Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 25/98 of 27 March 1998 amending Annex XI (Telecommunication services) to the EEA Agreement
Date: 1998-03-27
Institutions: EEA Joint Committee
Subjects: European Economic Area, agreement (EU), competition, liberalisation of the market, telecommunications, telephone

L  310/6

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

19.11.98

DECISION  OF  THE  EEA  JOINT  COMMITTEE

No  25/98

of  27  March  1998

amending  Annex  XI  (Telecommunication  services)  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 XI to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No
106/97  of  17  December  1997 (1);

Whereas  Directive  95/62/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  December
1995  on  the  application  of  open  network  provision  (ONP)  to  voice  telephony (2)  is  to  be
incorporated  into  the  Agreement,

HAS  DECIDED  AS  FOLLOWS:

Article  1

The following point shall be inserted after point 5b (Council Directive 92/44/EEC) in Annex XI
to  the  Agreement:

‘5c.  395  L  0062:  Directive  95/62/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13
December  1995  on  the  application  of  open  network  provision  (ONP)  to  voice
telephony  (OJ  L  321,  30.12.1995,  p.  6).

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

(a)  (i)  Liechtenstein  shall  take  the  measures  necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive

before  1  January  1998;

(ii)  at  the  end  of  the  transitional  period  for  Liechtenstein  set  out  in  (i),  the  EEA
Joint Committee shall review the situation with a view to possible adjustments
required in order to take account of the arrangements for the operation of the
fixed  public  telephone  network  in  Liechtenstein.  Liechtenstein  nevertheless
undertakes  to  exercise  in  the  mean  time  its  best  efforts  to  ensure  that  the
provisions  of  this  Directive  are  observed  within  its  territory  to  the  greatest
extent  possible;

(b) regarding  the  EFTA  States,  the  reference  in  Article  27(a)  to  the  Treaty  shall  be
deemed  to  be  a  reference  to  the  Agreement  between  the  EFTA  States  on  the
establishment  of  a  Surveillance  Authority  and  a  Court  of  Justice;

(c)  the  following  shall  be  added  to  Article  27(2):

(a) 

if  the  procedure  provided  for  in  paragraphs  3  and  4  is  invoked  in  a  case
involving  one  or  more  national  regulatory  authorities  of  EFTA  States,  the
notification  shall  be  made  to  the  national  regulatory  authority  and  the  EFTA
Surveillance Authority;

(1)  OJ  L  193,  9.7.1998,  p.  69.
(2)  OJ  L  321,  30.12.1995,  p.  6.

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

L  310/7

(b)  if  the  procedure  provided  for  in  paragraphs  3  and  4  is  invoked  in  a  case
involving  two  or  more  national  regulatory  authorities  of  both  an  EU  and  an
EFTA  State,  the  notification  shall  be  made  to  the  national  regulatory
authorities,  the  Commission  and  the  EFTA  Surveillance  Authority;

(d) the  following  shall  be  added  to  Article  27(3):

(a)  where,  following  a  notification  based  on  paragraph  2(a),  the  national
regulatory  authority  or  the  EFTA  Surveillance  Authority  finds  that  there  is  a
case  for  further  examination,  it  can  refer  it  to  a  working  group  composed  of
representatives  of  EFTA  States  and  their  regulatory  authorities  concerned  and
of  a  representative  of  the  EFTA  Surveillance  Authority  acting  as  chairman  of
the  working  group.  The  chairman,  if  he  is  satisfied  that  all  reasonable  steps
have  been  taken  at  the  national  level,  shall  initiate  a  procedure  following,
mutatis  mutandis,  the  requirements  as  set  out  in  Article  27(4);

(b)  where,  following  notification  based  on  paragraph  2(b),  a  national  regulatory
authority, the Commission or the EFTA Surveillance Authority finds that there
is  a  case  for  further  examination,  it  can  refer  it  to  the  EEA  Joint  Committee.
The  EEA  Joint  Committee  can,  if  it  is  satisfied  that  all  reasonable  steps  have
been taken at the national level, set up a working group composed of an equal
number  of  representatives  of  EFTA  States  and  their  national  regulatory
authorities  concerned  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  an  equal  number  of
representatives  of  the  EU  Member  States  and  their  national  regulatory
authorities  concerned  on  the  other  hand,  as  well  as  of  representatives  of  the
EFTA  Surveillance  Authority  and  the  Commission.  The  EEA  Joint  Committee
shall  also  appoint  the  chairman  of  the  working  group.  The  working  group
shall,  mutatis  mutandis,  follow  the  procedural  requirements  as  set  out  in
Article  27(4).’

Article  2

The  texts  of  Directive  95/62/EC  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  1  April  1998,  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,  27  March  1998.

For  the  EEA  Joint  Committee

The  President

F.  BARBASO