Council Decision (EU) 2024/956 of 4 March 2024 on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms (EDIRPA)
Date: 2024-03-04
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EEA Joint Committee, European Economic Area, European arms policy, European defence policy, arms industry, military equipment, protocol to an agreement, public procurement, rearmament, revision of an agreement




L_202400956EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series L













2024/956


26.3.2024







            COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2024/956
of 4 March 2024
         
on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms (EDIRPA)
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 173(3), 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 Area (1), and in particular Article 1(3) thereof,


Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:







(1)


The Agreement on the European Economic Area (2) (‘the EEA Agreement’) entered into force on 1 January 1994.












(2)


Pursuant to Article 98 of the EEA Agreement, the EEA Joint Committee may decide to amend, inter alia, Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms.












(3)


It is appropriate to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement in order to cover Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).












(4)


Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended in order to allow for the extended cooperation to take place retroactively from 27 October 2023.












(5)


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





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
The position to be adopted, on behalf of the Union, within the EEA Joint Committee on the proposed amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms, 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 date of its adoption.




Done at Brussels, 4 March 2024.


For the Council


The President

A. VERLINDEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L 305, 30.11.1994, p. 6.

(2)  
            OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3.

(3)  Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on establishing an instrument for the reinforcement of the European defence industry through common procurement (EDIRPA) (OJ L, 2023/2418, 26.10.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2418/oj).





DRAFT
DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE No …
of …
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 (“the EEA Agreement”), and in particular Articles 86 and 98 thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


It is appropriate to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement to cover Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on establishing an instrument for the reinforcement of the European defence industry through common procurement (EDIRPA) (1).












(2)


It is appropriate that the participation of the EFTA States in the activities resulting from Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 commence from 27 October 2023, irrespective of when this Decision is adopted, or whether the fulfilment of constitutional requirements for this Decision, if any, is notified after 10 July 2023.












(3)


Entities established in the EFTA States should be entitled to participate in activities which start before the entry into force of this Decision. The costs incurred for activities the implementation of which starts after 27 October 2023 may be considered eligible under the same conditions as those applicable to costs incurred by entities established in the EU Member States, provided that this Decision enters into force before the end of the action concerned. The retroactively eligible actions clause in Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 also applies.












(4)


The conditions for the participation of EFTA States and their institutions, undertakings, organizations and nationals in programmes of the European Union are set out in the EEA Agreement, and in particular in Article 81 thereof.












(5)


Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended in order to allow for this extended cooperation to take place from 27 October 2023,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
The following paragraph is added after paragraph 15 of Article 7 of Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement:






‘16.



32023 R 2418: Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on establishing an instrument for the reinforcement of the European defence industry through common procurement (EDIRPA) (OJ L, 2023/2418, 26.10.2023).
The EFTA States shall, as from 27 October 2023, participate in the Union actions related to the following budget lines, entered into the general budget of the European Union:






—


Budget line 13 01 04: “Support expenditure for the Short-term Defence instrument on common procurement”,










—


Budget line 13 06 01: “Short-term Defence instrument on common procurement”.




The costs incurred for activities the implementation of which starts after 27 October 2023 or, where the conditions of Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 are fulfilled, after 24 February 2022 may be considered eligible as from the starting date of the action fixed in the grant agreement or the grant decisions concerned, under the conditions set out therein, provided that Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No … of … [This Decision] enters into force before the end of the action.
Iceland and Liechtenstein shall be exempted from participation in, and the financial contribution to, the Instrument established by Regulation (EU) 2023/2418.’
                        






Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following the last notification under Article 103(1) of the EEA Agreement (*1).
It shall apply from 27 October 2023.


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 ..., ....


For the EEA Joint Committee


The President




The Secretaries


To the EEA Joint Committee






(1)  
            OJ L, 2023/2418, 26.10.2023.

(*1)  [No constitutional requirements indicated.] [Constitutional requirements indicated.]






Declaration by the EFTA States to Decision No … [This Decision] amending Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to include participation of the EFTA States in the Instrument established by Regulation (EU) 2023/2418

This Decision extends the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to include the participation of the EFTA States in the Instrument established by Regulation (EU) 2023/2418 (‘the Instrument’). The EFTA States consider that defence matters fall outside the scope of the EEA Agreement, and therefore that the adoption of this Decision does not extend the scope of the EEA Agreement to include defence matters beyond the participation in the Instrument. The EFTA States also stress that Iceland and Liechtenstein shall not participate in, and shall not financially contribute to, the Instrument.



ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2024/956/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)