Attachment

THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (‘the EEA Agreement’), and in particular Article 98 thereof,

Whereas:

Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC^f1 is to be incorporated into the EEA Agreement.

Regulation (EU) No 1022/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) as regards the conferral of specific tasks on the European Central Bank pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013^f2 is to be incorporated into the EEA Agreement.

The EU and EEA EFTA Ministers of Finance and Economy, in their conclusions^f3 of 14 October 2014 regarding the incorporation of the EU ESAs Regulations into the EEA Agreement, welcomed the balanced solution found between the Contracting Parties, taking into account the structure and objectives of the EU ESAs Regulations and of the EEA Agreement, as well as the legal and political constraints of the EU and the EEA EFTA States.

The EU and EEA EFTA Ministers of Finance and Economy underlined that, in accordance with the two-pillar structure of the EEA Agreement, the EFTA Surveillance Authority will take decisions addressed to EEA EFTA competent authorities or market operators in the EEA EFTA States, respectively. The EU ESAs will be competent to perform actions of a non-binding nature, such as adoption of recommendations and non-binding mediation, also vis-à-vis EEA EFTA competent authorities and market operators. Action on either side will be preceded by, as appropriate, consultation, coordination, or exchange of information between the EU ESAs and the EFTA Surveillance Authority.

To ensure integration of the EU ESAs' expertise in the process and consistency between the two pillars, individual decisions and formal opinions of the EFTA Surveillance Authority addressed to one or more individual EEA EFTA competent authorities or market operators will be adopted on the basis of drafts prepared by the relevant EU ESA. This will preserve key advantages of supervision by a single authority.

The Contracting Parties share the understanding that this Decision implements the agreement that was reflected in these conclusions, and should therefore be interpreted in line with the principles that they embody.

Annex IX to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: