Draft DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE amending Annex IV (Energy) to the EEA Agreement - Draft common position of the Community

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. In order to ensure the requisite legal security and homogeneity, the EEA Joint Committee is to integrate all the relevant Community legislation into the EEA Agreement as soon as possible after its adoption.

2. The EEA Joint Committee should therefore adopt the attached Decision to amend Annex IV to the EEA Agreement by adding recently adopted acquis in the field of Energy. The decision concerns:

- 398 L 0030: Directive 98/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas (OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 1), as corrected by OJ L 245, 4.9.1998, p. 43.

3. The proposal includes one non-technical adaptation (g):

Liechtenstein is overhauling its legislation in the field of energy, to bring both the electricity sector and the gas sector in line with the Community legislation. Liechtenstein has been granted a transitional period for the transposition in the area of electricity and the same implementation date is proposed for gas to allow a coordinated approach.

4. Article 1(3)(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2894/94 concerning the arrangements for implementing the EEA Agreement envisages that the Council establishes the Community position for Decisions extending Community legislation with substantial changes.

5. The Council is requested to approve the attached draft decision for adoption by the EEA Joint Committee.

Draft DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE amending Annex IV (Energy) to the EEA Agreement

THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, as amended by the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area, hereinafter referred to as 'the Agreement', and in particular Article 98 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Annex IV to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No ... of ... [1].

[1] OJ L ...

(2) Directive 98/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas [2], as corrected by OJ L 245, 4.9.1998, p. 43, is to be incorporated into the Agreement,

[2] OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 1.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The following point shall be inserted after point 14 (Directive 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) of Annex IV to the Agreement:

'15. 398 L 0030: Directive 98/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas (OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 1), as corrected by OJ L 245, 4.9.1998, p. 43.

The provisions of the Directive shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptations:

(a) in Article 3(2), "the relevant provisions of the Treaty, in particular Article 90" shall read "the relevant provisions of the EEA Agreement, in particular Article 59";

(b) in Article 3(3), "Article 90 of the Treaty" shall read "Article 59 of the EEA Agreement";

(c) in Article 3(3), the words "The interests of the Community" shall read "The interests of the Contracting Parties";

(d) in Article 5, the following shall be added at the end: ", as referred to in, and adapted for the purposes of, the EEA Agreement";

(e) in Article 13(2), the following shall be added to the first sentence: ", as referred to in, and adapted for the purposes of, the EEA Agreement";

(f) in Article 22, the words "the provisions of the Treaty, and in particular Article 86 thereof" shall read "the provisions of the EEA Agreement and in particular Article 54 thereof";

(g) the provisions of this Directive shall be implemented in the national legislation of Liechtenstein by 1 July 2002.'

Article 2

The texts of Directive 98/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, as corrected by OJ L 245, 4.9.1998, p. 43, in the Icelandic and Norwegian languages, to be published in the EEA Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities, shall be authentic.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on , provided that all the notifications under Article 103(1) of the Agreement have been made to the EEA Joint Committee [3].

[3] Constitutional requirements indicated.

Article 4

This Decision shall be published in the EEA Section of, and in the EEA Supplement to, the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Done at Brussels, .

For the EEA Joint Committee

The President

The Secretaries to the EEA Joint Committee