Council Decision (EU) 2024/1846 of 25 June 2024 on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning the amendment of Protocol 31 on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms and Protocol 37 containing the list provided for in Article 101 to the EEA Agreement (Serious cross-border threats to health)Text with EEA relevance.
Date: 2024-06-25
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EEA Joint Committee, European Economic Area, crisis management, cross-border cooperation, disease prevention, epidemic, infectious disease, protocol to an agreement, public health, revision of an agreement




L_202401846EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2024/1846


5.7.2024







            COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2024/1846
         
of 25 June 2024
         
on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning the amendment of Protocol 31 on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms and Protocol 37 containing the list provided for in Article 101 to the EEA Agreement (Serious cross-border threats to health)
(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 168(5) 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 on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms, (‘Protocol 31’) and Protocol 37 containing the list provided for in Article 101, (‘Protocol 37’) to the EEA Agreement.












(3)


It is appropriate to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement to include Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).












(4)


Protocol 31 and Protocol 37 to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended accordingly.












(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 of Protocol 31 on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms and Protocol 37 containing the list provided for in Article 101 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 date of its adoption.




Done at Luxembourg, 25 June 2024.


For the Council


The President

H. LAHBIB
            





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

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

(3)  Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU (OJ L 314, 6.12.2022, p. 26).





DRAFT

            DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE NO …
         
of …
amending Protocol 31 on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms and Protocol 37 containing the list provided for in Article 101 to the EEA Agreement


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 include Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU (1).












(2)


Protocol 31 and Protocol 37 to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended in order to allow for this extended cooperation to take place,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
The text of indent 9 (Decision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council) of Article 16(1) of Protocol 31 is replaced by the following:


                  ‘
                  32022 R 2371: Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU (OJ L 314, 6.12.2022, p. 26).
The EFTA States shall participate fully in the Health Security Committee and have the same rights and obligations within it as EU Member States, except the right to vote.
By virtue of Article 79(3) of the Agreement, Part VII (Institutional Provisions) of the Agreement, with the exception of Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter 3, shall apply to this indent.’.



Article 2
The following point is inserted in Protocol 37 to the Agreement:







‘49.


Health Security Committee (Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council).’.







Article 3
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following the last notification under Article 103(1) of the EEA Agreement (*1).


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






(1)  
            OJ L 314, 6.12.2022, p. 26.

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



ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2024/1846/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)