Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms (Satellite Navigation)

In order to ensure the requisite legal security and homogeneity of the Internal Market, the EEA Joint Committee is to integrate all the relevant EU legislation into the EEA Agreement as soon as possible after its adoption.

Article 78 of the EEA Agreement provides that the Contracting Parties shall strengthen and broaden cooperation in the framework of the Union’s activities in the fields of, inter alia, information services, and research and technological development.

The draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee (annexed to the proposed Council Decision) aims to amend Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms in order to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties in the area of information services, and research and technological development.

In order to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement in this area (to take place from 1 January 2014), Regulation (EU) No 1285/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the implementation and exploitation of European satellite navigation systems and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 876/2002 and Regulation (EC) No 683/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council needs to be incorporated to the EEA Agreement through the above mentioned amendment.

It should be noted that Norway has already participated and contributed financially to the activities resulting from the Regulation (EC) No 683/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council through the inclusion of that Regulation in Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement.

Due to Iceland's economic constraints, the participation of Iceland in this area should be temporarily suspended.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)526: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making process http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:526:FIN

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