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Decision No 01/2023 of the Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the CARIFORUM states, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, of 19 December 2023 concerning the adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council, the CARIFORUM-UK Trade and Development Committee and the Special Committees.

The Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council, having regard to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of the other part (hereinafter the ‘Agreement’), done at Saint Lucia on 22 March 2019, and in particular Articles 227, 228(3), 229(1), 230(2) and 230(4) thereof, whereas:

1. The Agreement provides that the Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council (hereinafter the ‘Joint Council’) shall adopt its Rules of Procedure and establish those of the CARIFORUM-UK Trade and Development Committee (hereinafter the ‘Trade and Development Committee’).
2. The Joint Council and the Trade and Development Committee shall be assisted in the performance of their duties by the Special Committee on Customs Cooperation and Trade Facilitation, the Special Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries, the Technical Sub-Committee on Development Cooperation, and by Special Committees which may be established pursuant to Article 230(4) of the Agreement. It is also appropriate to establish Rules of Procedure for these Special Committees,

has decided as follows:

Article 1

The Rules of Procedure of the Joint Council and of the Trade and Development Committee are established as set out in Annexes I and II respectively.

Article 2

1. The Rules of Procedure set out in Annex III shall be applicable to the Special Committee on Customs Cooperation and Trade Facilitation, the Special Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries, the Technical Sub-Committee on Development Cooperation, as well as to any other Special Committee which may be established pursuant to the Agreement.
2. These Rules are without prejudice to any special rules provided for in the Agreement or which may be decided by the Joint Council.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done in duplicate at Nassau, Bahamas and London, United Kingdom on 19 December 2023.

Annex I – Rules of Procedure of the Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council

Set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part.

Article 1 – Composition and Chair

1. The Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council (hereinafter the ‘Joint Council’) is composed as provided for in Article 228(1) of the Agreement.
2. The representative of the CARIFORUM States acting collectively, provided for in Article 228(2) of the Agreement shall be referred to as the ‘CARIFORUM High Representative’. The designation of the CARIFORUM High Representative and any change thereto shall be notified to the Chairperson of the Joint Council.
3. Reference to ‘the Parties’ in the Rules of Procedure shall be in accordance with the definition provided for in Article 233(3) of the Agreement.
4. The Joint Council shall be chaired, at least at Ministerial level, alternately for periods of 12 months, by a representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the ‘UK’), and by a representative of the CARIFORUM States. However, the period of the first Chair shall begin on the date of the first meeting of the Joint Council and shall end on 31 December of the following year. The Chair shall be held first by a representative of the CARIFORUM States.

Article 2 – Representation

1. In accordance with Article 228(5) of the Agreement, the members of the Joint Council may arrange to be represented.
2. A member wishing to be represented by an alternate representative shall notify the Chairperson of the Joint Council of the name of their alternate representative before the meeting at which they are to be so represented. The alternate representative of a member of the Joint Council shall exercise all the rights of that member.

Article 3 – Observers

1. The Joint Council may decide to admit observers on a permanent basis.
2. The Joint Council may decide to invite additional observers on an ad hoc basis.
3. The Joint Council may decide to invite representatives of the CARIFORUM-UK Parliamentary Committee and of the CARIFORUM-UK Consultative Committee to inform the Joint Council of the work undertaken in the respective Committees.

Article 4 – Meetings

1. The Joint Council shall meet at regular intervals, not exceeding a period of 2 years, and shall hold extraordinary meetings whenever circumstances so require, if the Parties so agree.
2. Each meeting of the Joint Council shall be held at a date and place agreed by both Parties. If both Parties agree, the meetings of the Joint Council may be held by video or teleconference.
3. The meetings of the Joint Council shall be organised by the Secretariat of the Joint Council by a notice issued no later than 35 days prior to the start of the meeting, except where an extraordinary meeting is called.

