Draft DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE amending Annex XXI (Statistics) 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 XXI to the EEA Agreement by adding recently adopted acquis in the field of Statistics. The decision concerns:

- 32002 R 1889: Commission Regulation (EC) No 1889/2002 of

- 23 October 2002 on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 448/98 completing and amending Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 with respect to

- the allocation of financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) within the European System of national and regional Accounts (ESA)

- (OJ L 286, 24.10.2002, p. 11).

3. Annex XXI to the EEA Agreement is to be extended to include the abovementioned regulation. The draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee contains a derogation for Liechtenstein and an adaptation for Norway, which requires additional time for its implementation.

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

5. The draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee is submitted for the approval of the Council, after which the Commission will put forward the position of the Community in the EEA Joint Committee.

Draft DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE amending Annex XXI (Statistics) 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 XXI to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No [...] / [...] of [...] [1].

[1] OJ L [...], [...], p. [...].

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1889/2002 of 23 October 2002 on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 448/98 completing and amending Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 with respect to the allocation of financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) within the European System of national and regional Accounts (ESA) [2] is to be incorporated into the Agreement.

[2] OJ L 286, 24.10.2002, p. 11.

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

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The following point shall be inserted after point 19dc (Regulation (EC) No 1221/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council) of Annex XXI to the Agreement:

- '19dd. 32002 R 1889: Commission Regulation (EC) No 1889/2002 of

- 23 October 2002 on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 448/98 completing and amending Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 with respect to the allocation of financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) within the European System of national and regional Accounts (ESA)

- (OJ L 286, 24.10.2002, p. 11).

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

(a) This Regulation shall not apply to Liechtenstein.

(b) This Regulation shall apply for Norway as from 1 January 2006.'

Article 2

The texts of Regulation (EC) No 1889/2002 in the Icelandic and Norwegian languages, to be published in the EEA Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union, 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] [No 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 Union.

Done at Brussels,

For the EEA Joint Committee

The President

The Secretaries

to the EEA Joint Committee