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.

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

4. The Council is therefore invited :

- to agree to adopt the attached draft EEA Joint Committee decision as the Community position on the revision of Annex IV;

- to set a time limit for the European Parliament to give its opinion pursuant to Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2894/94.

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 adjusted by the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area, hereinafter referred to as "the Agreement", and in particular Article 98 thereof,

Whereas Annex IV to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No ../.. of ... [1];

[1] OJ L

Whereas Directive 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 1996 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity [2] is to be incorporated into the Agreement,

[2] OJ L 27, 30.1.1997, p. 20.

Whereas the share of the national market, as referred to in Article 19(1) of Directive 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, shall for the purposes of the Agreement, be based on the calculation of the average Community share of electricity market opening,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The following point shall be added after point 13 (Directive 96/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) of Annex IV to the Agreement:

"14. 396 L 0092: Directive 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 1996 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity (OJ L 27, 30.1.1997, p. 20).

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 7(2), the following shall be added at the end: ", as referred to in, and adapted for the purposes of the EEA Agreement";

(e) in Article 14(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 14(5), the phrase "seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC of 13 June 1983 based on Article 54(3)(g) of the Treaty on consolidated accounts" shall read "seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC of 13 June 1983 based on Article 54(3)(g) of the Treaty on consolidated accounts as referred to in, and adapted for the purposes of the EEA Agreement";

(g) the obligation on Member States laid down in Articles 19(1) and (2) to report figures on electricity consumed by final consumers for the purpose of calculating the average Community share defining the degree of market opening, shall not apply to the EFTA States;

(h) 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";

(i) those EFTA States in which commitments and guarantees of operation given before the entry into force of Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No ../.. of ... may not be honoured on account of the provisions of that Decision, may apply for a transitional regime pursuant to Article 24(1) and (2). Applications for a transitional period must be notified to the EFTA Surveillance Authority no later than 6 months after the entry into force of Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No ../.. of ...;

(j) in Article 24(3), the following shall be added to the last sentence: ", Iceland and Liechtenstein";

k) in Article 27(2), the following shall be added at the end: "Iceland and Liechtenstein may, due to the specific technical characteristics of their electricity system, have an additional period of 2 years after the entry into force of Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No ../.. of ..., to apply the obligations ensuing from the Directive."."

Article 2

The texts of Directive 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council in the Icelandic and Norwegian languages, which are annexed to the respective language versions of this Decision, are 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.

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