The Executive Committee decided:
(a) That, on a trial basis for the Eighteenth Meeting of the Executive Committee, the Secretariat should not circulate the full project documentation for projects and work programme amendments on which the Secretariat and the implementing agencies agree. Instead, members of the Executive Committee and observers should be sent, for each clearly approvable project, the Secretariat’s recommended approval and information adequate for a full understanding of the implications of the project, including, where relevant, justification for the use of HCFCs. Full project documentation could still be requested by Executive Committee members and observers for individual projects and full documentation should always be available for review at each Meeting of the Executive Committee;
(b) That, in addition to not reviewing the full project documents for clearly approvable projects in advance of its meetings, the Executive Committee would not see country-specific project documentation for projects that raise new policy issues, unless the Secretariat and all the implementing agencies can work out a consensus agreement on how to deal with the policy issue for the proposed project and all future projects that are similarly situated. In the event that such consensus is reached, the Secretariat should send out any related project documents, the project recommendation, and a short policy paper that identifies the issues and includes a recommended course of action. If, on the other hand, the Secretariat and the implementing agencies are unable to reach consensus, only a policy paper and, if it exists, a project cover sheet for the project in which the issue arises should be sent to Executive Committee members and observers to allow for consideration of the issue;
(c) That, in order to facilitate early distribution of materials and reasoned consideration of related issues and projects, documentation would have to be submitted to the Secretariat eight weeks prior to each Executive Committee meeting, rather than six weeks before as is the current requirement;
(d) That the above system shall be evaluated after the trial period.