Draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No […] of […] amending Protocol 32 to the Agreement on financial modalities for implementation of Article 82 - Draft common position of the Community -
Date: 2008-08-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EFTA countries, European Economic Area, Member States' contribution, budgetary procedure, financial regulation, general budget (EU), implementation of the budget, protocol to an agreement

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.8.2008 
SEC(2008) 2376 final 

Draft 

DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE  
No […] 

of […] 

amending Protocol 32 to the Agreement on financial modalities for implementation of 
Article 82 

- Draft common position of the Community - 
(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

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2. 

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4. 

Protocol 32 to the EEA Agreement contains financial modalities for implementation 
of Article 82 of the Agreement. 

The attached draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee aims to amend and simplify 
Protocol  32  to  the  Agreement  to  more  accurately  reflect  the  current  budgetary 
structure  and  procedure  of  the  European  Commission.  The  revision  also  aims  at 
describing the EEA budgetary process in more detail and in a comprehensive way.  

Article 1.3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2894/94 concerning the arrangements for 
implementing  the  EEA  Agreement  envisages  that  the  Council  establish  the 
Community position for such Decisions on a proposal from the Commission. 

The draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee is submitted for the approval of the 
Council. The Commission would hope to be able to put forward the position of the 
Community in the EEA Joint Committee at the earliest possible opportunity. 

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Draft 

DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE  
No  

of  

amending Protocol 32 to the Agreement on financial modalities for implementation of 
Article 82 

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) 

(4) 

Protocol  32  to  the  Agreement  has  not  previously  been  amended  by  the  EEA  Joint 
Committee. 

The  Council  of  the  European  Union  adopted  on  the  25  June  2002  Regulation  (EC, 
Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget 
of  the  European  Communities1,  which  was  amended  by  Council  Regulation  (EC, 
Euratom) No 1995/2006 of 13 December 20062 and by Council Regulation (EC) No 
1525/2007 of 17 December 20073. 

Protocol 32 should reflect the new procedures provided for in Council Regulation (EC, 
Euratom) No 1605/2002. 

The procedure laid down in Protocol 32 should be set out in more detail, including the 
deadlines applicable within this procedure. 

(5) 

The contributions by the EFTA States should no longer be paid in two stages. 

(6) 

Obsolete provisions should be deleted from Protocol 32. 

(7) 

Protocol 32 to the Agreement should therefore be amended, 

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3 

OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. 
OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 343, 27.12.2007, p. 9. 

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HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

Protocol 32 to the Agreement shall be amended as specified in the Annex to this Decision. 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following the last notification to the EEA Joint 
Committee under Article 103(1) of the Agreement4. 

Article 2 

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, . 

For the EEA Joint Committee 
The President 

The Secretaries 
to the EEA Joint Committee 

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[Constitutional requirements indicated.] [No constitutional requirements indicated.] 

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ANNEX 

to Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No […] 

The text of Protocol 32 to the Agreement shall be replaced by the following: 

‘Article 1 

Procedure for the determination of the financial participation of the EFTA States for 
each financial year (n) 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

At  the  latest  by  31  January  of  each  year  (n-1)  the  European  Commission  shall 
communicate  to  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  EFTA  States  the  financial 
programming document covering the activities to be implemented for the remaining 
period  of  the  relevant  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  and  giving  the  indicative 
commitment appropriations foreseen for these activities. 

The  Standing  Committee  of  the  EFTA  States  shall  communicate  to  the  European 
Commission  at  the  latest  by  15  February  of  the  year  (n-1),  a  list  of  Community 
activities  which  the  EFTA  States  wish,  for  the  first  time,  to  include  in  the  EEA 
Annex to the provisional draft budget of the European Union for the financial year 
(n).  The  list  shall  be  without  prejudice to  new  proposals  that  are  introduced  by  the 
Community during the year and without prejudice to the final position adopted by the 
EFTA States as regards their participation in these activities. 

