Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No 39 / 2014 Coll.

39

COMMUNICATION

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that the Agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Energy of the United States of America on cooperation on civil research and development in the field of nuclear energy was signed in Prague on 26 March 2014.

The Agreement entered into force on the date of signature of its Article 16 (1).

The Czech version of the Agreement is hereby published at the same time.

AGREEMENT

INTERI

INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTERS

CZECH REPUBLIC

A

THE ENERGY MINISTERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ON COOPERATION IN CIVIL RESEARCH AND NUCLEAR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic (MPO) and Ministry of Energy of the United States of America (DOE) (hereinafter jointly "Contracting Parties');

NOTING the Agreement between the Czech Republic and the United States of America on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, signed in Prague on 6 September 2007 ("the VTS Agreement ');

NOTING the Agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy between the European Atomic Energy Community and the United States of America, signed in Brussels on 7 November 1995 and 29 March 1996;

NOTING the Joint Declaration of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Energy of the United States of America on industrial and commercial cooperation in the nuclear energy sector of 6 December 2010;

NOTING the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Energy of the United States of America in the field of nuclear energy of 12 December 2012;

NOTING mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of energy research and development);

DESIRING to facilitate joint activities of common interest in the field of advanced nuclear reactor systems and technologies, nuclear fuel cycle technologies aimed at minimising the proliferation of nuclear materials and technologies for non-peaceful purposes, and in the field of nuclear safety and its evaluation; promote cooperation between agencies and research organisations of the Czech Republic and the United States of America to strengthen the development and use of nuclear energy; develop advanced concepts and breakthrough scientific discoveries in nuclear fission and reactor technologies to address and overcome major technical, social and economic obstacles to the wider peaceful use of nuclear energy; and support and maintain the infrastructure of each Party's country in the field of nuclear science and nuclear engineering in order to preserve the capabilities necessary for the development and use of nuclear energy;

NOTING The International Forum of the IV Generation, as a framework for international cooperation in research and development of the next generation of nuclear energy systems, both the DOE and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom);

NOTING that the Czech Republic is a Member State of the European Union and of the European Atomic Energy Community and as such is bound by the provisions of the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community and their secondary legislation; and

NOTING that the MIT will implement this Agreement in close coordination with Euratom, which harmonises the participation of the Member States of the European Union in the International Forum of the IV Generation,

agree as follows:

Objective

The objective of this Agreement is to establish a framework for cooperation between the Parties on research, development and innovation, focusing on advanced technologies to improve costs, safety, waste management and enhance the resilience of nuclear energy systems to the proliferation of nuclear materials for non-peaceful purposes. All activities carried out under this Agreement will serve exclusively peaceful purposes.

Areas of cooperation

1. Cooperation areas under this Agreement may include, inter alia:

b.

a.

c. Innovative nuclear power plant projects, their production, construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning;

c.

f. Nuclear safety analysis tools, probability safety assessment and risk-based decision-making;

g. Research and development of methods and tools in the field of knowledge used to enhance the level of safety, reliability and efficiency of the operation of nuclear installations, including human resources management, best practices and findings; and

h.

2. Sensitive nuclear technology is explicitly excluded from cooperation under this Agreement. The term "sensitive nuclear technology 'in the sense used here means any information including information contained in an installation or in an important component which is not publicly available and which is essential for the design, construction, manufacture, operation or maintenance of any equipment primarily intended or used for enrichment of uranium, the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear material, the production of heavy water or the production of a nuclear fuel containing plutonium.

Forms of cooperation

Forms of cooperation under this Agreement may include:

1. exchange of scientists, engineers and other specialists for agreed periods of time to participate in agreed research, development, analytical, project and experimental activities carried out in research centres, laboratories, technical offices and other facilities and enterprises of each Party or other participant in the framework of cooperation under this Agreement, such exchanges of staff shall be carried out in accordance with Article 6 of this Agreement;

2. the exchange or lending of equipment, samples, materials, tools and components for the purposes of the tests referred to in Articles 7 and 8 and paragraph 6 of Article 9 of this Agreement;

3. exchange of non-classified scientific and technical information and research and development results and methods in accordance with Article 9 of this Agreement;

4. organising and participating in seminars, workshops and other meetings on specific mutually agreed topics in the areas referred to in Article 2 of this Agreement; and

5. joint projects for which the Contracting Parties agree to participate jointly in the work and / or costs.

Project Annexes

1. Cooperation activities undertaken under this Agreement may be carried out by the Contracting Parties or, where appropriate, by the laboratories of the Contracting Parties or by other invited participants in cooperative activities. Any cooperative activity which may involve joint costs or intellectual property will be described in writing in the annex to the project.

