O Estado Contratante em cujo território o presente Acordo foi assinado deverá proceder ao seu registo junto do Secretariado da Organização das Nações Unidas imediatamente após a sua entrada em vigor, em conformidade com o Artigo 102 da Carta das Nações Unidas. O mencionado Estado Contratante deve, igualmente, informar o outro Estado Contratante de ter efectuado esse registo e indicar o correspondente número de registo.
Feito em Berlim, no dia 8 de Fevereiro de 2006, em duplicado, nas línguas Portuguesa, Alemã e Inglesa, sendo os três textos autênticos. Em caso de interpretação divergente dos textos Português e Alemão, prevalecerá o texto em Inglês.
Pela República Portuguesa:
Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Ministro de Estado e dos Negócios Estrangeiros.
Pela República Federal da Alemanha:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ministro Federal dos Negócios Estrangeiros.
(ver documento original)
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY ABOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF PORTUGUESE SECURITY STOCKS OF CRUDE OIL AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS HELD ON THE TERRITORY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY.
The Portuguese Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, hereinafter designated as Contracting States,
Referring to Directive 68/414/EEC of the Council of the European Communities, dated the 20th of December 1968 as amended by Directive 98/93/EC of the Council of the European Union, dated the 14th December 1998, which requires member States of the European Economic Community to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, and, in particular, to paragraph 2 of article 6, which foresees that security stocks may be located in another Member State's territory, within the framework of specific agreements between the Contracting States;
Referring to the obligation, in the Portuguese Republic, to build and to maintain petroleum stocks, as mandated by Decree-Law 339-D/2001, of 28th December, and Decree-Law 71/2004, of 25th March;
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this agreement, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
- 1."Security stocks": compulsory stocks of crude oil, intermediate petroleum products and (finished) petroleum products, kept in compliance with the respective national laws of the Contracting States;
- 2."Stockholding entity": an oil and petroleum products operator or stockholding agency under Portuguese law obliged to build and to maintain security stocks;
- 3."Competent Authority":
- a)In the Portuguese Republic: Direcção Geral de Geologia e Energia (DGGE)/Ministry of Economy.
- b)In the Federal Republic of Germany: Federal Office for Economics and Export Control.
Article 2
Subject matter
Subject to the terms of this Agreement, Portuguese stockholding entities may be authorized to hold part of their security stocks on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany on condition that they own or co-own these stocks.
Article 3
Formalities and process
- 1.For the purposes of the preceding article, the stockholding entity must obtain prior authorization by the competent authority of Portuguese Republic, as described in the present article.
- 2.The request shall be directed to the competent authority of Portuguese Republic not later than thirty days prior to the commencement of the period for which an authorization is requested and include the following information:
- a)Name and address of the applicant entity;
- b)Nature and quantity of the security stocks concerned;
- c)Name and address of the undertaking operating the storage facility where the security stocks concerned shall be held, precise location and identification of the tanks or caverns to be utilized for such purpose;
- d)Period for which authorization is being requested, which must be at least one calendar quarter in duration;
- e)Customs and tax status applicable to the stocks concerned.
- 3.After granting the authorization and not later than ten working days prior to the commencement of the period for which an authorization is valid, the competent authority of Portuguese Republic shall transmit, to the competent authority of the Federal Republic of Germany, the information referred to in number 2, above.
- 4.In the event of any changes regarding the information referred to in paragraph 2, above, a new request must be made.
Article 4
Free transfer
The Federal Republic of Germany shall raise no impediment whatsoever to the free transfer of the Portuguese security stocks to the territory of the Portuguese Republic.
Article 5
Accounting of the stocks
- 1.The security stocks referred to in article 2 shall not be counted towards the obligation incumbent upon any stockholding entity under German law.
- 2.Such stocks shall solely be counted towards the obligation under Portuguese law and can only be counted in its statistical summaries.
Article 6
Reports
- 1.Together with the monthly statistical summary foreseen in article 4 of Directive 68/414/EEC, dated the 20th December 1968, as amended by Directive 98/93/EC of the Council, dated the 14th December 1998, the competent authorities of both Contracting States shall file with the European Commission a report on the situation of the stocks concerned herein and under the conditions set in article 6 of that same Directive.
- 2.The same information shall be reported to the International Energy Agency according to its procedures.
Article 7
Inspection of the stocks
- 1.Under the frame of this Agreement the competent authority of the Portuguese Republic may request its counterpart in the Federal Republic of Germany to carry out any inspections it may deem necessary so as to ensure due compliance with stockholding obligations.
- 2.The competent authority requested to carry out such inspections shall at its earliest convenience provide the requestor with a report on the controls performed and their results.
Article 8
Consultations
- 1.Upon demand by one Contracting State all matters concerning the interpretation and application of this Agreement may be subject to consultations between the Contracting States through diplomatic channels.
- 2.In the event of a supply crisis, such consultations shall be initiated forthwith.
Article 9
Entry into force
This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which the Contracting States have informed each other, in writing and through diplomatic channels, that the national requirements for such entry into force have been fulfilled. The relevant date shall be the day on which the last communication is received.
Article 10
Duration and termination
- 1.This Agreement shall be valid for an unlimited term. Each Contracting State shall have the right to request its termination; the notice of termination has to be conveyed to the other Contracting State by diplomatic note at the latest three months in advance of the termination date. Relevant for calculating the deadline is the day of the receipt of the note by the other Contracting State.
- 2.The termination shall become effective as from the first day of the subsequent calendar year. This ability to terminate cannot be exercised in the event of a supply crisis.
- 3.The European Commission must be given advance notice of the termination by the Contracting State requesting termination.
Article 11
Registration
The Contracting State in whose territory the present Agreement was signed shall proceed to its registration with the Secretariat of the United Nations, immediately following its entry into force, in conformity with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. The mentioned Contracting State must, likewise, inform the other Contracting State of having completed the registration and indicate the pertaining registration number.
Done at Berlin, on the 8th of February 2006, in duplicate, in the Portuguese, German and English languages, all three texts being authentic. In case of divergent interpretations of the German and Portuguese texts, the English text shall prevail.
For the Portuguese Republic:
Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs.
For the Federal Republic of Germany:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs.