Introductory text

United Kingdom

Council Decision (EU) 2019/1843

of 24 October 2019

on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning the amendment of Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms

(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 191 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^f1, 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^f2 (‘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.

(3)

Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement contains specific provisions on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms.

(4)

It is appropriate to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement in Union actions to include Regulations (EU) 2018/841^f3 and (EU) 2018/842^f4 of the European Parliament and of the Council and related provisions from Regulations (EU) 2018/1999^f5 and (EU) No 525/2013^f6 of the European Parliament and of the Council and from Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 749/2014^f7.

(5)

Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended in order to allow for that extended cooperation.

(6)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: OJ L 305, 30.11.1994, p. 6.
f2: OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3.
f3: Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry in the 2030 climate and energy framework, and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and Decision No 529/2013/EU (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 1).
f4: Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 26).
f5: Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 2009/31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 1).
f6: Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change and repealing Decision No 280/2004/EC (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 13).
f7: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 749/2014 of 30 June 2014 on structure, format, submission processes and review of information reported by Member States pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 203, 11.7.2014, p. 23).