Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the participation of Switzerland in the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network - Protocol
Date: 2004-10-26
Institutions: European Community, Switzerland
Subjects: European Environment Agency, Switzerland, cooperation agreement (EU), environmental cooperation, environmental monitoring, environmental protection, information network

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Official Journal of the European Union

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between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the participation of
Switzerland in the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information
and Observation Network

AGREEMENT

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,

and

THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, hereinafter referred to as ‘Switzerland’,

Hereinafter together referred to as the ‘Contracting Parties’,

RECOGNISING the transboundary nature of environmental issues and the importance of enhancing international coop-
eration in the field of environment,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European
Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network, as amended by Council
Regulation (EC) No 933/1999 and Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the activities of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment
Information and Observation Network have already extended to other European countries by means of bilateral agree-
ments entered into by the European Community,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Article 5

Switzerland shall participate fully in the European Environment
Agency, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Agency’, and the Euro-
Information and Observation Network
pean Environment
(EIONET) and shall apply the acts listed in Annex I.

Switzerland shall in particular designate from among the insti-
tutions referred to in Article 4 or from among other organisa-
tions established in its territory a ‘national focal point’ for coor-
dinating and/or transmitting the information to be supplied at
national level to the Agency and to the institutions or bodies
forming part of
including the topic centres
referred to under Article 6.

the EIONET,

Article 2

Switzerland shall contribute financially to the activities referred
to under Article 1 (Agency and EIONET) in accordance with
the following:

(a) The annual contribution for a given year shall be calculated
on the basis of the Community subsidy to the budget of
the Agency for that given year, divided by the number of
Member States of the Community.

(b) The further terms and conditions of the financial contribu-

tion of Switzerland are set out in Annex II.

Article 6

Switzerland may also, within the period laid down in Article 4,
identify the institutions or other organisations established in its
territory, which could be specifically entrusted with the task of
cooperating with the Agency as regards certain topics of par-
ticular interest. An institution thus identified should be in a
position to conclude an agreement with the Agency to act as a
topic centre of the network for specific tasks. These centres
shall cooperate with other institutions which form part of the
network.

Article 3

Article 7

Switzerland shall participate fully, without the right to vote, in
the Agency Management Board and shall be associated with the
work of the Scientific Committee of the Agency.

Within six months of receiving the information referred to in
Articles 4, 5 and 6, the Management Board of the Agency shall
review the main elements of the network to take account of
the participation of Switzerland.

Article 4

Article 8

Switzerland shall, within six months from the entry into force
of this Agreement, inform the Agency of the main component
elements of its national information networks as set out in the
acts listed in Annex I.

Switzerland should, subject to the condition that confidentiality
is protected, provide data according to the obligations and
practice established in the Agency work programme.

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Article 9

The Agency may agree with the institutions or bodies desig-
nated by Switzerland and which form part of the network, as
referred to in Articles 4, 5 and 6, upon the necessary arrange-
ments, in particular contracts, for successfully carrying out the
tasks which it may entrust to them.

Article 10

Environmental data supplied to or emanating from the Agency
may be published and shall be made accessible to the public,
provided that confidential
information is afforded the same
degree of protection in Switzerland as it is afforded within the
Community.

Article 11

The Agency shall have legal personality in Switzerland and it
shall enjoy in Switzerland the most extensive legal capacity
accorded to legal persons under its laws.

Article 12

Switzerland shall apply to the Agency the Protocol on the Privi-
leges and Immunities of the European Communities, which is
set out as Annex III.

Article 13

By way of derogation from Article 12(2)(a) of Council Regu-
lation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of 29 February 1968
on the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of
Employment of other servants of the European Communities,
nationals of Switzerland enjoying their full rights as citizens
may be engaged under contract by the Executive Director of
the Agency.

Article 14

The provisions relating to financial control by the Community
in Switzerland concerning the participants in the activities of
the Agency or EIONET are set out in Annex IV.

Article 15

The Contracting Parties shall
take any general or specific
measures required to fulfil their obligations under this Agree-
ment. They shall see to it that the objectives set out in this
Agreement are attained.

Article 16

1.
A Joint Committee, composed of representatives of the
Contracting Parties, shall ensure the proper application of this
Agreement. It shall meet upon request of a Contracting Party.

2.
The Joint Committee shall hold an exchange of views on
the implications of new Community legislation amending
Regulation EEC No 1210/90 or any other legal
instrument
referred to in this Agreement, including, if appropriate, on any
expected implications relating to the financial contribution laid
down in Article 2 of this Agreement and Annex II thereto.

3.
In accordance with the respective internal procedures of
the Contracting Parties, the Joint Committee may adopt a deci-
sion amending the Annexes to this Agreement or decide any
other measure to safeguard the proper functioning of
this
Agreement.

4.

The Joint Committee shall act by mutual agreement.

Article 17

The Annexes to this Agreement,
thereto, shall form an integral part thereof.

including the Appendix

Article 18

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories
in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is
applied and under the terms laid down in this Treaty and, on
the other hand, to the territory of Switzerland.

Article 19

This Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period. Either
Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by notifying
the other Contracting Party. This Agreement shall cease to
apply six months after the date of such notification.

Article 20

This Agreement will be approved by the Contracting Parties in
accordance with their own internal procedures. It shall enter
into force on the first day of the second month following the
day on which the Contracting Parties notify each other that the
procedures necessary to this end have been completed.

Article 21

1.
This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the
Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French,
German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish,
Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages,
each of these texts being equally authentic.

2.
The Maltese language version shall be authenticated by
the Contracting Parties on the basis of an exchange of letters. It
shall also be authentic, in the same way as for the languages
referred to in paragraph 1.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
have hereunto set their hands.

the undersigned Plenipotentiaries

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Hecho en Luxemburgo, el veintiséis de octubre de dos mil cuatro.

V Lucemburku dne dvacátého šestého října dva tisíce čtyři.

Udfærdiget i Luxembourg den seksogtyvende oktober to tusind og fire.

Geschehen zu Luxemburg am sechsundzwanzigsten Oktober zweitausendundvier.

Kahe tuhande neljanda aasta oktoobrikuu kahekümne kuuendal päeval Luxembourgis.
'Εγινε στo Λουξεµβούργο, στις είκοσι έξι Οκτωβρίου δύο χιλιάδες τέσσερα.

Done at Luxembourg on the twenty-sixth day of October in the year two thousand and four.

Fait à Luxembourg, le vingt-six octobre deux mille quatre.

Fatto a Lussemburgo, addì ventisei ottobre duemilaquattro.

Luksemburgā, divi tūkstoši ceturtā gada divdesmit sestajā oktobrī.

Priimta du tūkstančiai ketvirtų metų spalio dvidešimt šeštą dieną Liuksemburge.

Kelt Luxembourgban, a kettőezer-negyedik év október havának huszonhatodik napján.
Magħmula fil-Lussemburgu fis-sitta u għoxrin jum ta' Ottubru tas-sena elfejn u erbgħa.

Gedaan te Luxemburg, de zesentwintigste oktober tweeduizendvier.

Sporządzono w Luksemburgu, dnia dwudziestego szóstego października roku dwa tysiące czwartego.

Feito no Luxemburgo, em vinte e seis de Outubro de dois mil e quatro.

V Luxemburgu dvadsiateho šiesteho októbra dvetisícštyri.

V Luxembourgu, dne šestindvajsetega oktobra leta dva tisoč štiri

Tehty Luxemburgissa kahdentenakymmenentenäkuudentena päivänä lokakuuta vuonna kaksituhattaneljä.

Som skedde i Luxemburg den tjugosjätte oktober tjugohundrafyra.

