Decision of the Council and the Commission of 13 December 1993 on the conclusion of the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area between the European Communities, their Member States and the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden (94/2/ECSC, EC)

Final Act

The plenipotentiaries of

THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,

THE EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’, and of:

THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,

THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK,

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY,

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC,

THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN,

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC,

IRELAND,

THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC,

THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG,

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS,

THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC,

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND,

Contracting Parties to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the EC Member States’,

and

the plenipotentiaries of:

THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA,

THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND,

THE REPUBLIC OF ICELAND,

THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN,

THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY,

THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the EFTA States’,

meeting at Brussels, this seventeenth day of March in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three for the signature of the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area, have adopted the following texts:

I.

the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area;

II.

the Annex provided for in Article 20 of the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which is annexed to that Protocol.

The plenipotentiaries of the Community and of the EC Member States and the plenipotentiaries of the EFTA States have adopted the joint declaration annexed to this Final Act.

Further, the plenipotentiaries of the Community and of the EC Member States and the plenipotentiaries of the EFTA States have adopted the Agreed Minutes which are annexed to this Final Act and which have a binding character.

The plenipotentiaries of the Community and of the EC Member States and the plenipotentiaries of the EFTA States have taken note of the declaration of the Government of France annexed to this Final Act.

The plenipotentiaries of the Community of the EC Member States and the plenipotentiaries of the EFTA States have taken note that the references to Switzerland contained in the following joint declarations listed in and annexed to the Final Act signed in Oporto on 2 May 1992 have lapsed:

3.

joint Declaration on a transitional period concerning the issuing of making out of documents relating to the proof of origin;

and

8.

Joint Declaration on transport of goods by road.

The plenipotentiaries of the Community and of the EC Member States and the plenipotentiaries of the EFTA States have taken note that the following agreements laid down in the Agreed Minutes of the negotiations annexed to the Final Act signed in Oporto on 2 May 1992, have lapsed:

• Ad Protocol 16 and Annex VI,

• Ad Annex VII (concerning engineers of the Foundation of the Swiss Register of Engineers).

They have agreed that in the Agreed Minute ‘Ad Protocol 47’‘the Community and Switzerland and’ shall be deleted.

Finally, the plenipotentiaries of the Community and of the EC Member States and the plenipotentiaries of the EFTA States have taken note with regard to the declarations listed in and annexed to the Final Act signed in Oporto on 2 May 1992 that:

I.

the following declarations have lapsed:

10.

Declaration by the Government of Switzerland on safeguard measures;

11.

Declaration by the European Community;

12.

Declaration by the Government of Switzerland on the introduction of post-diploma studies in architecture at the higher technical colleges;

16.

Declaration by the Government of Switzerland on the use of the safeguard clause in connection with capital movements;

17.

Declaration by the European Community;

34.

Declaration by the Government of Switzerland concerning customs duties of a fiscal nature;

36.

Declaration by the Government Switzerland on the Agreement between the Community and the Swiss Confederation on the carriage of goods by road and rail;

II.

in the following declarations the declaration made by the Government of Switzerland or the declaration made by the European Community with reference to Switzerland have lapsed:

2.

Declaration by Governments of Liechtenstein and Switzerland on alcohol monopolies;

13.

Declaration by the Governments of Austria and Switzerland on audio-visual services;

14.

Declaration by the Governments of Liechtenstein and Switzerland on administrative assistance;

15.

Declaration by the European Community;

33.

Declaration by the European Community and the Governments of Austria, Finland, Liechtenstein, Sweden and Switzerland on whale products;

35.

Declaration by the European Community on bilateral agreements.

JOINT DECLARATION

1. Whilst fully respecting the outcome of the Swiss referendum of 6 December 1992, the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement regret that as a consequence of Swiss non-participation the EEA could not be realized among the Contracting Parties initially foreseen.

