Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion of an agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the criteria and mechanisms for establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum lodged in a Member State or Iceland or Norway
Date: 2001-01-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Iceland, Norway, association agreement (EU), database management system, ratification of an agreement, right of asylum

C 154 E/244

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.5.2001

Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion of an agreement between the European
Community and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the criteria and
mechanisms for establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum lodged in a
Member State or Iceland or Norway

(2001/C 154 E/19)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2001) 55 final (cid:151) 2001/0031(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 30 January 2001)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 63(1)
in conjunction
with the second sentence of the first subparagraph of Article
300(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 300(3),

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Whereas:

between

an Agreement
and the Republic of

(1) The Commission has negotiated on behalf of the European
European
Community
Community
Iceland and the
Kingdom of Norway concerning the criteria and mech-
anisms
for
the
for
examining a request
for asylum lodged in a Member
State or in Iceland or Norway (hereinafter referred to as
(cid:145)the Agreement(cid:146)).

establishing

responsible

State

the

(2) The Agreement has been signed, on behalf of the European
Community, on 19 January 2001, subject to its possible
in accordance with Decision
conclusion at a later date,
. . ./. . ./EC of the Council of 19 January 2001.

(3) The Agreement should now be approved.

(4) It

is also necessary to establish arrangements for
the
application of certain of the provisions of this Agreement.

(5) The Agreement

establishes
decision-making powers in certain areas and it
necessary to specify who represents
within this Committee.

Joint Committee with
is thus
the Community

a

Article 1

criteria

The Agreement between the European Community and the
Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning
establishing the State
the
responsible for examining a request for asylum lodged in a
Member State or in Iceland or Norway is hereby approved
on behalf of the Community.

and mechanisms

for

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.

Article 2

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate
the person empowered to deposit on behalf of the European
Community the instrument of approval provided for in Article
14 of the Agreement, in order to express the consent of the
Community to be bound.

Article 3

The Commission shall represent the Community in the Joint
Committee established by Article 3 of the Agreement.

Article 4

The position of

the Community within the

Joint
1.
Committee with regard to the adoption of
rules of
procedure as required under Article 3(2) of the Agreement
shall be taken by the Commission after consultation of a
special committee designated by the Council.

its

2.
For all other Joint Committee decisions, the position of
the Community shall be adopted by the Council, acting by
qualified majority, on a proposal by the Commission.

Article 5

(6) It is further necessary to provide for a procedure laying

down how a Community position is adopted,

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

29.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 154 E/245

AGREEMENT

between the European Community and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway
concerning the criteria and mechanisms for establishing the State responsible for examining a
request for asylum lodged in a Member State or in Iceland or Norway

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

and

the REPUBLIC OF ICELAND

and

the KINGDOM OF NORWAY,

hereinafter referred to as (cid:145)the Contracting Parties(cid:146),

CONSIDERING that the Member States of the European Union have concluded the Dublin Convention
determining the State responsible for examining applications for asylum lodged in one of the Member
States of the European Communities (1), signed in Dublin on 15 June 1990 (hereinafter referred to as (cid:145)the
Dublin Convention(cid:146));

RECALLING that Article 7 of the Agreement of 18 May 1999 concluded by the Council of the European
Union (hereinafter referred to as (cid:145)the Council(cid:146)) and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway
concerning the latters’ association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen
acquis (2) calls for the conclusion of an appropriate arrangement on the criteria and mechanisms for
establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum lodged in any of the Member
States or in Iceland or Norway;

CONSIDERING that it is therefore appropriate that this Agreement shall incorporate the provisions of the
Dublin Convention and the relevant provisions which have already been adopted by the Committee
established pursuant to Article 18 of that Convention, without prejudice to the relations established by
the Dublin Convention between the Contracting Parties of that Convention;

CONSIDERING that Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995
on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement
of such data (3) (hereinafter referred to as the (cid:145)Data Protection Directive(cid:146)) shall be applied by Iceland and
Norway as it is applied by the Member States of the European Community when processing data for the
purpose covered by this Agreement;

RECOGNISING, however, that the provisions incorporated into this Agreement must, where necessary, be
adapted to take account of the position of Iceland and Norway as non-member States;

CONVINCED that it is necessary to include a mechanism in this Agreement that provides for consistency
with the development of Community acquis, in particular in relation to the matters referred to in Article
63(1) point (a) of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

