Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken by the European Union in the EEA Joint Committeeconcerning an amendment to Annex XXI (Statistics)
Date: 2012-04-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Economic Area, revision of an agreement, tourism statistics

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 26.4.2012  
COM(2012) 180 final 

2012/0090 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken by the European Union in the EEA Joint Committee 
concerning an amendment to Annex XXI (Statistics) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

In  order  to  ensure  the  requisite  legal  security  and  homogeneity  of  the  Internal  Market,  the 
EEA Joint Committee is to integrate all the relevant European Union legislation into the EEA 
Agreement as soon as possible after its adoption. 

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

The draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee (annexed to the proposed Council Decision) 
aims to amend Annex XXI (Statistics) by adding new European Union acquis in this field.  

This concerns Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  6  July  2011  concerning  European  statistics  on  tourism  and  repealing  Council  Directive 
95/57/EC.  

For  the  purpose  of  the  implementation  of  this  act,  an  adaptation  is  proposed  in  relation  to 
Liechtenstein.  Liechtenstein  wishes  to  maintain  the  exemption  concerning  the  collection  of 
data on tourism demand as required by part C of the Annex of the Council Directive 95/57/EC 
of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism, under 
Regulation (EU) No 692/2011, which repeals the latter. The justification for maintaining such 
exemption is that the data have to be collected by a sample survey. As the sample size needs 
to be high in order to get reliable data, the burden would be very heavy for the Liechtenstein 
population. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

Article  1(3)  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2894/94  concerning  arrangements  for 
implementing  the  EEA  Agreement  provides  that  the  Council  establishes  the  position  to  be 
adopted on the Union’s behalf on such Decisions, on a proposal from the Commission. 

The Commission submits the Draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee for adoption by the 
Council as the Union’s position. The Commission would hope to be able to present it in the 
EEA Joint Committee at the earliest possible opportunity. 

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2012/0090 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken by the European Union in the EEA Joint Committee 
concerning an amendment to Annex XXI (Statistics) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 338(1) in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having  regard  to  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2894/94  of  28  November  1994  concerning 
arrangements  for  implementing  the  Agreement  on  the  European  Economic  Area1,  and  in 
particular Article 1(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Annex  XXI  to  the  Agreement  on  the  European  Economic  Area  ("the  EEA 
Agreement") contains specific provisions and arrangements concerning statistics. 

Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 
2011  concerning  European  statistics  on  tourism  and  repealing  Council  Directive 
95/57/EC2 is to be incorporated into the Agreement. 

Regulation  (EU)  No  692/2011  repeals  Council  Directive  95/57/EC3  which  is 
incorporated into the Agreement and which is consequently to be repealed under the 
Agreement, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The  position  to  be  taken  by  the  Union  within  the  EEA  Joint  Committee  on  the  proposed 
amendment to Annex XXI to the EEA Agreement shall be based on the draft Decision of the 
EEA Joint Committee attached to this Decision. 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 305, 30.11.1994, p. 6 
OJ L 192, 22.7.2011, p. 17. 
OJ L 291, 6.12.1995, p. 32. 

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Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX  

Draft 

Draft (05.09.2011) 

DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE  
No 

of 

amending Annex XXI (Statistics) to the EEA Agreement 

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 Article 98 thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Annex XXI to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee 
No …/… of …4. 

Regulation  (EU)  No  692/2011  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  6 
July 2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and repealing Council Directive 
95/57/EC5 is to be incorporated into the Agreement. 

Regulation  (EU)  No  692/2011  repeals  Council  Directive  95/57/EC6  which  is 
incorporated into the Agreement and which is consequently to be repealed under the 
Agreement, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The  text  of  point  7c  (Council  Directive  95/57/EC)  of  Annex  XXI  shall  be  replaced  by 
following: 

‘32011 R 0692: Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  6  July  2011  concerning  European  statistics  on  tourism  and  repealing  Council 
Directive 95/57/EC (OJ L 192, 22.7.2011, p. 17). 

The provisions of the Regulation shall, for the purposes of this Agreement, be read with the 

following adaptation: 

4 
5 
6 

OJ L … 
OJ L 192, 22.7.2011, p. 17. 
OJ L 291, 6.12.1995, p. 32. 

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Liechtenstein is exempted from collecting the data required by Annex II of this Regulation.’ 

Article 2 

The texts of Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 in the Icelandic and Norwegian languages, to be 
published  in  the  EEA  Supplement  to  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Union,  shall  be 
authentic. 

This Decision shall enter into force on […], provided that all the notifications under Article 
103(1) of the Agreement have been made to the EEA Joint Committee∗. 

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. 

Article 4 

Done at Brussels, . 

For the EEA Joint Committee 

The President 

The Secretaries 
to the EEA Joint Committee 

∗ 

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

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