Article 5 – Delegations

The members of the Joint Council may be accompanied by officials. Before each meeting, the Signatory CARIFORUM States and the United Kingdom shall inform each other of the intended composition of their respective delegations and of any observers.

Article 6 – Secretariat

The UK and a CARIFORUM State shall act alternately as Secretariat of the Joint Council. These periods shall coincide with the holding of the Chair by the UK and the CARIFORUM States respectively.

Article 7 – Documents

Where the deliberations of the Joint Council are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated by the Secretariat as documents of the Joint Council.

Article 8 – Correspondence

1. All correspondence addressed to the Joint Council shall be directed to the Secretary of the Joint Council.
2. The Secretary shall ensure that correspondence addressed to the Joint Council is forwarded to the Chairperson of the Council and circulated, where appropriate as documents referred to in Article 7, to the other members of the Joint Council. Correspondence circulated shall be sent to the UK Coordinator, the CARIFORUM Coordinator and the Coordinators of each Signatory CARIFORUM State provided for under Article 234(1) of the Agreement.
3. Correspondence from the Chairperson of the Joint Council shall be sent to the recipients by the Secretariat and circulated, where appropriate as documents referred to in Article 7, to the other members of the Joint Council through the addressees provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article.

Article 9 – Agenda for the meetings

1. A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat of the Joint Council on the basis of proposals made by the UK and the Signatory CARIFORUM States. It shall be forwarded, together with the relevant documents, by the Secretariat of the Joint Council to the addressees referred to in Article 8(2) no later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting.
2. The provisional agenda shall include items for which the Secretariat has received a request for inclusion in the agenda from the UK or a Signatory CARIFORUM State, together with the relevant documents, no later than 28 days before the beginning of the meeting.
3. The agenda shall be adopted by the Joint Council at the beginning of each meeting. Items other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the Parties so agree.
4. The Chairperson of the Joint Council may, in agreement with the Parties, invite experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects.
5. With the agreement of the Parties, the Secretariat may abridge or extend the time limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

Article 10 – Minutes

1. Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat, normally within a month of the meeting, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
2. The minutes shall, as a general rule, summarise each item on the agenda, specifying where applicable:
   (a) all documents submitted to the Joint Council;
   (b) any statement that a member of the Joint Council has asked to be entered; and
   (c) the decisions taken, recommendations made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items.
3. The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Joint Council or their alternate representatives who took part in the meeting, a list of the members of the delegations accompanying them and a list of any observers to the meeting.
4. The minutes shall be approved in writing by both Parties within 3 months of the date of the meeting. Once approved, 2 copies of the minutes shall be signed by the Secretary and each of the Parties shall receive one original of these signed copies. Copies of the signed minutes shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 8(2).

Article 11 – Decisions and recommendations

1. The Joint Council shall adopt decisions and recommendations by agreement, as provided for in Article 229 of the Agreement.
2. In the period between meetings, the Joint Council may adopt decisions or recommendations by written procedure if both Parties so agree. The written procedure shall consist of an exchange of notes between the Parties and shall be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting following that exchange. The CARIFORUM High Representative shall have the power to exchange such notes and to confirm the agreement of the Signatory CARIFORUM States on any decision, after receiving the individual Signatory CARIFORUM States’ confirmation of their agreement on any decision, as necessary.
3. Decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council within the meaning of Article 229 of the Agreement shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ respectively, and shall be followed by a serial number, their date of adoption and a description of their subject matter. Each decision shall provide for the date of its entry into force, which shall be subject to completion of the respective internal procedures of the UK and the Signatory CARIFORUM States, where necessary.
4. Decisions and recommendations adopted by the Joint Council shall be signed by a representative of the UK, and by the CARIFORUM High Representative on behalf of the CARIFORUM States. Where a meeting of the Joint Council is held virtually, decisions and recommendations adopted by the Joint Council shall be signed in duplicate (each copy being equally authentic) by the CARIFORUM High Representative on behalf of the CARIFORUM States and by a representative of the UK and following signature of a decision or recommendation, each Party shall promptly forward a copy of their respective signed decision or recommendation to the other Party.
5. Decisions and recommendations shall be forwarded to each of the addressees referred to in Article 8(2) as documents of the Joint Council.

