Greek mandated bodies for Twinning Projects be treated in a spirit of fairness and equality by the Romanian competent authorities. The Romanian Side presented a project which is currently ongoing under the twinning facility, which has as secondary partner Greece. e) Agriculture: Both Sides underlined their interest to co−operate in the agricultural sector and agreed to continue to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding, aiming at the specification of fields and activities of cooperation. Such fields may include the following sectors: − crop production, including fruit and vegetable production, − livestock production, − agricultural research, − training services, − plant phyto−sanitary control, − veterinary services, − mechanization of agriculture, − processing and packing procedures of agricultural products. This cooperation shall be implemented through the: − implementation of twinning projects − exchange of scientific and technical information and documentation, − exchange of information on developments in scientific research, − exchange of visits of experts and consultants, − organization of training programmes, seminars, conferences, and meetings in each of the two countries, and − encouragement of joint ventures between the private sectors of both countries. f) Industry: The two Sides emphasized the so far bilateral cooperation and underlined that there is still a lot of potential for developing the cooperation in all the spectrum of the industrial sector.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE BILATERAL BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT COOPERATION a) Current situation and perspectives The Greek Side informed that the volume of the Greekowned capitals invested in Romania is approximately 3 bn euros. The perspectives for new Greek investments appear rather positive. The Romanian Side, while providing for a stable business environment, will further encourage Greek companies to participate in the Romanian privatization programme. b) Participation in the Romanian privatization programme: The Greek Side expressed the interest of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) to participate in the privatization process of the Romanian electricity sector. In this respect, the Greek Side raised the issue of a qualification criterion imposed by the Romanian authorities in the privatization process of the electricity sector, refering to the existence of proven experience of the investor in acquiring an energy business in a country other than his country of origin. The Romanian Side answered that for the companies of which the privatisation process presents a special interest and in the same time have impact both on economic and social level, well known international consultants will be hired, in order to assist the Ministry of Economy and Commerce − Office of State Ownership and Privatisation in Industry in preparing the privatisation strategy, including in choosing the privatisation method that suits the best the development objectives of the company and the development of the privatisation process. In this situation, the privatisation strategy and further the main contract provisions negotiated are submitted to Governmental approval. The pre − qualification criteria provided by privatisation announcements are the result of the recommendation made by the consultant and envisaged the accomplishment of the Romanian Government targets related to the selection of the investors, with expertise and involved in similar transactions, able to ensure the development of the company, supply reliability and consumers protection. c) Investment promotion: i. Promote the «Idea of Investing» Both Sides will communicate to enterprises of the two countries the business opportunities and potential benefits that could arise from cooperation and long term investment partnerships in Romania and Greece. Romanian business partners for setting up joint−ventures or for developing green field or/and brown field investment projects in both countries. iii. Improvement of the business environment in Romania The Greek Side acknowledged an improvement of the business climate by the efforts of the Romanian authorities and welcomed the continuation of these efforts, which will facilitate the work and encourage more Greek−owned companies to invest in Romania. Practical issues faced by Greek companies were mentioned. The Romanian Side stated that all issues mentioned by the Greek Side are and will be closely monitored by the competent Romanian authorities, according to the extensive Government program for improving the general business and investment climate in Romania. The practical issues will be addressed by the Greek companies, directly or through the Greek Embassy in Bucharest, to the Romanian competent authorities, respectively: − the Romanian National Contact Point for Implementing OECD recommendations on the guidelines for multinational enterprises, within the Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments; − the Ministry of Economy and Commerce − Department for Foreign Trade, in its quality of secretariat of the Intergovernmental Joint Committee for Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation between Romania and the Hellenic Republic. At the same time, the practical issues raised by Romanian companies will be addressed, directly or through the Romanian Embassy in Athens, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece − Directorate General for Economic and Commercial Affairs. d) Liquidation of the clearing account between Greece and Romania The Romanian Side requests the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic for the total liquidation of the balance amounting to 216.732,35 USD, in favor of Romania, of the clearing account nr. 434/2535, confirmed by the Bank of Greece. The Greek Side informed that the Bank of Greece, in replying, on February 2.2005 to a Romanian message dated January 26, 2005, accepted the disbursement of the amount, by export of greek goods to Romania, covering the said amount. The Greek Side informed also that a disbursement of this amount by transfer can be accepted as well. In any case, the Bank of Greece is expecting the final reply of the Romanian competent Authorities, in order to settle the matter.