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Por la Comunidad Europea

Za Evropské společenství

For Det Europæiske Fællesskab

Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft

Euroopa Ühenduse nimel

Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα

For the European Community

Pour la Communauté européenne

Per la Comunità europea

Eiropas Kopienas vārdā

Europos bendrijos vardu

az Európai Közösség részéről
Għall-Komunità Ewropea

Voor de Europese Gemeenschap

W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej

Pela Comunidade Europeia

Za Európske spoločenstvo

za Evropsko skupnost

Euroopan yhteisön puolesta

På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar

Für die Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft

Pour la Confédération suisse

Per la Confederazione svizzera

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ANNEX I

Applicable acts

Wherever acts specified in this Annex contain references to Member States of the European Community, or a require-
ment for a link with the latter, the references shall, for the purpose of this Agreement, be understood to apply equally to
Switzerland or to the requirement of a link with Switzerland.

— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency
and the European Environment Information and Observation Network (OJ L 120, 11.5.1990, p. 1), as amended by:

— Council Regulation (EC) No 933/1999 of 29 April 1999 (OJ L 117, 5.5.1999, p. 1);

— Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 (OJ L 245,

29.9.2003, p. 1).

ANNEX II

Financial contribution of Switzerland to the European Environment Agency

1. The financial contribution to be paid by Switzerland to the budget of the European Union to participate in the
Agency will be calculated by dividing the annual Community subsidy to the Agency for a given year by the number
of Member States of the Community.

2. The contribution of Switzerland will be managed in accordance with the Financial Regulation applicable to the

general budget of the European Communities.

3. Travel costs and subsistence costs incurred by representatives and experts of Switzerland for the purposes of taking
part in the Agency activities or meetings related to the implementation of the Agency's work programme shall be
reimbursed by the Agency on the same basis as and in accordance with the procedures currently in force for the
experts of the Member States of the Community.

4. After the entry into force of this Agreement and at the beginning of each following year, the Commission of the
European Communities, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’, will send to Switzerland a call for funds corre-
sponding to its contribution to the Agency under this Agreement. For the first calendar year of its participation Swit-
zerland will pay a contribution calculated from the date of participation to the end of the year on a pro rata basis.
For the following years the contribution will be in accordance with this Agreement.

This contribution shall be expressed in euro and paid into a euro bank account of the Commission.

5. Switzerland will pay its contribution according to the call for funds by 1 May provided that the call for funds is sent

by the Commission before 1 April, or at the latest in a period of 30 days after the call for funds is sent.

Any delay in the payment of the contribution shall give rise to the payment of interest by Switzerland on the
outstanding amount from the due date. The interest rate corresponds to the rate applied by the European Central
Bank, on the due date, for its operations in euro, increased by 1,5 percentage points.

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ANNEX III

Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,

CONSIDERING that, in accordance with Article 28 of the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission
of the European Communities, these Communities and the European Investment Bank shall enjoy in the territories of
the Member States such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the performance of their tasks,

HAVE AGREED upon the following provisions, which shall be annexed to this Treaty.

CHAPTER I

Article 5

PROPERTY, FUNDS, ASSETS AND OPERATIONS OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

The European Coal and Steel Community may hold currency of
any kind and operate accounts in any currency.

Article 1

The premises and buildings of the Communities shall be inviol-
able. They shall be exempt from search, requisition, confisca-
tion or expropriation.

The property and assets of the Communities shall not be the
subject of any administrative or legal measure of constraint
without the authorisation of the Court of Justice.

Article 2

The archives of the Communities shall be inviolable.

Article 3

The Communities, their assets, revenues and other property
shall be exempt from all direct taxes.

the Member States

shall, wherever
The governments of
possible, take the appropriate measures to remit or refund the
amount of indirect taxes or sales taxes included in the price of
movable or
immovable property, where the Communities
make, for their official use, substantial purchases the price of
which includes taxes of this kind. These provisions shall not be
applied, however, so as to have the effect of distorting competi-
tion within the Communities.

No exemption shall be granted in respect of taxes and dues
which amount merely to charges for public utility services.

Article 4

The Communities shall be exempt from all customs duties,
prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect
of articles intended for their official use: articles so imported
shall not be disposed of, whether or not in return for payment,
in the territory of the country into which they have been
imported, except under conditions approved by the govern-
ment of that country.

The Communities shall also be exempt
from any customs
duties and any prohibitions and restrictions on import and
exports in respect of their publications.

CHAPTER II

COMMUNICATIONS AND LAISSEZ PASSER

Article 6

For their official communications and the transmission of all
their documents,
the Communities shall
enjoy in the territory of each Member State the treatment
accorded by that State to diplomatic missions.

the institutions of

Official correspondence and other official communications of
the institutions of the Communities shall not be subject to
censorship.

Article 7

1.
Laissez passer in a form to be prescribed by the Council,
which shall be recognized as valid travel documents by the
authorities of the Member States, may be issued to members
and servants of the institutions of the Communities by the
Presidents of these institutions. These laissez passer shall be
issued to officials and other servants under conditions laid
down in the Staff Regulations of officials and the Conditions of
Employment of other servants of the Communities.

The Commission may conclude agreements for these laissez
passer to be recognised as valid travel documents within the
territory of third countries.

2.
The provisions of Article 6 of the Protocol on the privi-
leges and immunities of the European Coal and Steel Com-
munity shall, however, remain applicable to members and
servants of the institutions who are at the date of entry into
force of this Treaty in possession of the laissez passer provided
for in that Article, until the provisions of paragraph 1 of this
Article are applied.

CHAPTER III

MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Article 8

No administrative or other restriction shall be imposed on the
free movement of Members of the European Parliament travel-
ling to or from the place of meeting of the European Parlia-
ment.

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Members of
customs and exchange control, be accorded:

the European Parliament shall,

in respect of

(a) by their own government,

the same facilities as those
accorded to senior officials travelling abroad on temporary
official missions;

(b) by the government of other Member States, the same facil-
ities as those accorded to representatives of foreign govern-
ments on temporary official missions.

Article 9

Members of the European Parliament shall not be subject to
any form of inquiry, detention or legal proceedings in respect
of opinions expressed or votes cast by them in the performance
of their duties.

Article 10

During the sessions of the European Parliament, its Members
shall enjoy:

(a) in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded

to members of their parliament;

(b) in the territory of any other Member State, immunity from
any measure of detention and from legal proceedings.

Immunity shall
likewise apply to Members while they are
travelling to and from the place of meeting of the European
Parliament.

Immunity cannot be claimed when a Member is found in the
act of committing an offence and shall not prevent the Euro-
pean Parliament from exercising its right to waive the immu-
nity of one of its Members.

CHAPTER IV

REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBER STATES TAKING PART IN
THE WORK OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES

servants towards the Communities and, on the other hand,
to the jurisdiction of the Court in disputes between the
Communities and their officials and other servants, be
acts
immune
performed by them in their official capacity, including their
words spoken or written. They shall continue to enjoy this
immunity after they have ceased to hold office;

from legal proceedings

in respect of

(b) together with their spouses and dependent members of
their families, not be subject to immigration restrictions or
to formalities for the registration of aliens;

(c) in respect of currency or exchange regulations, be accorded
the same facilities as are customarily accorded to officials of
international organisations;

(d) enjoy the right to import free of duty their furniture and
first taking up their post in the
effects at the time of
country concerned, and the right to re export free of duty
their furniture and effects, on termination of their duties in
that country, subject in either case to the conditions consid-
ered to be necessary by the government of the country in
which this right is exercised;

(e) have the right to import free of duty a motor car for their
personal use, acquired either in the country of their last
residence or in the country of which they are nationals on
the terms ruling in the home market in that country, and
to re export it free of duty, subject in either case to the
conditions considered to be necessary by the government
of the country concerned.

