Decision (EU) 2018/635 on the position to be adopted within the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Annex XXII and Protocol 37 to the EEA Agreement

Further information:

The draft Decision of the EEA Joint Committee (annexed to the Proposal for a Council Decision) aims to amend Annex XXII (Company law) and Protocol 37 (containing the list provided for in Article 101) to the EEA Agreement in order to incorporate Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 on specific requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities and Directive 2014/56/EU on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts.

The specific provisions of the proposal include:

1) References to ‘Union legislation’ contained in Regulation (EU) No 537/2014.
In line with Article 7 EEA, only acts that have been incorporated into the EEA Agreement are binding upon the EEA EFTA States. Therefore, the adaptation ensures that provisions reserving applicable Union legislation reflect that, in an EEA context, the legal framework of reference is the EEA Agreement and the acts incorporated therein.

2) Articles 41 and 44 of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014.
Article 41 of the Regulation introduces transitional periods regarding the entry into force of the obligation to rotate statutory auditors and audit firms and to organise selection procedures for the choice of such auditors. However, since the Regulation will be incorporated into the EEA Agreement later than its entry into force in the EU, these transitional periods must be adjusted so as to ensure that undertakings established in the EFTA States benefit from the same adjustment period.

Article 44 of the Regulation delays by one year the entry into force of the prohibition of clauses restricting the choice of auditor by shareholders. For the reasons shown above, the adaptation therefore adjusts this date to relate to the entry into force of the present Joint Committee Decision.

EUR-Lex: COM(2018)83: Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted within the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Annex XXII and Protocol 37 to the EEA Agreement http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2018:083:FIN

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