Article 12 – Publicity

1. Unless otherwise decided, meetings of the Joint Council shall not be public.
2. Each Party or Signatory CARIFORUM State may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council in its respective official publication.
3. The Parties may agree on the publication of outline agendas or relevant read-outs, such as Joint Communiqués, of the meetings of the Joint Council.
4. When a Party submits information designated as confidential to the Joint Council, the other Party shall treat that information as confidential and shall not otherwise use or disclose that information without the specific permission of the Party providing the information, except where this is necessary to comply with legal requirements.

Article 13 – Languages

1. The working languages of the Joint Council shall be the official languages of the Agreement, namely, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.
2. The Joint Council shall base its deliberations and adopt decisions and recommendations on documentation and proposals prepared in one of the languages referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 14 – Expenses

1. Each Party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Joint Council, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regard to postal and telecommunications expenditure.
2. Expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.
3. Expenditure in connection with the provision of interpretation services at meetings, and translation of documents into, or from, any of the working languages of the Joint Council, shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.
4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 2 and 3, where meetings of the Joint Council are held by video or teleconference, each Party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Joint Council by such means, unless agreed otherwise.

Annex II – Rules of Procedure of the CARIFORUM-UK Trade and Development Committee

Set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part.

Article 1 – Composition and Chair

1. The CARIFORUM-UK Trade and Development Committee (hereinafter the ‘Trade and Development Committee’) is established in accordance with Article 230 of the Agreement for the purposes of assisting the Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council (hereinafter the ‘Joint Council’) in the performance of its duties and of taking on the responsibility for the general implementation of the Agreement.
2. As provided for in Article 230(1) of the Agreement, the Trade and Development Committee shall be composed of representatives of the members of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the ‘UK’) on the one hand, and of representatives of the Signatory CARIFORUM States, on the other hand, normally at senior officials level.
3. The representative of the CARIFORUM States acting collectively, provided for in Article 230(1) of the Agreement, shall be referred to as the ‘CARIFORUM Senior Representative’. The designation of the CARIFORUM Senior Representative and any change thereto shall be notified to the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee.
4. The Trade and Development Committee shall be chaired alternately for periods of 12 months by senior officials of the UK, and by senior officials of the CARIFORUM States. The period of the first Chair shall coincide with the period of the first Chair of the Joint Council. For that period and thereafter for each 12-month period, the Trade and Development Committee shall be chaired by the Party holding the Chair in the Joint Council. The Chair shall be held first by a representative of the CARIFORUM States.
5. In addition to performing the specific tasks conferred upon it by the Agreement, the Trade and Development Committee shall prepare the meetings and deliberations of the Joint Council, monitor implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council where appropriate and, in general, ensure continuity of the proper functioning of the Agreement. It shall consider any matter referred to it by the Joint Council as well as any other matter which may arise in the course of the day-to-day implementation of the Agreement.
6. In cases where the Agreement refers to possible consultations, such consultations may take place within the Trade and Development Committee. The consultations may continue in the Joint Council if the Parties so agree, except where otherwise provided for in the Agreement.

Article 2 – Representation

1. The members of the Trade and Development Committee may arrange to be represented.
2. A member wishing to be represented by an alternate representative shall notify the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee of the name of their alternate representative before the meeting at which they are to be so represented. The alternate representative of a member of the Trade and Development Committee shall exercise all the rights of that member.

Article 3 – Observers

1. The Trade and Development Committee may decide to admit observers on a permanent basis.
2. The Trade and Development Committee may decide to invite additional observers on an ad hoc basis.
3. The Trade and Development Committee may decide to invite representatives of the CARIFORUM-UK Parliamentary Committee and of the CARIFORUM-UK Consultative Committee to inform the Trade and Development Committee of the work undertaken in the respective Committees.