2. Each annex to the project shall include detailed provisions for the implementation of those forms of cooperation, including matters such as the technical framework, the work plan, the exchange of commercially confidential information, management, overall costs, joint cost reimbursement and the timetable. Each annex to the project will be subject to this Agreement and refer to it.

Joint Management Committee

1. The Parties hereby establish a Joint Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), composed of representatives of both Parties, to ensure the programme direction and supervision of the bilateral cooperation programme. The general responsibilities of the Committee shall be:

b.

a.

b.

e. To propose to the Contracting Parties either a continuation of selected tasks or programme adjustments, as appropriate, or termination of the task, unless reasonable progress is made.

2. Decisions of the Committee shall be taken by consensus.

3. The Committee shall meet at the dates and places agreed by both Parties, in person or by means of teleconferencing or videoconferencing. The Committee shall, at its meetings, evaluate the state of cooperation under this Agreement. This evaluation will include an overview of the activities and results achieved in the previous year and the activities planned for the following year. In addition, the Committee shall consider any new substantial proposals for cooperation.

Allocation and exchange of personnel

Each Contracting Party shall agree to ensure that, in respect of any proposed assignment or exchange of staff under this Agreement:

1. Each Contracting Party shall endeavour to ensure the selection of qualified staff with the skills and competence necessary to carry out the activities planned under this Agreement for the exchange or assignment to the host institution. Any such exchange or assignment shall be agreed in advance, in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the Contracting Parties, with a reference to this Agreement.

2. Each Party shall be responsible for the salaries, insurance and allowances to be paid to its employees or its suppliers.

3. Each Party shall pay its staff or suppliers the travel and subsistence expenses for the duration of the secondment to the Host Party, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

4. The Host Party will help identify the corresponding accommodation for the employees or suppliers of the other Party (and their families) on a mutually acceptable reciprocal basis.

5. The Host Contracting Party shall ensure all necessary support for the staff of the other Contracting Party or its suppliers (and their families) as regards administrative formalities, such as assistance in ensuring travel formalities and processing of visa applications.

6. The seconded staff or suppliers of each Contracting Party shall comply with the general and specific working and security rules applicable in the host organisation.

7. The Host Party shall grant access to information which is not classified to the extent necessary for the performance of the obligations imposed by such staff to the staff or suppliers of the other Party.

Exchange of equipment

By mutual agreement, one Contracting Party may provide equipment to be used for joint action. In that case, the following provisions shall apply:

1. The sending Contracting Party shall provide as soon as possible a detailed list of the facilities to be provided, together with relevant descriptions and relevant technical and informative documentation relating to the use, maintenance and repair of the equipment.

2. The equipment and the necessary spare parts supplied by the sending Contracting Party for use in the joint activities shall remain the property of the sending Contracting Party, the equipment of the sending Contracting Party being returned after the completion of the joint operation, unless otherwise agreed.

3. Equipment provided for under this Agreement shall not be operational in the host organisation until mutual agreement between the Contracting Parties.

4. The host organisation shall ensure the necessary premises and buildings for the facility; connection to engineering networks such as electricity, water and gas; and normally ensure that the materials that will be tested comply with all technical requirements that will be mutually agreed.

5. Responsibility for expenditure, protection and insurance during the transport of equipment from its original location in the country of the sending Contracting Party to the point of entry in the country of the receiving Contracting Party shall be borne by the sending Contracting Party. Where the sending Contracting Party decides to return the installation, it shall be liable for expenditure, protection and insurance during the transport of the installation from the original point of entry in the country of the receiving Contracting Party to the final destination in the country of sending Contracting Party.

6. Responsibility for expenditure, protection and insurance during the transport of equipment from the point of entry in the country of the receiving Contracting Party to the final destination in the country of the receiving Contracting Party shall be borne by the receiving Contracting Party. Where the sending Contracting Party decides that the installation is to be returned, the receiving Contracting Party shall be liable for expenditure, protection and insurance during the transport of the installation from its final destination in the country of the receiving Contracting Party to the original point of entry in the country of the receiving Contracting Party.

7. Liability for expenditure, protection and insurance while the installation is being used in the country of the receiving Contracting Party shall be borne by the receiving Contracting Party, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

8. An installation provided by the sending Contracting Party for the purpose of carrying out joint activities shall be considered as a non-commercial scientific establishment and the receiving Contracting Party shall endeavour to ensure duty-free entry.

Samples and materials

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the following provisions shall apply to the transport and use of samples and materials provided under this Agreement by one Contracting Party to the other Contracting Party:

All samples and materials provided by the sending Contracting Party to the receiving Contracting Party shall remain the property of the sending Contracting Party and shall be returned on request to the sending Contracting Party.

2. Where one Contracting Party requests the other Contracting Party to provide a sample or material, the requesting Party shall reimburse all costs and expenses associated with the transport of the sample or material from the point of sending the Contracting Party to the final destination.

