Draft decision of the EEA joint committee amending annex I (Veterinary and phytosanitary matters) to the EEA agreement - Draft common position of the Community

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. Integrating veterinary acquis into the EEA Agreement creates a heavy administrative burden and a risk of delayed application in the EEA EFTA States.

2. There are no border controls for goods covered by the EEA Agreement. It is essential that the EEA EFTA States apply the same rules as the Community, including such urgent provisions as safeguard measures.

3. The attached proposal for an EEA Joint Committee Decision lays down procedures which allow and oblige the EEA EFTA States to rapidly apply measures decided by the Community and the Commission to control their correct implementation.

4. The EEA Joint Committee should therefore adopt the attached decision to amend Annex I to the EEA Agreement.

5. Article 1(3)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2894/94 concerning the arrangements for implementing the EEA Agreement envisages that the Council establishes the Community position for this kind of decisions.

6. The Council is therefore requested to agree to the attached draft Community position for adoption as an EEA Joint Committee Decision.

Draft decision of the EEA joint committee amending annex I (Veterinary and phytosanitary matters) 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 I to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No ... of ... [1].

[1] OJ L ...

(2) New procedures shall apply to border inspection posts and to acts regarding imports from third countries under the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement.

(3) These new procedures imply the drawing up of a new list of border inspection posts in Iceland and Norway in point 39 in Part 1.2 of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement.

(4) This Decision is not to apply to Liechtenstein,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Paragraph 3 in the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement shall be amended as follows:

1. Paragraphs (c) and (d) shall be deleted.

2. Paragraph (e) shall become (c).

3. In the new paragraph (c) the words '(a), (b), (c) and (d)' shall be replaced by '(a) and (b)'.

Article 2

The text of paragraph 4 B in the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement shall be replaced by the following:

'Inspection of border inspection posts

1) Inspections of border inspection posts shall take place in close cooperation between the EC Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority.

2) The EFTA Surveillance Authority shall be entitled to participate in inspection visits of the Commission services to the EC Member States with regard to the decisions to which reference is made in paragraph 5(b), first indent.

3) The EC Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority shall arrange joint inspection visits to establish a common recommendation for the purposes of the decisions to which reference is made in paragraph 5(b), second indent. Any issue arising in this connection may be referred to the EEA Joint Committee.'

Article 3

The following paragraph shall be inserted after paragraph 4 in the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement:

'5. List of border inspection posts

(a) The list of border inspection posts is contained in point 39 in Part 1.2 of Chapter I of Annex I.

(b) With regard to amendments to this list:

- the EFTA States shall apply the Community decisions fixing the list of border inspection posts for the EC Member States;

- the EC Member States shall apply the decisions of the EFTA Surveillance Authority fixing the border inspection posts for the EFTA States. In cases of additions to this list the third subparagraph of paragraph 4B shall apply.

(c) Should any difficulty arise in the application of the procedure laid down in (b), the matter will be referred to the EEA Joint Committee.'

Article 4

Paragraph 5 in the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement shall become paragraph 6.

Article 5

The present paragraph 6 in the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement shall be replaced by the following:

'7. Imports from third countries - Application texts and lists of establishments

(a) The EFTA States shall simultaneously with the EC Member States take measures corresponding to those taken by the latter on the basis of the relevant Community acts as regards the application texts and lists of establishments concerning imports from third countries.

(b) In the case of any difficulty relating to the application of a Community act, the EFTA State concerned shall immediately report the matter to the EEA Joint Committee.

(c) This paragraph shall apply to Iceland for the matters covered by the acts to which reference is made in paragraph 2.

(d) The EEA Joint Committee may take note of the Community decisions.

(e) The obligation laid down in (a), shall apply to all relevant acts in force at any given moment, whatever their date of adoption.'

Article 6

The following paragraph shall be inserted after new paragraph 7 in the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement:

'8. Imports from third countries - Safeguard and protective measures

(a) The EFTA States shall simultaneously with the EC Member States take measures corresponding to those taken by the latter on the basis of the relevant Community acts as regards safeguard and protective measures on imports from third countries.

(b) In the case of any difficulty relating to the application of a Community act, the EFTA State concerned shall immediately report the matter to the EEA Joint Committee.

(c) The application of this paragraph is without prejudice to the possibility of an EFTA State taking unilateral protective measures pending the adoption of the decisions mentioned in (a).

(d) This paragraph shall apply to Iceland for the matters covered by the acts to which reference is made in paragraph 2.

(e) The EEA Joint Committee may take note of the Community decisions.'

Article 7

The present paragraphs 7, 8, 9 and 10 in the Introductory Part of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement shall become paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 respectively.

Article 8

In point 4 (Council Directive 97/78/EC) of Part 1.1 in Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement the words 'paragraph 3 of the Introductory Part' in adaptation (a) shall be replaced by 'paragraph 8 of the Introductory Part'.

Article 9

In point 5 (Council Directive 91/496/EEC) of Part 1.1 in Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement the words 'paragraph 3 of the Introductory Part' in the adaptation text shall be replaced by 'paragraph 8 of the Introductory Part'.

Article 10

The adaptation text of point 39 (Commission Decision 97/778/EC) in Part 1.2 of Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement shall be replaced by the Annex to this Decision.

Article 11

Parts 8.2 and 8.3 in Chapter I of Annex I to the Agreement shall be deleted.

Article 12

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 [2].

[2] [Constitutional requirements indicated.][No constitutional requirements indicated.]

Article13

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

ANNEX

'In the Annex, the following is added:

List of border inspection posts

Country: Iceland

>TABLE POSITION>

Country: Norway

>TABLE POSITION>

1= Name

2= Animo Code

3= Type

A= Airport

F= Rail

P= Port

R= Road

4= Products

HC= All Products for Human Consumption

NHC= Other Products

-NT= No temperature requirements

-T= Frozen/chilled products

5= Live animals (see Commission Decision 94/957/EC of 28 December 1994)

U= Ungulates: cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, wild and domestic solipeds

E= Registered Equidae as defined in Council Directive 90/426/EEC

O= Other animals

4-5= Special remarks

(1)= Checking in line with the requirements of Commission Decision 93/352/EEC taken in

execution of Article 18(4) of Council Directive 90/675/EEC

(2)= Packed products only

(3)= Fishery products only

(4)= Animal proteins only

(5)= Wool hides and skins only

(6)= Straw and hay only

(7)= Fishery products from Iceland and Norway only

(8)= Semen and embryos only

(9)= Wool only

(10)= Icelandic ponies (from April to October only)

(11)= Pigs from Cyprus only

(12)= From Malta only

(13)= Equidae only

(14)= Tropical fish only

(15)= Cats, dogs, rodents, lagomorphs, live fish, reptiles and other birds than ratites only

(16)= Zoological animals only

(17)= Feedstuffs in bulk only

(18)= From Hungary only

(19)= Aquaculture animals

(20)= Fish meal only'