Article 4 – Meetings

1. The Trade and Development Committee shall generally meet once a year or when circumstances so require, with the agreement of both Parties in the UK one year and in a CARIFORUM State the next. If both Parties agree, the meetings of the Trade and Development Committee may be held by video or teleconference.
2. Each meeting of the Trade and Development Committee shall be organised by the Secretariat at a date and place agreed by both Parties. The convening notice of the meeting shall be issued no later than 35 days prior to the start of the session, except in cases of urgency.

Article 5 – Delegations

Before each meeting, the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegations attending the meeting.

Article 6 – Secretariat

The UK and a CARIFORUM State shall act alternatively for periods of 12 months as Secretariat of the Trade and Development Committee. These periods shall coincide with the holding of the Chair by the UK and the CARIFORUM States respectively.

Article 7 – Documents

Where the deliberations of the Trade and Development Committee are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated by the Secretariat as documents of the Trade and Development Committee.

Article 8 – Correspondence

All correspondence with the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee shall be forwarded to the Secretariat of the Trade and Development Committee for circulation to the members of the Committee and the Secretary and the Chairperson of the Joint Council and, where appropriate, to the members of the Joint Council.

Article 9 – Agenda for the meetings

1. A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat of the Trade and Development Committee on the basis of proposals made by the UK and Signatory CARIFORUM States. It shall be forwarded, together with the relevant documents, to the members of the Trade and Development Committee as well as the Chairperson and Secretary of the Joint Council no later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting.
2. The provisional agenda shall include items in respect of which the Secretariat of the Trade and Development Committee has received a request for inclusion in the agenda from the UK or a Signatory CARIFORUM State, together with the relevant documents, no later than 28 days before the beginning of the meeting.
3. The agenda shall be adopted by the Trade and Development Committee at the beginning of each meeting. Items other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the Parties so agree.
4. The Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, invite experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on specific subjects.
5. The Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, abridge or extend the time periods specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.

Article 10 – Minutes

1. Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat, normally within a month of the meeting, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
2. The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate in respect of each item on the agenda:
   (a) the documents submitted to the Trade and Development Committee; and
   (b) any statement that a member of the Trade and Development Committee has asked to be entered;
   (c) the decisions taken, recommendations made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items.
3. The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Trade and Development Committee or their alternate representatives who took part in the meeting, a list of the members of the delegations accompanying them and a list of any observers to the meeting and a list of any experts that provided information on specific subjects.
4. The minutes shall be approved in writing by the CARIFORUM Senior Representative and a senior UK official(s) within 2 months of the date of the meeting. Once approved, 2 copies of the minutes shall be signed by the Secretary and each of the Parties shall receive one original of these signed copies. Copies of the signed minutes shall be forwarded to the members of the Trade and Development Committee and to the Chairperson and Secretary of the Joint Council.

Article 11 – Decisions and recommendations

1. Where the Trade and Development Committee is empowered under the Agreement to adopt decisions or recommendations, such acts shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ respectively, and shall be followed by a serial number, their date of adoption and a description of their subject matter. Each decision shall provide for the date of its entry into force, which shall be subject to completion of the respective internal procedures of the UK and the Signatory CARIFORUM States, where necessary.
2. In the period between meetings, the Trade and Development Committee may adopt decisions or recommendations by written procedure if both Parties so agree.
3. Whenever the Trade and Development Committee takes a decision, Article 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Council shall apply mutatis mutandis.
4. Decisions and recommendations of the Trade and Development Committee shall be forwarded to the addressees referred to in Article 8.