CONVINCED that it is necessary to organise the cooperation with the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom
of Norway at all
levels with regard to the implementation, the practical application and the further
development of the Dublin Convention;

CONSIDERING that for this purpose it is necessary to set up an organisational structure, ensuring the
association of the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway with the activities in these fields and
enabling their participation in these activities through a Committee;

(1) OJ C 254, 19.8.1997, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36.
(3) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

C 154 E/246

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.5.2001

CONSIDERING that on 11 December 2000 the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000 concerning
the establishment of (cid:145)Eurodac(cid:146) for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin
Convention (1) in order to assist in determining which Contracting Party is to be responsible for examining
an application for asylum pursuant to the Dublin Convention (hereinafter referred to as the (cid:145)Eurodac
Regulation(cid:146));

CONSIDERING that this Agreement should extend to the subject matter covered by the Eurodac Regulation
with a view to a parallel
implementation of that Regulation in Iceland, Norway and the European
Communities;

CONSIDERING that the provisions of Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community and acts
adopted on the basis of that title do not apply to the Kingdom of Denmark, but that Denmark should be
given the opportunity to participate in this Agreement should it so wish,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The provisions of the Dublin Convention, listed in Part 1
1.
of
the
the Annex to this Agreement and the decisions of
Committee set up by Article 18 of the Dublin Convention
listed in Part 2 of the said Annex shall be implemented by
Iceland and Norway and applied in their mutual relations
and in their relations with the Member States, subject
to
paragraph 4.

2. Member States
paragraph 1, subject to paragraph 4,
and Norway.

shall apply the rules

referred to in
in relation to Iceland

3.
The provisions of the Data Protection Directive as they
apply to the Member States in relation to the data processed
for the purpose of the implementation and application of the
provisions as defined in the Annex shall be implemented and
applied mutatis mutandis by Iceland and Norway.

4.
For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, references in the
provisions covered by the Annex to (cid:145)Member States(cid:146) shall be
understood to include Iceland and Norway.

5.
This Agreement shall apply to the Eurodac Regulation
taking into account the particular situation of Norway and
Iceland outside the European Union with a view to a parallel
implementation of that Regulation in Iceland, Norway and the
European Community.

Article 2

1. When drafting new legislation based on Article 63, point
1(a) of the Treaty establishing the European Community in a
field which is covered by the subject matter of the Annex to
the
this Agreement or by Article 1(5), the Commission of
European Communities
(cid:145)the
informally seek advice from experts of
Commission(cid:146)) shall
Iceland and Norway in the same way it seeks advice from
experts of the Member States for drawing up its proposals.

referred to as

(hereinafter

(1) OJ L 316, 15.12.2000, p. 1.

2. When forwarding its proposals, which are relevant for
to the European Parliament and to the
this Agreement,
Council,
to
Iceland and Norway.

the Commission shall

forward copies

thereof

At the request of one of the Contracting Parties, a preliminary
exchange of views may take place in the Joint Committee
established under Article 3.

continuous

information and consultation process,

During the phase preceding the adoption of legislation, in
3.
a
the
Contracting Parties shall consult each other again in the Joint
Committee at significant moments at the request of one of
them. After the adoption of legislation, the procedure as laid
down in Article 4(2) to (7) shall apply.

4.
The Contracting Parties shall cooperate in good faith
during the information and consultation phase with a view
to facilitating, at the end of the process, the functions of the
Joint Committee according to this Agreement.

5.
The representatives of the governments of Iceland and
Norway shall have the right to make suggestions in the Joint
Committee relating to matters mentioned in paragraph 1.

6.
The Commission shall ensure experts of Norway and
Iceland as wide a participation as possible according to the
areas concerned,
in the preparatory stage of draft measures
to be submitted subsequently to the committees which assist
the Commission in the exercise of its executive powers. In this
regard, when drawing up measures the Commission shall refer
to experts of Iceland and Norway on the same basis as it refers
to experts of Member States.

7.
In the cases where the Council is seized in accordance
with the procedure applicable to the type of committee
involved, the Commission shall forward to the Council the
views of the experts of Iceland and Norway.

29.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 154 E/247

Article 3

A Joint Committee is hereby established, consisting of

1.
representatives of the Contracting Parties.

force of the act or measure for Iceland according to para-
graph 1.