At  the  latest  by  15  May  of  each  year  (n-1),  the  European  Commission  shall 
communicate to the Standing Committee of the EFTA States its position concerning 
the  requests  of  the  EFTA  States  for  participation  in  activities  during  the  financial 
year (n), together with the following information: 

(a) 

the indicative amounts entered “for information” as commitment and payment 
appropriations,  in  the  statement  of  expenditure  of  the  draft  budget  of  the 
European Union for the activities in which the EFTA States are taking part or 
have  indicated  a  wish  to  take  part  and  calculated  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions of Article 82 of the Agreement; 

(b) 

the estimated amounts corresponding to the contributions of the EFTA States, 
entered “for information” in the statement of revenue of the draft budget. 

The  position  of  the  European  Commission  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the 
possibility  of  continuing  discussions  on  activities  for  which  it  has  not  accepted  the 
participation of the EFTA States. 

In the event that the amounts referred to in paragraph 3 are not in accordance with 
the provisions of Article 82 of the Agreement, the Standing Committee of the EFTA 
States may request corrections before 1 July of the year (n-1). 

The amounts referred to in paragraph 3 shall be adjusted following the adoption of 
the  General  Budget  of  the  European  Union,  with  due  respect  to  the  provisions  of 
Article 82 of the Agreement. These adjusted amounts shall be communicated to the 
Standing Committee of the EFTA States without delay. 

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6. 

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5 

Within  a  period  of  30  days  following  the  publication  of  the  General  Budget  of  the 
European  Union  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Union,  the  Chairs  of  the 
EEA  Joint  Committee  shall  confirm,  by  an  exchange  of  letters  initiated  by  the 
European  Commission,  that  the  amounts  entered  in  the  EEA  Annex  to  the  General 
Budget of the European Union are in accordance with the provisions of Article 82 of 
the Agreement. 

At the latest by 1 June of the financial year (n), the Standing Committee of the EFTA 
States  shall  communicate  to  the  European  Commission  the  final  breakdown  of  the 
contribution for each EFTA State. This breakdown shall be binding. 

Should  this  information  not  be  provided  by  1  June  of  the  financial  year  (n),  the 
percentages  of  the  breakdown  implemented  during  the  year  (n-1)  shall  apply  on  a 
provisional basis. The adjustment shall be made according to the procedure set out in 
Article 4. 

If by 10 July of the financial year (n) at the latest, unless a later date is agreed upon 
in exceptional circumstances, a decision of the EEA Joint Committee establishing the 
participation  of  the  EFTA  States  in  an  activity  included  in  the  EEA  Annex  to  the 
General  Budget  of  the  European  Union  for  the  year  (n)  is  not  adopted  or  if  the 
fulfilment of constitutional requirements for such a decision, if any, is not notified by 
that date at the latest, the participation of the EFTA States in the activity in question 
shall be deferred to the year (n+1), unless otherwise agreed. 

Once the participation of the EFTA States in an activity is established for a year (n), 
the financial contribution of the EFTA States shall apply to all the transactions that 
are made on the relevant budget lines in that financial year, unless otherwise agreed. 

Article 2 

Making available the contributions of the EFTA States 

On  the  basis  of  the  EEA  Annex  to  the  General  Budget  of  the  European  Union, 
finalised in accordance with Articles 1(6) and 1(7), the European Commission shall 
establish,  for  each  EFTA  State,  a  call  for  funds  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the 
payment  appropriations  and  in  accordance  with  Article  71(2)  of  the  Financial 
Regulation5. 

This call for funds shall reach the EFTA States no later than 15 August of the year 
(n)  and  shall  request  the  payment  by  each  EFTA  State  of  its  contribution  by  31 
August of the year (n) at the latest. 

If  the  General  Budget  of  the  European  Union  is  not  adopted  before  10  July  of  the 
year  (n),  or  the  date  agreed  upon  pursuant  to  Article  1(8)  in  exceptional 
circumstances, the payment shall be requested on the basis of the indicative amount 

Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1605/2002  of  25  June  2002  on  the  Financial  Regulation 
applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1), as amended 
by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006 of 13 December 2006 (OJ L390, 30.12.2006, p. 1, 
as corrected by OJ L 48, 22.2.2008, p. 88) and Council Regulation (EC) No 1525/2007 of 17 December 
2007 (OJ L 343, 27.12.2007, p. 9). 

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foreseen  in  the  draft  budget.  The  adjustment  shall  take  place  according  to  the 
procedure set out in Article 4. 

Contributions shall be expressed and paid in EUR.  