Article 13

Officials and other servants of the Communities shall be liable
to a tax for the benefit of the Communities on salaries, wages
and emoluments paid to them by the Communities, in accord-
ance with the conditions and procedure laid down by the
Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission.

Article 11

They shall be exempt from national taxes on salaries, wages
and emoluments paid by the Communities.

Representatives of Member States taking part in the work of
the institutions of the Communities, their advisers and technical
in the performance of their duties and during
experts shall,
their travel
to and from the place of meeting, enjoy the
customary privileges, immunities and facilities.

This Article shall also apply to members of the advisory bodies
of the Communities.

CHAPTER V

OFFICIALS AND OTHER SERVANTS OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES

Article 12

In the territory of each Member State and whatever their
nationality, officials and other servants of the Communities
shall:

(a) subject to the provisions of the Treaties relating, on the one
hand, to the rules on the liability of officials and other

Article 14

In the application of income tax, wealth tax and death duties
and in the application of conventions on the avoidance of
double taxation concluded between Member States of
the
Communities, officials and other servants of the Communities
who, solely by reason of the performance of their duties in the
service of the Communities, establish their residence in the
territory of a Member State other than their country of domi-
cile for tax purposes at the time of entering the service of the
Communities, shall be considered, both in the country of their
actual
tax
purposes, as having maintained their domicile in the latter
country provided that it is a member of the Communities. This
provision shall also apply to a spouse, to the extent that the
latter is not separately engaged in a gainful occupation, and to
children dependent on and in the care of the persons referred
to in this Article.

residence and in the country of domicile for

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Movable property belonging to persons referred to in the
preceding paragraph and situated in the territory of
the
country where they are staying shall be exempt from death
duties in that country; such property shall, for the assessment
of such duty, be considered as being in the country of domicile
for tax purposes, subject to the rights of third countries and to
the possible application of provisions of international conven-
tions on double taxation.

Any domicile acquired solely by reason of the performance of
duties in the service of other international organisations shall
not be taken into consideration in applying the provisions of
this Article.

Article 15

The Council shall, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission, lay down the scheme of social security benefits
for officials and other servants of the Communities.

Article 16

The Council shall, acting on a proposal from the Commission
and after consulting the other institutions concerned, determine
the categories of officials and other servants of the Commu-
nities to whom the provisions of Article 12, the second para-
graph of Article 13, and Article 14 shall apply, in whole or in
part.

The names, grades and addresses of officials and other servants
included in such categories shall be communicated periodically
to the governments of the Member States.

CHAPTER VI

Article 19

The institutions of the Communities shall, for the purpose of
applying this Protocol, cooperate with the responsible authori-
ties of the Member States concerned.

Article 20

Articles 12 to 15 and Article 18 shall apply to Members of the
Commission.

Article 21

Articles 12 to 15 and Article 18 shall apply to the Judges, the
Advocates General, the Registrar and the Assistant Rapporteurs
of the Court of Justice, without prejudice to the provisions of
Article 3 of the Protocols on the Statute of the Court of Justice
concerning immunity from legal proceedings of Judges and
Advocates General.

Article 22

This Protocol shall also apply to the European Investment
Bank, to the members of its organs, to its staff and to the repre-
sentatives of the Member States taking part in its activities,
without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol on the
Statute of the Bank.

in addition be exempt
The European Investment Bank shall
from any form of taxation or imposition of a like nature on the
occasion of any increase in its capital and from the various
formalities which may be connected therewith in the State
where the Bank has its seat. Similarly, its dissolution or liquida-
tion shall not give rise to any imposition. Finally, the activities
of the Bank and of its organs carried on in accordance with its
Statute shall not be subject to any turnover tax.

PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF MISSIONS OF THIRD
EUROPEAN COM-
COUNTRIES ACCREDITED TO THE

Article 23

MUNITIES

Article 17

The Member State in whose territory the Communities have
their seat shall accord the customary diplomatic immunities
and privileges to missions of third countries accredited to the
Communities.

