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2. Subject to paragraph 3, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Parties have notified each other of the completion of the procedures referred to in paragraph 1. If that date is earlier than the date of entry into force of the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Community on the facilitation of the granting of visas to citizens of the Russian Federation and the European Union, this Agreement shall enter into force only on the same day as this Agreement. The European Parliament approved the PCA in 1997 under the “assent procedure”. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, Parliament must `accept` any new agreement. Parliament does not directly define strategic needs or action programmes, but adopts with the Council legislation on the objectives and priorities of EU financial assistance, including the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), which finances the EU`s regional cooperation with Russia. In addition, Parliament has the right to examine documents that guide the implementation of the ENI before they are adopted, a procedure known as “democratic control”. Since 1997, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) has provided the general framework for political and economic relations between the EU and Russia. One of the main objectives of this agreement is to promote trade and investment and to develop harmonious economic relations between the EU and Russia.

The PCA should be strengthened through the negotiation of a new agreement between the EU and Russia that provides a comprehensive framework for bilateral relations. Negotiations began in 2008, but were interrupted in 2010 due to lack of progress on trade and investment. Negotiations, but also some of the activities of the existing agreement, were suspended after the illegal annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine in 2014. In particular, the Parties shall encourage practical cooperation between their respective organisations with a view to initiating the negotiation of mutual recognition agreements in the field of conformity assessment activities. For the purposes of Applying Chapters II, III and Title V, no account shall be taken of the treatment accorded by the Community, its Member States or Russia under the commitments entered into in the Economic Integration Agreements. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, this Agreement shall enter into force only on the date of entry into force of the Readmission Agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Community, whichever is later than the date referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. `The Contracting Parties take note of the close relations between the European Community and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway, in particular on the basis of the Agreement of 18 May 1999 on the association of those countries with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis. In those circumstances, the Russian Federation should conclude a readmission agreement with the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway under the same conditions as that agreement. The EU`s energy policy, including towards such an important external partner as Russia, is based on the concept of the Energy Union, the aim of which is to make energy safer, more affordable and more sustainable. This must be done through a review of European energy and climate systems and policies so that EU energy policy fully contributes to the EU`s commitment under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The EU Strategy for the Energy Union consists of 5 closely related and mutually reinforcing dimensions: the current legal basis for EU-Russia relations is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which entered into force in 1997, initially for 10 years. It has been renewed every year since 2007. It established a political framework for regular consultations between the EU and Russia, based on the principles of respect for democracy and human rights, political and economic freedom and commitment to international peace and security. In addition, the PCA is complemented by sectoral agreements covering a wide range of policy areas, including policy dialogue, trade, science and technology, education, energy and environment, transport and the prevention of illegal activities. Some of these dialogues and consultations were suspended after the annexation of Crimea. Russia`s permanent representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov [ru], said Russia had no intention of joining the EU. [230] Vladimir Putin said that Russia`s accession to the EU would not be in the interest of either Russia or the EU, although he advocated close integration in various dimensions, including the creation of four common spaces between Russia and the EU, including united economic, educational and scientific spaces, as stated in the 2003 agreement. [231] [232] Negotiations on a new EU-Russia agreement were launched in 2008 with the aim of creating a more comprehensive framework for EU-Russia relations. Although these have made considerable progress, they were stopped in 2012. 4. Officials of a Contracting Party may, in special cases, be present at investigations carried out in the territory of the other Contracting Party in agreement with the other Contracting Party concerned and under the conditions laid down by that Party.

This Agreement shall not affect the rights conferred on them by agreements between one or more Member States, on the one hand, and Russia, on the other, except in areas falling within the competence of the Community and without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States under this Agreement in the areas within their competence. If no agreement is reached within 60 days of the first Party`s request for consultation, the first Party may make appropriate compensatory adjustments to its obligations. Such adjustments shall be made to the extent and for as long as necessary to take account of the significantly more restrictive situation created by the other Party. Priority shall be given to measures which least disturb the functioning of the agreement. Such adjustments shall be without prejudice to the rights acquired by economic operators under the Agreement at the time of such adjustments. Article 12 of Title III on trade in goods deals with the issue of transit. As understood by the Contracting Parties, Article 12 deals exclusively with the free transit of goods. This is in line with normal GATT practice. The issue of transit may be addressed in future negotiations on transport agreements in accordance with article 43. exchange rates and interest rate instruments, including products such as swaps, forward rate agreements, etc.; Russia`s role in the Ukrainian conflict and its illegal annexation of Crimea have severely affected its relations with the EU. .