Article 12 – Publicity

1. Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Trade and Development Committee shall not be public.
2. Each Party or Signatory CARIFORUM State may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council in its respective official publication.
3. The Parties may agree to publish outline agendas, or relevant read-outs, such as Joint Communiqués, of the Trade and Development Committee.
4. When a Party submits information designated as confidential to the Trade and Development Committee, the other Party shall treat that information as confidential and shall not otherwise use or disclose that information without the specific permission of the Party providing the information, except where this is necessary to comply with legal requirements.

Article 13 – Languages

1. The working languages of the Trade and Development Committee shall be the official languages of the Agreement, namely, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.
2. The Trade and Development Committee shall base its deliberations and adopt decisions and recommendations on documentation and proposals prepared in one of the languages referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 14 – Expenses

1. Each Party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Trade and Development Committee, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regard to postal and telecommunications expenditure.
2. Expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.
3. Expenditure in connection with the provision of interpretation services at meetings and translation of documents into, or from, any of the working languages of the Trade and Development Committee shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 2 and 3, where meetings of the Trade and Development Committee are held by video or teleconference, each Party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Trade and Development Committee by such means, unless agreed otherwise.

Annex III – Rules of Procedure of the Special Committees

Set up by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part.

Article 1 – Composition and Chair

1. Unless otherwise specified in the Agreement or decided by the CARIFORUM-UK Trade and Development Committee (hereinafter the ‘Trade and Development Committee’), a Special Committee shall be composed of representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the ‘UK’) on the one hand, and of representatives of the CARIFORUM Directorate and Signatory CARIFORUM States, on the other.
2. The CARIFORUM States shall mandate one of their representatives to act on their behalf and present their position on all matters under this Agreement for which they have agreed to act collectively. Such representative shall be referred to as the ‘CARIFORUM Representative’. The designation of the CARIFORUM Representative and any change thereto shall be notified to the Chair of the Special Committee.
3. The meetings of a Special Committee shall be chaired alternately for periods of 12 months by an official of the UK and by an official of a CARIFORUM State.

Article 2 – Alternative representation

1. The members of a Special Committee may arrange to be represented by an alternative representative.
2. A member wishing to be represented by an alternate representative shall notify the Chairperson of the Special Committee of the name of their alternate representative before the meeting at which they are to be so represented. The alternate representative of a member of the Special Committee shall exercise all the rights of that member.

Article 3 – Observers

1. A Special Committee may decide to admit observers.
2. Observers shall be approved by representatives of the UK and CARIFORUM States.
3. A Special Committee may decide to invite additional observers, including representatives of the CARIFORUM-UK Parliamentary Committee and of the CARIFORUM-UK Consultative Committee, on an ad hoc basis.

Article 4 – Meetings

1. Unless otherwise specified in the Agreement, a Special Committee shall meet upon request of either Party at a date and place agreed in advance between the Parties. If both Parties agree, the meetings of a Special Committee may be held by video or teleconference.
2. Each meeting of a Special Committee shall be convened by the Secretariat of that Special Committee by a notice issued no later than 35 days prior to the start of the session, except in cases of urgency.

Article 5 – Delegations

Before each meeting, the Chairperson of a Special Committee shall be informed of the intended composition of the delegations attending the meeting.

Article 6 – Secretariat

The UK and a CARIFORUM State shall act alternately for periods of 12 months as Secretariat of the Special Committees. These periods shall coincide with the holding of the Chair by the UK and the CARIFORUM States respectively.

Article 7 – Documents

Where the deliberations of a Special Committee are based on written supporting documents, such documents shall be numbered and circulated by the Secretariat in advance of the meeting where possible as documents of that Special Committee.

Article 8 – Correspondence

All correspondence with the Chairperson of a Special Committee shall be forwarded to the Secretariat of that Special Committee for circulation to the members of the Special Committee, to the Secretary and the Chairperson of the Trade and Development Committee as well as, where appropriate, to the members of the Trade and Development Committee.

