Agreement
between the Government of the Republic of Latvia, the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the Establishment of the Baltic Air Surveillance Network

The Government of the Republic of Latvia, the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,

wishing to substantiate their air sovereignty operation systems in order to improve the efficiency of international co-operation between the civil and military authorities in aviation matters and to increase the operational effectiveness,

desiring to create a regional airspace surveillance network based on the principles of international co-operation,

welcoming the Regional Airspace Initiative offered by the Government of the United States of America,

committing to establish their national airspace surveillance systems compatible with the NATO systems,

have agreed as follows:

Article I

Definitions

1. Baltic Air Surveillance Network (BALTNET) is a regional organization established for the acquisition, co-ordination and display of air surveillance data which is administered according to the Article IV of this Agreement.

2. Regional Airspace Surveillance Co-ordination Centre (RASCC), is an internationally staffed and maintained airspace surveillance radar data processing and distribution centre established in the Republic of Lithuania.

3. Regional Airspace Surveillance Co-ordination Centre's National Nodes (National Nodes) are the facilities established in the Republics of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania for reception, display and distribution of data from the RASCC.

Article II

General

1. The Parties commit themselves to establish BALTNET. The purpose of BALTNET is to co-ordinate airspace surveillance activities, to exchange data among the Parties and, according to Article V of this Agreement, with third parties.

2. For the purpose of operating the BALTNET, the Parties commit themselves to establish RASCC in the Republic of Lithuania.

3. While in the territory of any of the Parties due to activities connected to the BALTNET, the Parties agree that the "Agreement Among the States Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and the Other States Participating in the Partnership for Peace Regarding the Status of Their Forces" (PfP SOFA) and relevant national legislation, shall govern the relationship between the Parties as for status of their forces. Within the scope of this Agreement the Parties may conclude a separate Protocol, concerning the Status of the RASCC personnel as necessary.

Article III

Functions

1. The main functions of the RASCC shall be:

a) to receive, process and display data from primary and secondary radars in the region,

b) to initiate and co-ordinate tracking and identification of all aircraft in radar coverage,

c) to disseminate a common, integrated air picture to each National Node,

d) to co-ordinate and exchange of the regional information with third parties, as agreed.

2. The main function of the National Nodes shall be to display information from the RASCC and perform other functions as may be operationally required.

Article IV

Command, Control and Organization

1. The BALTNET shall be operated by the BALTNET officer in charge (BOIC), two Deputies to BOIC and staff. The size of international staff in the RASCC shall be determined by the personnel requirements to operate and maintain the RASCC. Each Party shall assign its national personnel to the RASCC staff according to a separate Protocol on Command, Control and Organisation of RASCC.

2. The Parties agree to establish a combined control mechanism in order to direct, supervise and audit the activities of the BALTNET. This mechanism shall comprise the following:

a) Ministerial Committee (MC) consisting of Ministers of Defence of the Parties or their designated representatives;

b) Military Committee (MilC) consisting of the Commanders of the Armed Forces of the Parties.

3. The MC embodies the highest political authority over the BALTNET organisation and among other things shall:

a) give policy guidance on development of BALTNET for the MilC,

b) make major decisions on development of BALTNET,

c) approve the budget of BALTNET,

d) resolve disputes that occur in the MilC,

e) approve the Terms of Reference for the BALTNET Officer in Charge (BOIC) and Deputies to BOIC.

4. The MilC embodies military command authority over BALTNET. The Commanders of the Armed Forces shall retain command authority over all their national personnel assigned to the RASCC. The MilC among the other things shall:

a) make recommendations to the MC on policy and for the development of BALTNET organization,

b) present a development plan to the MC for approval and take responsibility for execution of approved tasks,

c) present the annual budget of BALTNET to the MC for approval,

d) present the Terms of Reference for BOIC and Deputies to BOIC and other documentation outlining organisational structure and operation of BALTNET for the MC approval,

e) approve BOIC and Deputies to BOIC.