To  this  end,  each  EFTA  State  shall  open  with  its  Treasury,  or  the  body  it  shall 
designate  for  this  purpose,  an  account  in  EUR  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Commission. 

Any delay in the entries in the account referred to in paragraph 4 shall give rise to the 
payment of interest by the EFTA State concerned at the rate applied by the European 
Central  Bank  for  its  main  refinancing  operations  in  EUR,  plus  one  and  a  half 
percentage point. The reference rate shall be the one in force on 1 July, as published 
in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 3 

Conditions for implementation 

The  utilisation  of  the  appropriations  arising  from  the  participation  of  the  EFTA 
States shall take place in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Regulation. 

With regard to tendering procedures, calls for tender shall be open to all EC Member 
States as well as to all EFTA States in so far as they involve financing on budgetary 
lines in respect of which the EFTA States are participating. 

Article 4 

Regularisation of EFTA contribution in the light of implementation 

The contribution of the EFTA States, determined for each budgetary line concerned, 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article  82  of  the  Agreement,  shall  remain 
unchanged during the financial year (n) in question. 

Following  the  closure  of  the  accounts  relating  to  each  financial  year,  the  European 
Commission shall, within the framework of the establishment of the annual accounts 
in  the  year  (n+1),  calculate  the  budget  outturn  of  the  EFTA  States,  taking  into 
account: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the  amount  of  the  contributions  paid  by  the  EFTA  States  in  accordance  with 
Article 2; 

the  amount  of  the  EFTA  States’  part  in  the  total  implementation  figures  of 
budget  appropriations  on  the  budget  lines  for  which  the  participation  of  the 
EFTA States was agreed; 

any  sums  covering  Community  related  expenditure  which  the  EFTA  States 
cover  individually  or  payments  made  by  EFTA  States  in  kind  (e.g. 
administrative support). 

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3. 

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All  sums  recovered  from  third  parties  under  each  budget  line  for  which  the 
participation  of  the  EFTA  States  was  agreed  shall  be  treated  as  assigned  revenues 
within  the  same  budget  line  in  accordance  with  Article  18(1)(f)  of  the  Financial 
Regulation. 

The regularisation of the contribution of the EFTA States for the financial year (n), 
based on the budget outturn, shall be made within the framework of the call for funds 
for the financial year (n+2) and be based on the final breakdown between the EFTA 
States in the year (n). 

Complementary rules for the implementation of paragraphs 1 and 4 shall be adopted 
as  necessary  by  the  EEA  Joint  Committee.  This  shall  apply  in  particular  for 
Community expenditure to be borne by each EFTA State individually or for their in 
kind contributions. 

Article 5 

Information 

The  European  Commission  shall  provide  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  EFTA 
States,  at  the  end  of  each  quarter,  with  an  extract  from  its  accounts  showing,  with 
regard both to receipts and expenditure, the situation concerning the implementation 
of  the  programmes  and  other  actions  in  which  the  EFTA  States  participate 
financially. 

Following  the  closure  of  the  financial  year  (n),  the  European  Commission  shall 
communicate to the Standing Committee of the EFTA States the data concerning the 
programmes  and  other  actions  in  which  the  EFTA  States  participate  financially, 
which appear in the relevant volume of the annual accounts drawn up in accordance 
with the provisions of Articles 126 and 127 of the Financial Regulation. 

The  European  Commission  shall  provide  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  EFTA 
States with such other financial information as the latter may reasonably request as 
regards the programmes and other actions in which they participate financially. 

Article 6 

Control 

The control of the determination and of the availability of all income as well as the 
control of the commitment and of the scheduling of all expenditure corresponding to 
the  participation  of  the  EFTA  States  shall  take  place  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  of  the  Financial 
Regulation and of the applicable regulations in the fields referred to in Article 76 and 
78 of the Agreement. 

Appropriate arrangements shall be established between the auditing authorities of the 
European Commission and of the EFTA States with a view to facilitating the control 
of  income  and  expenditure  corresponding  to  the  participation  of  EFTA  States  in 
Community activities in accordance with paragraph 1. 

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Article 7 

GDP figure to be taken into consideration to calculate the proportionality factor 

The  GDP  data  at  market  prices  referred  to  in  Article  82  of  the  Agreement  shall  be 
those published as a result of the implementation of Article 76 of the Agreement.’  

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