CHAPTER VII

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 18

Privileges, immunities and facilities shall be accorded to officials
and other servants of the Communities solely in the interests of
the Communities.

Each institution of the Communities shall be required to waive
the immunity accorded to an official or other servant wherever
that institution considers that the waiver of such immunity is
not contrary to the interests of the Communities.

This Protocol shall also apply to the European Central Bank, to
the members of its organs and to its staff, without prejudice to
the provisions of the Protocol on the Statute of the European
System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank.

The European Central Bank shall, in addition, be exempt from
any form of taxation or imposition of a like nature on the
occasion of any increase in its capital and from the various
formalities which may be connected therewith in the State
where the Bank has its seat. The activities of the Bank and of
its organs carried on in accordance with the Statute of the
European System of Central Banks and of the European Central
Bank shall not be subject to any turnover tax.

The above provisions shall also apply to the European Mone-
tary Institute. Its dissolution or liquidation shall not give rise to
any imposition.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
have signed this Protocol.

the undersigned Plenipotentiaries

Done at Brussels this eighth day of April
thousand nine hundred and sixty-five.

in the year one

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Appendix to ANNEX III

Procedure for the application in Switzerland of the Protocol on privileges and immunities

1. Extension of application to Switzerland

Wherever the Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities (hereinafter called ‘the
Protocol’) contains references to Member States, the references shall be understood to apply equally to Switzerland,
unless the following provisions determine otherwise.

2. Exemption of the Agency from indirect taxation (including VAT)

Goods and services exported from Switzerland shall not be subject to Swiss value added tax (VAT). In the case of
goods and services provided to the Agency in Switzerland for its official use, in accordance with the second para-
graph of Article 3 of the Protocol, exemption from VAT shall be granted by way of refund. Exemption from VAT
shall be granted if the actual purchase price of the goods and services mentioned in the invoice or equivalent docu-
ment totals at least 100 Swiss francs (inclusive of tax).

The VAT refund shall be granted on presentation to the Federal Tax Administration's VAT Main Division of the Swiss
forms provided for the purpose. As a rule, refund applications shall be processed within the three months following
the date on which they were lodged together with the necessary supporting documents.

3. Procedure for the application of the rules relating to the Agency's staff

As regards the second paragraph of Article 13 of the Protocol, Switzerland shall exempt, according to the principles
of its national
law, officials and other servants of the Agency within the meaning of Article 2 of Regulation
(Euratom, ECSC, EEC) No 549/69 of the Council of 25 March 1969 (OJ L 74, 27.3.1969, p. 1) from federal, cantonal
and communal taxes on salaries, wages and emoluments paid to them by the Community and subject to an internal
tax for its own benefit.

Switzerland shall not be considered as a Member State within the meaning of point 1 above for the application of
Article 14 of the Protocol.

Officials and other servants of the Agency and members of their families who are members of the social insurance
system applicable to officials and other servants of the Community shall not be obliged to be members of the Swiss
social security system.

The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have exclusive jurisdiction in any matters concerning rela-
tions between the Agency or the Commission and its staff with regard to the application of Regulation (EEC,
Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1) and the other provisions
of Community law laying down working conditions.

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Financial control as regards Swiss participants in activities of the European Environment Agency and EIONET

ANNEX IV

Article 1

Direct communication

The Agency and the Commission shall communicate directly with all persons or entities established in Switzerland and
participating in activities of the Agency or EIONET, as contractors, participants in Agency programmes, recipients of
payments from the Agency or the Community budget, or subcontractors. Such persons may send directly to the
Commission and to the Agency all relevant information and documentation which they are required to submit on the
basis of the instruments referred to in this Agreement and of contracts or agreements concluded and any decisions taken
pursuant to them.

