Resolution of the Administrative Commission

of 27 June 2002

on the insertion of Council Regulation (EC) No 1399/1999, Regulation (EC) No 1386/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as well as Commission Regulations (EC) No 89/2001 and (EC) No 410/2002 to Annex II to the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States and the Swiss Confederation on the free movement of persons

(2002/C 160/02)

THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS,

Whereas

(1) The Community and its Member States, and the Swiss Confederation have concluded an Agreement on the free movement of persons(1) ("the Agreement") which was signed on 21 June 1999;

(2) This Agreement entered into force on 1 June 2002;

(3) Pursuant to Article 8 of the Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall make provision for the coordination of social security systems with the aim in particular of:

(a) securing equality of treatment;

(b) determining the legislation applicable;

(c) aggregation, for the purpose of acquiring and retaining the right to benefits, and of calculating such benefits, all periods taken into consideration by the national legislation of the countries concerned;

(d) paying benefits to persons residing in the territory of the Contracting Parties;

(e) fostering mutual administrative assistance and cooperation between authorities and institutions;

(4) Annex II to the Agreement lists in particular Council Regulations (EEC) No 1408/71 and (EEC) No 574/72, as updated by Regulation (EC) No 118/97(2) as well as the subsequent amending Regulations including Regulation (EC) No 307/1999 of 8 February 1999(3);

(5) Regulations (EEC) No 1408/71 and (EEC) No 574/72 have since been amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1399/1999(4), Regulation (EC) No 1386/2001(5), Regulation (EC) No 89/2001(6) and Regulation (EC) No 410/2002(7);

(6) Within the Community, these amendments entered into force on 1 September 1999 as regards Regulation (EC) No 1399/1999, on 1 September 2001 as regards Regulation (EC) No 1386/2001, on 7 February 2001 as regards Regulation (EC) No 89/2001 and on 25 March 2002 as regards Regulation (EC) No 410/2002;

(7) It was not possible to insert the latter Regulations into Annex II to the Agreement before its signature on 21 June 1999;

(8) A decision of the Joint Committee concerning the insertion of Regulation (EC) No 1399/1999, Regulation (EC) No 1386/2001, as well as Regulations (EC) No 89/2001 and (EC) No 410/2002 to Annex II to the Agreement can be adopted only after the entry into force of the Agreement;

(9) Amendments to Annex II to the Agreement can be binding on a Contracting Party only after adoption of a decision of the Joint Committee;

(10) The provisions laid down in Regulations (EEC) No 1408/71 and (EEC) No 574/72 establish a coordination of the social security schemes of the Member States; by listing these Regulations in Annex II to the Agreement, the Swiss Confederation is included in this coordination;

(11) In order to attain the objectives pursued by this Agreement, Article 16(1) of the Agreement provides that the Contracting Parties shall take all measures necessary to ensure that rights and obligations equivalent to those contained in the legal acts of the European Community to which reference is made are applied in relations between them;

(12) The parallel application of different coordinating provisions will not only increase administrative burdens and delay decisions on applications for the granting of benefits, but even make it almost impossible, in some cases, to calculate the amount of benefit; moreover, the cooperation between the institutions will be considerably complicated;

(13) The complicated and technical nature of the coordination of social security schemes of the Contracting Parties requires the application of common and homogeneous provisions within the territory of the Contracting Parties;

(14) An effective and coherent coordination of social security schemes between the Contracting Parties is therefore essential in order to achieve the objectives of the Agreement;

(15) In the interest of the persons covered by Article 8 of the Agreement the abovementioned problems have to be solved or, in so far as this is not practicable, their effects must be limited as much as possible,

HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

1. The Administrative Commission advocates that Council Regulation (EC) No 1399/1999 and Regulation (EC) 1386/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council, as well as Commission Regulations (EC) No 89/2001 and (EC) No 410/2002 be inserted into Annex II to the Agreement as closely as possible to the entry into force of the Agreement.

2. The Administrative Commission advocates, furthermore, that it be laid down, when inserting the abovementioned Regulations into Annex II to the Agreement, that their provisions shall be applicable from the date of entry into force of the Agreement.

Done at Brussels on 27 June 2002

The Chairman of the Administrative Commission

Carlos García de Cortázar y Nebreda

(1) OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 28, 30.1.1997, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 38, 12.2.1999, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 164, 30.6.1999, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 187, 10.7.2001, p. 1.

(6) OJ L 14, 18.1.2001, p. 16.

(7) OJ L 62, 5.3.2002, p. 17.