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II SÉRIE — NÚMERO 73

ARTJCLE 8 Liability

1 — EUMETSAT offers no warranty in respect of the services and products provided or to be provided pursuant to this Convention.

2 — EUMETSAT, the Member States, and their civil servants or employees when acting in the exercise of their functions and within the limits of their authority, as well as any representative at EUMETSAT meetings, shall not be liable to any Member State or EUMETSAT in respect of loss or injury resulting from any discontinuation, delay or unsatisfactory operation of the services provided in accordance with annex i to this Convention.

3 — No Member State shall be liable for the act* and obligations of EUMETSAT linked with the establishment of the space segment of EUMETSAT, except where such liability results from a treaty to which that Member State and a State claiming compensation are parties. In that case, EUMETSAT shall indemnify the Member State concerned in respect of any such liability, unless the latter has expressly undertaken to assume exclusively such liability. The council shall establish the procedures for the implementation of this paragraph.

ARTICLE 9 Funding principles

1—The expenditure of EUMETSAT shall comprise the costs relating to the services provided by contractors and suppliers, as well as the expenditure necessary for the execution of the duties devolving on it.

2—The expenditure of EUMETSAT shall be covered by the financial contributions of the Member States and by any other EUMETSAT income.

3 — Each Member State shall pay to EUMETSAT un annual contribution in convertible currency on the basis of the scale contained in annex m. The methods ot payment of the contributions shall be determined in the financial rules.

4— If, subsequent to the date of entry into force of this Convention pursuant to either paragraph 1 of paragraph 2 of article 16, a Member State ceases to be a party to the Convention or if a State accedes to it, the council shall examine the corresponding consequences and shall adopt the appropriate measures. In addition, the scale of contributions referred to in annex n may be adjusted on a pro rata basis.

5 — The financial rules shall define the applicable procedure in the event of the non-payment of contributions of a Member State, as well as the additional charges on the Member State that is in arrears with hs contributions.

6 — The council may accept voluntary contributions, whether in cash or otherwise, provided they are made for purposes compatible with the objectives, activities and principles of conduct of EUMETSAT.

AKTJCLE 10 The budget

1 — The budget shall be established in terms of European Currency Units (ECU) as defined in the

Financial Regulations of the European Communities no. 3180/78. of 18 December.

2 — The financial year shall run from 1 January to 31 December.

3 —The annual budget of EUMETSAT shall be drawn up for each financial year before the beginning of that year under the conditions laid down in the financial rules. The revenue and expenditure shown in the budget shall be in balance.

4 — The council shall, in conformity with article 5, 2, b), adopt the budget for each financial year, as well as any supplementary and amending budgets.

5 — The council's adoption of the budget shall constitute:

a) The obligation for each Member State to make

available to EUMETSAT the financial contributions fixed in the budget;

b) The authority for the director to incur com-

mitments and expenditure within the limit of the corresponding authorized credits.

6 — If the budget has not been adopted by the council by the beginning of a financial year, the director may, each month, enter into commitments and make payments in each chapter of the budget up to one twelfth of the appropriations in the budget of the preceding financial year, provided that he shall not have at his disposal appropriations in excess of one twelfth of those provided for in the draft budget.

7 — Member States shall pay each month, on a provisional basis and in accordance with the scale referred to in annex n, the amounts necessary for the application of paragraph 6.

8 — The detail of the financial arrangements and accounting procedures shall be contained in the financial rules adopted by the council in conformity with article 5, 2, b).

ARTICLE tl Audit

1—The accounts of all revenue and expenditure shown in the budget and the balance sheet of the assets and liabilities of EUMETSAT shall, under the conditions laid down in the financial rules, be submitted for annual audit. The auditors shall submit to the council each year a report on the accounts.

2 — The director shall give the auditors any information and assistance needed for the execution of their task.

3 — The further detail of the audit shall be determined by the council.

ARTICLE 12 Privileges and immunities

EUMETSAT shall enjoy the privileges and immunities that are necessary for the performance of its official activities, in conformity with a protocol to be drawn up subsequently,

ARTICLE 13

Non-fulfilment of obligations

A Member State that fails to fulfil its obligations under this Convention shall cease to be a member of