Article 11 — International relations

1. Upon the request of the Commission or a Member State, the Agency shall provide the technical assistance necessary for the Member States and the Commission to contribute to the relevant work of the technical bodies of the IMO, the ILO, as far as shipping is concerned, the Paris MoU and relevant regional organisations with regard to matters of Union competence. For the purpose of carrying out those tasks in an efficient and effective manner, the Executive Director may decide to locate staff in the Union delegation to the United Kingdom, subject to the appropriate agreements with the European External Action Service (EEAS), in order to support Member States and the Commission in activities related to their participation to the work of the IMO. Such a decision requires the prior consent of the Commission and of the Management Board. Such a decision shall specify the scope of the activities to be carried out by the located staff in a manner that avoids unnecessary costs and duplication of administrative functions of the Agency. 2. The Agency may, upon the request of the Commission, provide technical assistance, including the organisation of relevant training activities, as regards relevant Union legal acts, to States applying for accession to the Union, and, where applicable, to European Neighbourhood partner countries and to countries taking part in the Paris MoU. 3. The Agency may, upon the request of the Commission or the EEAS, or both, or the Member States, provide assistance for pollution caused by ships and for marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations affecting third countries sharing a regional sea basin with the Union. The Agency shall provide the assistance in accordance with the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, and with the conditions applicable to Member States as referred to in Article 5(1) applied by analogy to those third countries. Those tasks shall be coordinated with the existing regional cooperation arrangements related to marine pollution. 4. Without prejudice to Article 24, the Agency may provide, upon the request of the Commission, technical assistance to third countries for matters falling under the Commission’s competence. 5. The Agency may enter into administrative arrangements and cooperation with other Union bodies working in the matters that fall within the scope of the Agency’s competence, subject to the approval of the Commission. Such arrangements and cooperation shall be subject to the favourable opinion of the Management Board and subsequent periodical reporting to it. 6. The Management Board shall adopt, as part of the single programming document, a strategy for international relations of the Agency concerning matters that fall within the scope of the Agency’s competence.