The Joint Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure by

2.
consensus.

The Joint Committee shall meet at the initiative of its

3.
President or at the request of any of its members.

The Joint Committee shall meet at the appropriate level,
4.
as circumstances require,
in order to review the practical
implementation and application of the provisions covered by
the Annex,
including new acts or measures referred to in
Article 1 adopted by the Committee established by Article 18
of the Dublin Convention and to exchange views on the elab-
oration of new legislation based on Article 63, point 1(a) of the
Treaty establishing the European Community and covering the
substance matter of Article 1(5) or of the Annex.

If the content of such an act or measure can be binding
4.
on Norway only after fulfilment of constitutional requirements,
Norway shall inform the General Secretariat of the Council and
the Commission thereof at the time of its notification. Norway
shall promptly, and at the latest six months from notification
by the competent institution of the European Union, inform
the General Secretariat of the Council and the Commission in
writing upon fulfilment of all constitutional
requirements.
From the date laid down for the entry into force of the act
or measure for Norway and until
the information upon
shall
fulfilment of
provisionally apply, where possible, the content of such act
or measure.

requirements, Norway

constitutional

5.
The acceptance by Iceland and Norway of the acts and
measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall create rights and
obligations between Iceland and Norway,
and between
Iceland and Norway on the one hand, and the Member
States of the European Union on the other.

All exchange of information pertaining to this Agreement shall
be considered to take place within the remit of
the Joint
Committee.

6. Where:

5.
The office of President of the Joint Committee shall be
held, alternately for a period of six months, by the represen-
tative of the European Community and by the representative of
the government of Iceland or Norway, following the alpha-
betical order.

Article 4

Subject

1.
to paragraph 2, when new acts or measures
related to matters referred to in Article 1 are adopted by the
Committee established by Article 18 of the Dublin Convention
they shall, unless they explicitly state otherwise, be applied
from the same time on by the Member States, on the one
hand, and by Iceland and Norway on the other.

The adoption of

2.
the acts or measures referred to in
paragraph 1 shall be notified immediately by the Commission
to Iceland and Norway. Iceland and Norway shall decide inde-
pendently whether to accept their content and to implement it
into their internal legal order. These decisions shall be notified
to the General Secretariat of
and to the
Commission within thirty days of the adoption of the acts or
measures concerned.

the Council

3.
If the content of such an act or measure can be binding
on Iceland only after fulfilment of constitutional requirements,
Iceland shall inform the General Secretariat of the Council and
the Commission thereof at the time of its notification. Iceland
shall promptly inform the General Secretariat of the Council
and the Commission in writing upon fulfilment of all consti-
tutional requirements, and shall provide such information as
soon as possible before the date laid down for the entry into

(a) either Iceland or Norway notifies its decision not to accept
the content of an act or measure referred to in paragraph 1
and to which the procedures set out in this Agreement
have been applied; or

(b) either Iceland or Norway does not make a notification
within the thirty days’ time limit set out in paragraph 2; or

(c)

Iceland does not make a notification prior to the date laid
down for the entry into force of
the act or measure
concerned for it; or

(d) Norway does not make a notification within the six
months’ time limit set out in paragraph 4 or does not
provide for provisional application as envisaged in the
same paragraph from the date laid down for the entry
into force of the act or measure concerned for it;

this Agreement shall be considered suspended with respect to
Iceland or Norway, as the case may be.

The Joint Committee shall examine the matter that led to
7.
the suspension and undertake to remedy the causes for the
the non-ratification within a period of
non-acceptance or
to
ninety days. Having examined all
including
maintain the good functioning of this Agreement,
the possibility to take notice of the equivalence of legislation,
it may decide by unanimity to reinstate the Agreement. Should
this Agreement continue to be suspended after ninety days, it
shall be considered terminated with respect
to Iceland or
Norway, as the case may be.

further possibilities

C 154 E/248

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.5.2001

Article 5

in conformity with Article 4(3) and (4),

Pending the entry into force of the measures referred to in
referred to in
Article 2(1) and replacing the provisions
Article 1(1),
if a
Contracting Party experiences major difficulties as a result of
a substantial change in the circumstances obtaining on
conclusion of this Agreement, it may bring the matter before
the Joint Committee established by Article 3 so that the latter
may put to the Contracting Parties measures to deal with the
situation. The Joint Committee shall decide unanimously on
these measures. Where unanimity cannot be reached, Article
8 shall apply.