Article 9 – Agenda for the meetings

1. A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat of the Special Committee. It shall be forwarded, together with the relevant documents, to the members of the Special Committee as well as the Chairperson and Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee no later than 21 days before the beginning of the meeting.
2. The provisional agenda shall include those items in respect of which the Secretariat of the Special Committee has received a request from the UK or a Signatory CARIFORUM State, or the Trade and Development Committee for inclusion in the agenda, together with the relevant documents, no later than 28 days before the beginning of the meeting.
3. The agenda shall be adopted by the Special Committee at the beginning of each meeting. Items other than those appearing on the provisional agenda may be placed on the agenda if the Parties so agree.
4. The Chairperson of the Special Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, abridge or extend the time limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to take account of the requirements of a particular case.
5. The Chairperson of the Special Committee may, in agreement with the Parties, invite experts to attend its meetings in order to provide information on particular subjects.

Article 10 – Minutes

1. Draft minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up by the Secretariat, normally within a month of the meeting unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
2. The minutes shall, as a general rule, indicate in respect of each item on the agenda:
   (a) the documents submitted to the Special Committee; and
   (b) any statements that a member of the Special Committee has asked to be entered;
   (c) the decisions taken, recommendations made, statements agreed upon and conclusions adopted on specific items.
3. The minutes shall also include a list of members of the Special Committee or their alternate representatives who took part in the meeting, a list of the members of the delegations accompanying them and a list of any observers to the meeting and a list of any experts that provided information on specific subjects.
4. The minutes shall be approved in writing by the CARIFORUM Representative and a UK official within one month of the date of the meeting. Once approved, 2 copies of the minutes shall be signed by the Secretary and each of the Parties shall receive one original of these signed copies. Copies of the signed minutes shall be forwarded to the members of the Special Committee and the Chairperson and Secretary of the Trade and Development Committee.

Article 11 – Decisions and recommendations

1. Where a Special Committee is empowered under the Agreement, or under the Trade and Development Committee decision establishing it, to adopt decisions or recommendations, such acts shall be entitled ‘Decision’ or ‘Recommendation’ respectively, and shall be followed by a serial number, their date of adoption and a description of their subject matter. Each decision shall specify the date of its entry into force, which shall be subject to completion of the respective internal procedures of the UK and the Signatory CARIFORUM States, where necessary.
2. Whenever a Special Committee makes a recommendation or takes a decision, Article 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Council shall apply mutatis mutandis.
3. Decisions and recommendations of Special Committees shall be forwarded to the addressees referred to in Article 8.

Article 12 – Publicity

1. Unless otherwise decided, the meetings of the Special Committees shall not be public.
2. Each Party or Signatory CARIFORUM State may decide on the publication of the decisions and recommendations of the Joint Council in its respective official publication
3. The Parties may agree to publish outline agendas, or relevant read-outs, such as Joint Communiqués, of the meetings of the Special Committees.
4. When a Party submits information designated as confidential to the Special Committee, the other Party shall treat that information as confidential and shall not otherwise use or disclose that information without the specific permission of the Party providing the information, except where this is necessary to comply with legal requirements.

Article 13 – Languages

1. The working languages of the Special Committees shall be the official languages of the Agreement, namely, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.
2. The Special Committees shall base their deliberations and adopt decisions and recommendations on documentation and proposals prepared in one of the languages referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 14 – Expenses

1. Each Party shall each meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Special Committees, both with regard to staff, travel and subsistence expenditure and with regard to postal and telecommunications expenditure.
2. Expenditure in connection with the organisation of meetings and reproduction of documents shall be borne by the Party hosting the meetings.
3. Expenditure in connection with the provision of interpretation services at meetings and the translation of documents into, or from, any of the working languages of the Special Committee shall be borne by the Party hosting the meeting.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 2 and 3, where meetings of the Special Committees are held by video or teleconference, each Party shall meet any expenses it incurs as a result of participating in the meetings of the Special Committees by such means, unless otherwise agreed.

Article 15 – Reporting

The Special Committees shall report to the Trade and Development Committee.