Article 2

Audits

1.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 and the financial regulation
adopted by the Management Board of the Agency on 26 March 2003, with Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 2343/2002 of 23 December 2002 and with the other instruments referred to in this Agreement, contracts or agree-
ments concluded and decisions taken with beneficiaries established in Switzerland may provide for scientific, financial,
technological or other audits to be conducted at any time on the premises of the beneficiaries and of their subcontrac-
tors by Agency and Commission officials or by other persons mandated by the Agency and the Commission.

2.
Agency and Commission officials and other persons mandated by the Agency and the Commission shall have
appropriate access to sites, works and documents and to all the information required in order to carry out such audits,
including in electronic form. This right of access shall be stated explicitly in the contracts or agreements concluded to
implement the instruments referred to in this Agreement.

3.

The Court of Auditors of the European Communities is to have the same rights as the Commission.

The audits may take place until five years after the expiry of this Agreement or under the terms of the contracts or

4.
agreements concluded and the decisions taken.

The Swiss Federal Audit Office shall be informed in advance of audits conducted on Swiss territory. This informa-

5.
tion shall not be a legal condition for carrying out such audits.

Article 3

On-the-spot checks

1.
Under this Agreement, the Commission (OLAF) shall be authorised to carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections
on Swiss territory, under the terms and conditions set out in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of
11 November 1996.

2.
On-the-spot checks and inspections shall be prepared and conducted by the Commission in close cooperation with
the Swiss Federal Audit Office or with other competent Swiss authorities appointed by the Swiss Federal Audit Office,
which shall be notified in good time of the object, purpose and legal basis of the checks and inspections, so that they
can provide all the requisite help. To that end, the officials of the competent Swiss authorities may participate in the on-
the-spot checks and inspections.

If the Swiss authorities concerned so wish, the on-the-spot checks and inspections may be carried out jointly by

3.
the Commission and by them.

4. Where the participants in the programme resist an on-the-spot check or inspection, the Swiss authorities, acting in
accordance with national rules, shall give the Commission inspectors such assistance as they need to allow them to
discharge their duty in carrying out an on-the-spot check or inspection.

5.
The Commission shall report as soon as possible to the Swiss Federal Audit Office any fact or suspicion relating to
an irregularity which has come to its notice in the course of the on-the-spot check or inspection. In any event the
Commission is required to inform the aforementioned authority of the result of such checks and inspections.

28.3.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 90/47

Article 4

Information and consultation

For the purposes of proper implementation of this Annex, the competent Swiss and Community authorities shall

1.
exchange information regularly and, at the request of one of the Parties, shall conduct consultations.

2.
The competent Swiss authorities shall inform the Agency and the Commission without delay of any fact or suspi-
cion which has come to their notice relating to an irregularity in connection with the conclusion and implementation of
the contracts or agreements concluded in application of the instruments referred to in this Agreement.

Article 5

Confidentiality

Information communicated or acquired in any form whatever pursuant to this Annex shall be covered by professional
secrecy and protected in the same way as similar information is protected by Swiss law and by the corresponding provi-
sions applicable to the Community institutions. Such information shall not be communicated to persons other than
those within the Community institutions, in the Member States, or in Switzerland whose functions require them to
know it, nor may it be used for purposes other than to ensure effective protection of the financial interests of the
Contracting Parties.

Article 6

Administrative measures and penalties

Without prejudice to application of Swiss criminal law, administrative measures and penalties may be imposed by the
Agency or the Commission in accordance with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 and
Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 and with Council Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests.

Article 7

Recovery and enforcement

Decisions taken by the Agency or the Commission within the scope of this Agreement which impose a pecuniary obliga-
tion on persons other than States shall be enforceable in Switzerland. The enforcement order shall be issued, without
any further control than verification of the authenticity of the act, by the authority designated by the Swiss government,
which shall
inform the Agency or the Commission thereof. Enforcement shall take place in accordance with the
Swiss rules of procedure. The legality of the enforcement decision shall be subject to control by the Court of Justice of
the European Communities.

Judgments given by the Court of Justice of the European Communities pursuant to an arbitration clause shall be enforce-
able on the same terms.