3. Each Contracting Party shall immediately communicate to the other Contracting Party any information resulting from examination or testing of samples or materials exchanged under this Agreement. The Parties agree that commercial confidential information (as defined in Section IV of the Attachment to Intellectual Property Rights, which is Annex A to the VTS Agreement) which was drawn up before the conclusion of this Agreement or outside its scope, shall remain commercial confidential information even if it is contained in the results of examination or testing of samples or materials. Such information shall be identified as confidential by the Party applying their commercial confidentiality as soon as possible after communication of all information resulting from the examination or testing of that Party, the other Party being informed of such designation without delay. All information identified as confidential shall be handled in accordance with Section IV of Annex A to the Agreement.

4. A Contracting Party which provides samples or materials to the other Contracting Party may also provide a partial or complete list of all types of information which may result from the examination or testing of such samples or material to be treated as commercial confidential information as defined in Section IV of Annex A to the Agreement. All such confidential commercial information shall be handled in accordance with Section IV of this Annex.

Transmission of information and equipment

1. The Parties may exchange scientific and technical information, documents and research and development results from work carried out under this Agreement on the basis of mutually advantageous agreements. Such information shall be limited to the information which the Contracting Parties have the right to communicate, whether it is information owned by them or available to them, concerning the areas of cooperation described in Article 2.

2. The course of seminars and reports on joint activities carried out under this Agreement shall be published in the form of joint publications, as agreed by the Parties.

3. The Parties agree that information generated or exchanged under this Agreement should reach the widest possible range of candidates. With the exception of the agreement of the Governments of the Contracting Parties in Section IV of Annex A to the VTS Agreement, that information may be made available to the public by any Contracting Party through normal channels and in accordance with the usual procedures of the Contracting Parties.

4. Any information transmitted under this Agreement by one Contracting Party to the other Party and any related annex to the projects shall be accurate to the best of the knowledge and conscience of the transmitting Contracting Parties. Any device transmitted under this Agreement by one Contracting Party to the other Party shall, to the best of the knowledge and conscience of the transmitting Contracting Party, be suitable for the intended use. The transmitting Contracting Party shall not guarantee the suitability of the information or equipment transmitted for any specific use or use by the receiving Party or any third party.

5. The information jointly drawn up by the Parties shall be accurate and shall be suitable for the intended use to the best of both Parties' knowledge and conscience. None of the Contracting Parties shall be liable for the accuracy of the information and / or adequacy of the equipment, or its suitability for any specific use or use by either Contracting Party or by any third party.

6. Information and equipment protected for reasons of national security shall be treated in accordance with the provisions of Annex B (Safety obligations) to the Agreement.

Intellectual property; business confidential information

The protection and distribution of intellectual property and the treatment of commercial confidential information generated or provided in the course of cooperation activities under this Agreement shall be treated in accordance with the provisions of Annex A to the VTS Agreement.

Financing

1. Unless otherwise agreed, any costs arising from cooperation under this Agreement shall be borne by the Contracting Party to be incurred.

2. The activities under this Agreement and under it and the related annexes to the projects will be carried out according to the availability of adequate funding.

Other organisations

By mutual agreement, the Contracting Parties may invite other public-private organisations to participate in cooperation activities under this Agreement, at their own costs and under conditions to be decided jointly by the Contracting Parties.

Contracts

Where a Contracting Party grants contracts for the acquisition of goods and services for the purpose of implementing this Agreement, such contracts shall be awarded in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State of that Contracting Party.

Dispute settlement

With the exception of disputes as agreed by the Governments of the Contracting Parties in Section II. D Annexes A to the VTS Agreement shall address any question or dispute arising from this Agreement by consultation.

Applicable law

Each Contracting Party shall undertake the activities provided for by: By agreement in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations applicable to it, including, inter alia, export control laws and regulations.

Entry into force, duration, amendments and termination

This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of signature. This Agreement shall remain in force unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article.

This Agreement may be amended by written agreement of the Contracting Parties.

3. The Contracting Parties may terminate this Agreement by mutual written agreement. Either Party may terminate this Agreement at any time by written notification to the other Party, with six months' notice.

4. Joint actions which have not been completed at the time of termination of this Agreement may continue until their completion under the terms of this Agreement, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

IN WITNESS OF THIS, THE SIGNIFICANT SUBSIDIES, BEING duly empowered by their governments, have signed this Agreement.

DONE in Prague on 26 March 2014, in two original copies, each in Czech and English, both texts being equally authentic.

_

AND THE TRADE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC:

Jan Mládek, CSc.

Minister

FOR ENERGY

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

Ernest Jeffrey Moniz v. r.

Minister

Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Energy of the United States of America on cooperation on civil research and development in the field of nuclear energy

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