Article 6

the case law of

In order to achieve the objective of

1.
the Contracting
Parties to arrive at as uniform an application and interpretation
as possible of the provisions referred to in Article 1, the Joint
Committee shall keep under constant review the development
of
the European
Communities (hereinafter referred to as the (cid:145)Court of Justice(cid:146))
as well as the development of the case law of the competent
courts of Iceland and Norway relating to such provisions. To
this end the Contracting Parties agree to ensure mutual trans-
mission of such case law without delay.

the Court of

Justice of

In a case where the dispute cannot be settled by the Joint
3.
Committee within the period of ninety days envisaged in
shall be
paragraph 2, a further period of ninety days
Joint
observed for
the
that
Committee has not
period, this Agreement shall be considered terminated with
respect to Iceland and Norway, as the case may be, at the
end of the last day of that period.

final
taken a decision at

the end of

reaching a

settlement.

If

Article 9

1.
As far as administrative and operational costs linked to
the installation and operation of the Central Unit of Eurodac
are concerned,
Iceland and Norway shall contribute to the
general budget of the European Union an annual sum of

(cid:151) for Iceland 0,1 %

(cid:151) for Norway 4,995 %

an initial

reference
appropriations

EUR 9 575 000 in
of
commitment
EUR 5 000 000 in
payment appropriations and from the budgetary year 2002
onwards the relevant budget appropriations for the budgetary
year concerned.

amount of
of
and

Subject to the adoption of the necessary modifications to
2.
the rules of procedure of the Court of Justice,
Iceland and
Norway shall be entitled to submit statements of case or
written observations to the Court of Justice in cases where a
question has been referred to it by a court or tribunal of a
Member State for a preliminary ruling concerning the inter-
pretation of any provision referred to in Article 1(5) and in
Article 2(1).

Article 7

1.
Iceland and Norway shall submit reports annually to the
Joint Committee on the way in which their administrative auth-
orities and their courts have applied and interpreted the
provisions referred to in Article 1, as interpreted by the
Court of Justice, as the case may be.

If

2.
the Joint Committee, within two months after a
substantial difference in the case law of the Court of Justice
Iceland and Norway or a substantial
and the courts of
difference in application between the authorities of
the
Member States concerned and those of Iceland and Norway
in respect of the provisions referred to in Article 1 has been
brought before it, has not been able to ensure the preservation
of a uniform application and interpretation, the procedure in
Article 8 shall apply.

As far as other administrative or operational costs involved in
the application of this Agreement are concerned, Iceland and
Norway shall share in these costs by contributing to the
general budget of
the European Union an annual sum in
accordance with the percentage of the gross national product
of their countries in relation to the gross national product of
all participating States.

Iceland and Norway shall have the right

2.
to receive
documents pertaining to this Agreement and, at meetings of
the Joint Committee, to request interpretation into an official
language of the institutions of the European Communities of
their choice. However, any costs of translation or interpretation
into or from Icelandic or Norwegian shall be borne by Iceland
or Norway, as the case may be.

Article 10

The national data protection supervisory authorities of Iceland
and Norway and the independent supervisory body established
by virtue of Article 286(2) of
the Treaty establishing the
European Community shall cooperate to the extent necessary
for
their duties and in particular by
exchanging all useful information. The modalities of such coop-
eration shall be agreed upon as soon as this body has been
established.

the performance of

Article 8

Article 11

In the case of a dispute concerning the application or
1.
interpretation of
this Agreement or where the situation
provided for in Articles 5 or 7(2) occurs, the matter shall be
officially entered as a matter of dispute on the agenda of the
Joint Committee.

shall not

This Agreement

1.
in any way the
Agreement on the European Economic Area or any other
agreement concluded between the European Community and
Iceland and/or Norway or the Council and Iceland and/or
Norway.

affect

2.
The Joint Committee shall have ninety days from the date
of the adoption of the agenda on which the dispute has been
entered within which to settle the dispute.

This Agreement

2.
in any way future
shall not affect
agreements to be concluded with Iceland and/or Norway by
the European Community.

29.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 154 E/249

This Agreement shall not affect the cooperation in the
3.
framework of the Nordic Passport union, to the extent that
such cooperation is not contrary to, and does not hinder,
this Agreement and the acts and measures based on this
Agreement.

