Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 41/2006 of  10 March 2006  amending Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms
Date: 2006-03-10
Institutions: EEA Joint Committee
Subjects: EFTA countries, EU programme, cooperation policy, electronic government, exchange of information, provision of services, public administration, trans-European network

L 147/64

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

1.6.2006

DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE

No 41/2006

of 10 March 2006

amending Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the
four freedoms

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
Articles 86 and 98 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Protocol 31 to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 107/2005
of 8 July 2005 (1).

It is appropriate to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to the Agreement to include
Decision 2004/387/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on the
interoperable delivery of pan-European eGovernment services to public administrations, businesses
and citizens (IDABC) (2).

Protocol 31 to the Agreement should therefore be amended in order to allow for this extended
cooperation to take place with effect from 1 January 2006,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Protocol 31 to the Agreement shall be amended as specified in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following the last notification to the EEA Joint Committee
under Article 103(1) of the Agreement (*).

It shall apply from 1 January 2006.

Article 3

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, 10 March 2006.

For the EEA Joint Committee
The President

R. WRIGHT

(1) OJ L 306, 24.11.2005, p. 45.
(2) OJ L 144, 30.4.2004, p. 65, as corrected by OJ L 181, 18.5.2004, p. 25.
(*) Constitutional requirements indicated.

1.6.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 147/65

ANNEX

Article 17 (Telematic interchange of data between administrations (IDA)) of Protocol 31 to the Agreement shall be
amended as follows:

(a) The heading shall be replaced by the following:

‘Telematic interchange of data’

(b) The text in paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘The EFTA States shall, as from 1 January 1997 participate in the projects and activities of
the Community
in accordance with the Work programme in Appendix 3 to this
programmes referred to in paragraph 5(a),
Protocol, and as from 1 January 2006 shall participate in the projects and activities of
the Community
programme referred to in paragraph 5(b), to the extent that these projects and activities support other cooperation
of the Contracting Parties.’

(c)

In paragraph 2 the word ‘programme’ shall be replaced by ‘programmes’ and the expression ‘paragraph 4’ shall be
replaced by ‘paragraph 5’.

(d) In paragraph 3 the expression ‘paragraph 4’ shall be replaced by ‘paragraph 5(a)’.

(e) The following paragraph shall be inserted after paragraph 3:

‘4.
The EFTA States shall, as from the start of cooperation in the programme referred to in paragraph 5(b),
participate fully, without the right to vote, in the EEA relevant parts of the Pan-European eGovernment Services
Committee (PEGSCO), which assists the European Commission in the implementation, management and development
of that programme, as far as the EEA relevant project parts of the programme are concerned.’

(f) Paragraph 4 shall be renumbered as paragraph 5.

(g) The following shall be inserted in paragraph 5 before the first indent:

‘(a) with a view to participation as from 1 January 1997:’

(h) The following shall be added at the end of paragraph 5:

‘(b) with a view to participation as from 1 January 2006:

— 32004 D 0387: Decision 2004/387/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on
the interoperable delivery of pan-European eGovernment services to public administrations, businesses and
citizens (IDABC) (OJ L 144, 30.4.2004, p. 65), as corrected by OJ L 181, 18.5.2004, p. 25.’