2. The Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement have taken note that the Swiss authorities have kept open the opinion of future EEA participation. They will welcome Swiss participation in the EEA and will be ready to enter into negotiations if Switzerland submits an application according to Article 128 of the EEA Agreement as modified by the Protocol adjusting the EEA Agreement.

3. Later participation of Switzerland in the EEA should be based on the results laid down in the original EEA Agreement and bilateral agreements negotiated at the same time as well as on possible subsequent changes in those agreements.

AGREED MINUTES

The Contracting Parties agreed that:

Ad Article 15:

the specific date of the entry into force of the provisions referred to in Article 15 is due to budgetary technical difficulties and shall be without prejudice to any bilateral or multilateral cooperation in the fields concerned and shall further not affect any cooperation referred to in Article 85 of the EEA Agreement.

In order to ensure the orderly entry into force of the provisions referred to in Article 15, the experts of the EFTA States may, during the period up to 1 January 1994, participate provisionally in the committees which assist the European Commission in the management or development of Community activities in the fields covered by those provisions.

Each EFTA State shall bear its own costs incurred by this participation.

Ad Article 20:

Annex IV (Energy)

8.

3 90 L 0547: Council Directive 90/547/EEC and

9.

391 L 0296: Council Directive 91/296/EEC

as regards the term ‘intra-EFTA trade’, ‘EFTA’ refers to those EFTA States for which the EEA Agreement has entered into force;

Annex XIV (Competition)

1.

389 R 4064: Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89

as regards the terms ‘EFTA dimension’ in adaptations (a), (b) and (h), ‘EFTA-wide turnover’ in adaptations (b) and (j), and ‘EFTA residents’ in adaptation (j), ‘EFTA’ refers to those EFTA States for which the EEA Agreement has entered into force.

DECLARATION BY THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE

France notes that the Agreement on the European Economic Area does not apply to overseas countries and territories associated to the European Economic Community pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community.

Hecho en Bruselas, el diecisiete de marzo de mil novecientos noventa y tres.

Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den syttende marts nitten hundrede og treoghalvfems.

Geschehen zu Brüssel am siebzehnten März neunzehnhundertdreiundneunzig.

Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις δέκα εφτά Μαρτίου χίλια εννιακόσια ενενήντα τρία.

Done at Brussels on the seventeenth day of March in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three.

Fait à Bruxelles, le dix-sept mars mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-treize.

Gjört í Brussel hinn sautjánda dag marsmánaðar 1993.

Fatto a Bruxelles, addì diciassette marzo millenovecentonovantatre.

Gedaan te Brussel, de zeventiende maart negentienhonderd drieënnegentig.

Utferdiget i Brussel på den syttende dag i mars i året nittenhundre og nittitre.

Feito em Bruxelas, em dezassete de Março de mil novecentos e noventa e três.

Tehty Brysselissä, seitsemäntenätoista päivänä maaliskuuta vuonna tuhat yhdeksänsataayhdeksänkymmentäkolme.

Som skedde i Bryssel den sjuttonde mars nittonhundranittiotre.

Por el Consejo y la Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas

For Rådet og Kommissionen for De Europæiske Fællesskaber

Für den Rat und die Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften

Για το Συμβούλιο και την Επιτροπή των Ευρωπαϊκών Κοινοτήτων

For the Council and the Commission of the European Communities

Pour le Conseil et la Commission des Communautés européennes

Per il Consiglio e la Commissione delle Comunità europee Voor de Raad en de Commissie van de Europese Gemeenschappen

Pelo Conselho e pela Comissão das Comunidades Europeias

Pour le royaume de Belgique

Voor het Koninkrijk België

På Kongeriget Danmarks vegne

Für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Για την Ελληνική Δημοκρατία

Por el Reino de España

Pour la République française

Thar cheann Na hÉireann

For Ireland

Per la Repubblica italiana

Pour le grand-duché de Luxembourg

Voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

Pela República Portuguesa

For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Für die Republik Österreich

Suomen tasavallan puolesta

Fyrir Lýðveldið Ísland

Für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

For Kongeriket Norge

För Konungariket Sverige