Article 14

1.
This Agreement is subject to ratification or approval by
the Contracting Parties. Instruments of ratification or approval
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council
who shall act as depositary.

Article 12

The Kingdom of Denmark may request to participate in this
Agreement. The condition for such participation shall be
determined by the Contracting Parties, acting with the
consent of the Kingdom of Denmark,
in a Protocol to this
Agreement.

2.
This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of
the month following the communication by the depositary to
the Contracting Parties that the last instrument of ratification
or approval has been deposited.

Article 13

1.
Subject to paragraphs 2 to 5, this Agreement shall apply
to the territory in which the Treaty establishing the European
Community is applicable, and to Iceland and Norway.

2.

This Agreement shall not apply to Svalbard (Spitzbergen).

3.
This Agreement shall only apply to the territory of the
Kingdom of Denmark in accordance with the provisions of
Article 12 and to the Faroe Islands and Greenland only on
extension of the Dublin Convention to these territories.

This Agreement shall not apply to the French overseas

4.
departments.

This Agreement shall take effect in Gibraltar only on the
the Dublin Convention, or any Community

5.
application of
measure which replaces that Convention, to Gibraltar.

Article 15

Each Contracting Party may terminate this Agreement by
written declaration to the depositary. Such declaration shall
take effect six months after its deposition. The Agreement
shall cease to be effective if either the European Community
or both Iceland and Norway have denounced it.

in a single
Done at . . . on the . . . day of . . . in the year . .
in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French,
original
Swedish,
Portuguese,
German, Greek,
Icelandic and Norwegian languages, each text being equally
authentic, such original remaining deposited in the archives
of
the European
Union.

the General Secretariat of

the Council of

Spanish,

Italian,

C 154 E/250

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.5.2001

ANNEX

PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE DUBLIN CONVENTION AND DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE SET UP BY
ARTICLE 18 OF THE DUBLIN CONVENTION

Part 1: Dublin Convention

All provisions of the Convention, signed in Dublin on 15 June 1990, determining the State responsible for
examining applications for asylum lodged in one of the Member States, with the exception of Articles 16
to 22.

Part 2: Decisions of the Committee set up by Article 18 of the Dublin Convention

Decision No 1/97 of 9 September 1997 of the Committee set up by Article 18 of the Dublin Convention
of 15 June 1990, concerning provisions for the implementation of the Convention.

Decision No 1/98 of 30 June 1998 of the Committee set up by Article 18 of the Dublin Convention of 15
June 1990, concerning provisions for the implementation of the Convention.

Declaration No 1

Pending the adoption by the European Community of
replace the Dublin
Convention, the Contracting Parties will hold a meeting of the Joint Committee established by Article
3(1) of the Agreement in connection with any meeting of the Committee set up by Article 18 of the
Dublin Convention, including meetings at expert level to prepare its work.

legislation which will

Declaration No 2

The contracting parties underline the importance of a close and active dialogue of all those involved in the
implementation of the Dublin Convention and the measures referred to in Article 2(1) of the Agreement.

The Commission will invite experts from the Member States to meetings of the Joint Committee, in order
to exchange views, in full compliance with Article 3(1) of the Agreement, with Iceland and Norway on all
matters covered by the Agreement.

The contracting parties took note of the willingness of the Member States to accept such invitations and
participate in such exchange of views with Iceland and Norway on all matters covered by the Agreement.

Declaration No 3

The Contracting Parties agree that the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee established by Article 3 of
the Agreement will state that the rules of the institutions of the European Union from which the
documents originate concerning the measures for the protection of classified information applicable to
those institutions shall also apply to the protection of classified information to be used by the Joint
Committee.

Within the scope of the Agreement, the Contracting Parties agree that the principles underlying the
exchange of letters annexed to the Agreement of 18 May 1999 shall apply in respect of Committees
which assist the Commission of the European Communities in the exercise of its executive powers.

Declaration No 4

Declaration No 5

The Contracting Parties agree that Decision No 1/2000 of 31 October 2000 of the Committee set up by
Article 18 of the Dublin Convention of 15 June 1990, concerning the transfer of responsibility for family
members in accordance with Article 3(4) and Article 9 of that Convention shall be brought within the
remit of the Agreement according to the procedure of Article 4 thereof.