EC/San Marino agreement: customs union and cooperation agreement following the 1995 enlargement

AIM: To conclude an agreement on cooperation and customs union with San Marino. COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Decision 2002/245/EC on the conclusion of an agreement on cooperation and customs union between the European Economic Community and the Republic of San Marino and of the Protocol thereto following the enlargement which took effect on 1 January 1995. CONTENT: The Council has adopted a decision on the conclusion of the Agreement on cooperation and customs union between the European Community and the Republic of San Marino and of the Protocol to the said Agreement, the Protocol having been necessitated by the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden to the European Union on 1 January 1995. This Agreement had been signed on 16 December 1991. Pending its entry into force, an interim agreement on trade and customs union took effect on 1 December 1992, which served to implement some of the trade provisions of the Cooperation Agreement. In essence, the Agreement creates a customs union between the parties, and its aim is to promote wide-ranging cooperation between them with a view to fostering the economic and social development of San Marino. The Agreement also establishes a cooperation committee, which is to be responsible for the administration and proper implementation of the Agreement. It should be noted that, since the ratification of the Agreement coincided with the enlargement of the Community through the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, a protocol was concluded which provided for the accession of those three countries to the Cooperation Agreement. ENTRY INTO FORCE: Since all the Member States have completed their ratification procedures, and since San Marino gave notice that its ratification procedures were completed on 29 October 1994 for the Agreement and on 10 December 1997 for the Protocol, the Agreement and its Protocol will enter into force on 1 April 2002. The Agreement will remain in force for an unlimited period. �