5. The MC and the MilC may establish subordinated working groups to accomplish their tasks.

6. Command and Control authority needed to carry out assigned missions or training shall be granted to BOIC by the MilC.

7. Each staff member shall be appointed to the BALTNET according to the national regulations of the Parties, which will assign them to perform BALTNET duties under the supervision of the BOIC.

8. The practical aspects of command, control and organisation of the RASCC shall be set out in additional Command, Control and Organisation Protocol between the Ministers of Defence of the Parties.

Article V

Responsibilities

1. The Parties shall supply air surveillance data to the RASCC. Information from the RASCC shall be distributed to all the Parties for their national use. The RASCC shall supply information to a third party only by the decision of the MC.

2. The Parties shall establish and maintain communications between national radars assigned to the BALTNET and the RASCC and between their National Nodes and the RASCC.

3. Each Party is responsible for the training of its personnel to be appointed for the service to the RASCC.

4. Each Party shall independently and according to its national legislation decide the conditions of service as well as salaries, taxation and social and legal guarantees and cover all expenditures for their nationals serving in the RASCC.

Article VI

Financial Arrangements

1. The Republic of Lithuania shall provide necessary and adequate infrastructure for the establishment of the RASCC.

2. The Parties shall share the daily maintenance costs of the RASCC. The cost of operation and maintenance of equipment for common purposes shall be borne in proportion to the utilisation of its proceeds by each Party.

3. The Parties undertake to cover all manpower costs of their national personnel assigned to the RASCC.

4. The cost of equipment operation and maintenance for each country's own purposes shall be borne by the respective Party.

5. The practical aspects of sharing costs shall be set out in additional Financial Arrangements Protocol between the Ministers of Defence of the Parties.

Article VII

Ownership and Use of BALTNET Assets

1. Each Party shall be the owner or custodian of the BALTNET facilities, equipment, hardware and software which is located in its territory and shall be responsible for its operation and maintenance.

2. No Party may alter, substitute or change any equipment or software which affects the data content or electronic characteristics of data, except when this is agreed by the MC.

3. The practical aspects of ownership and use of property shall be set out in additional Ownership and Use of property Protocol between the Ministers of Defence of the Parties.

Article VIII

Disclosure of Information

1. The protection of classified information provided by the Parties to the BALTNET shall be regulated by bilateral agreements between the Parties.

2. Requests for information regarding a specific Party or its proprietary information shall be referred to that specific Party.

3. Information supplied to the BALTNET by a Party shall remain the property of that Party, regardless of how it is combined, altered, reformatted, augmented, or in any way manipulated, and shall not be released by the other Parties to any third party without explicit consentof the Minister of Defence of the Party in question.

4. The supplying of data to the BALTNET shall not restrict the supplier of the data in the use of the same data, or any other format of data, in any way whatsoever.

Article IX

Settlement of Disputes

Disputes between the Parties regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved by negotiation between the Parties and shall not be referred to international tribunal or third parties for settlement.

Article X

Depository

The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall act as the official Depository for this Agreement.

Article XI

Entry into Force, Duration and Denunciation

1. This Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the Depository shall receive the last written notification stating that the necessary national legal requirements for this Agreement to enter into force have been completed. The Depository shall inform the Parties of each notification received and of the date of entry into force of the Agreement.

2. This Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period of time. It may be denounced by any of the Parties by a written notification to the Depository which shall notify the other Parties of each such notification and the date of the receipt thereof. The denunciation shall take effect 6 months after the receipt of the notification by the Depository. In case of denunciation of this Agreement by any of the Parties it shall cease to be in effect regarding that specific Party.

Article XII

Amendments

Any of the Parties may at any time request amendments to this Agreement. The request shall be addressed to the Depository, which shall notify all the other Parties of each such notification and the date of the receipt thereof. Such amendments shall come into force pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article XI of this Agreement.

Done in Riga on April 16, 1998 in a single copy in the Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian and English language, all texts being equally authentic, which shall be transmitted to the archives of the Depository. The Depository shall transmit certified copies of the Agreement to all Parties. In the case of divergence, the text in the English language shall prevail.

For the Government	For the Government	For the Government
of the Republic of Latvia	of the Republic of Estonia	of the Republic of Lithuania