Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Annex XXI to the EEA Agreement
Date: 2013-02-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, European Economic Area, balance of payments, disclosure of information, economic statistics, foreign investment, international trade, provision of services, revision of an agreement

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 25.2.2013  
COM(2013) 91 final 

2013/0054 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, 
in the EEA Joint Committee 
concerning an amendment to Annex XXI 
to the EEA Agreement 

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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 EU 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) to the EEA Agreement by incorporating Commission 
Regulation  (EU)  No  555/2012  of  22  June  2012  amending  Regulation  (EC)  No  184/2005  of 
the European Parliament  and  of  the Council on Community statistics  concerning balance of 
payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment, as regards the update 
of data requirements and definitions.  

The  draft  Decision  of  the  EEA  Joint  Committee  provides  for  exemptions  for  Norway  and 
Iceland not to report balance of payments data on a monthly basis to Eurostat as required in 
Table 1 of Annex 1 in the Annex of Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012 of 22 June 
2012 amending Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
since  such  data  is  either  not  produced  in  such  frequency  or  would  necessitate  the  complete 
reorganisation  of  the  data  collection  framework,  while  Liechtenstein  is  exempted  from  the 
application of this Regulation based on point 19s of Annex XXI to the EEA Agreement  

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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2013/0054 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, 
in the EEA Joint Committee 
concerning an amendment to Annex XXI 
to the EEA Agreement 

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) 

(4) 

The Agreement on the European Economic Area2 (“the EEA Agreement”) entered 
into force on 1 January 1994. 

Pursuant  to  Article  98  of  the  EEA  Agreement,  the  EEA  Joint  Committee  may 
decide to amend, inter alia, Annex XXI thereto. 

Annex XXI to the EEA Agreement contains specific provisions and arrangements 
concerning Statistics 

Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012 of 22 June 2012 amending Regulation 
(EC) No 184/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community 
statistics  concerning  balance  of  payments,  international  trade  in  services  and 
foreign  direct  investment,  as  regards  the  update  of  data  requirements  and 
definitions3  should  be  incorporated  in  the  EEA  Agreement,  with  certain 
adaptations for Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 305, 30.11.1994, p. 6. 
OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3.  
OJ L 166, 27.6.2012, p. 22. 

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(5) 

Annex XXI to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended accordingly. 

(6) 

The  position  of  the  Union  in  the  EEA  Joint  Committee  should  be  based  on  the 
attached draft Decision, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The  position  to  be  adopted,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Union,  in  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. 

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 

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  (“the  EEA 
Agreement”), and in particular Article 98 thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1)  Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  555/2012  of  22  June  2012  amending 
Regulation  (EC)  No  184/2005  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  on  Community  statistics  concerning  balance  of  payments, 
international trade in services and foreign direct investment, as regards the 
update of data requirements and definitions1 is to be incorporated into the 
EEA Agreement. 

(2)  Annex  XXI  to  the  EEA  Agreement  should  therefore  be  amended 

accordingly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

Point 19s (Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council) 
of Annex XXI to the EEA Agreement shall be amended as follows: 

1. 

The following indent is added: 

‘- 

32012  R  0555:  Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  555/2012  of  22  June 
2012 (OJ L 166, 27.6.2012, p. 22).’ 

2. 

The text of the adaptation is replaced by the following: 

‘(a)  Points 1 and 2 of Table 1 of Annex I shall not apply to Norway. 

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OJ L 166, 27.6.2012, p. 22. 

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(b)  Table 1 of Annex I shall not apply to Iceland before May 2017. 

(c)  This Regulation shall not apply to Liechtenstein.’ 

Article 2 

The texts of Regulation (EU) No 555/2012 in the Icelandic and Norwegian languages, to 
be published in the EEA Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union, shall 
be authentic. 

Article 3 

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

Article 4 

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 

∗ 

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

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