Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 59/2014 of 10 April 2014 amending Annex XX (Environment) to the EEA Agreement

THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE,

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

Whereas:

1. Commission Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 of 2 May 2013 establishing a Union Registry pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Decisions No 280/2004/EC and No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulations (EU) No 920/2010 and (EU) No 1193/2011⁽¹⁾ is to be incorporated into the EEA Agreement.

2. Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 repeals Commission Regulation (EU) No 920/2010⁽²⁾ and Commission Regulation (EU) No 1193/2011⁽³⁾, which are incorporated into the EEA Agreement and which are consequently to be repealed under the EEA Agreement.

3. Decision No 280/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol⁽⁴⁾ has not been incorporated into the Agreement and therefore the specific reporting requirements foreseen in that Decision do not apply to the EFTA States.

4. Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020⁽⁵⁾ has not been incorporated into the Agreement and therefore the reporting requirements as well as emission limits foreseen in that Decision do not apply to the EFTA States.

5. The EFTA States shall be included in the Union Registry and the European Union Transaction Log (EUTL). The Central Administrator shall perform his tasks with regard to the EFTA States, whereby the EFTA Surveillance Authority shall be the competent body to give the necessary instructions to the Central Administrator in relation to provisions relating to the application of Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 for the EFTA States as appropriate.

6. The Contracting Parties understand that the specific nature of the EU ETS and the related standardised and secured system of registries pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽⁶⁾, providing for the establishment of a Union Registry, require special rules on data storage and access regarding the Union Registry to ensure that the greenhouse gas emission allowances conform to the functional and technical specifications for data exchange standards for registry systems under the Kyoto Protocol, and that transfers of such allowances are compatible with the obligations resulting from the Kyoto Protocol.

7. The Union Registry should reflect the extension of the EU ETS to the EFTA States. According to EEA Joint Committee Decision No 152/2012 of 26 July 2012⁽⁷⁾, the EU Total Quantity Account, EU Aviation Total Quantity Account, EU Auction Account, EU Allocation Account, EU New Entrant Reserve Account, EU Aviation Auction Account and EU Special Reserve Account encompass the allowances of the EFTA States.

8. The Contracting Parties acknowledge the distinctive character of the Union Registry and the EUTL and the Commission’s responsibilities with regard to the secure operation and the maintenance of the system. Therefore, the Commission should be able to guarantee the immediate suspension of access when needed in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 389/2013, while taking the role of the EFTA Surveillance Authority into account. This solution is without prejudice to future matters related to the two-pillar structure set up under the EEA Agreement.

9. The Contracting Parties recognise that it is essential for the law enforcement and tax authorities of a Contracting Party, the European Anti-Fraud Office of the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors, Eurojust as well as competent authorities referred to in Article 11 of Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽⁸⁾ and in Article 37(1) of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽⁹⁾, the competent national supervisory authorities, the national administrators of Contracting Parties and the competent authorities referred to in Article of Directive 2003/87/EC to be granted the right to obtain certain data stored in the Union Registry and in the EUTL in clearly defined cases if this is necessary for the performance of their tasks as set forth in Article 110 of Regulation (EU) No 389/2013.

10. For the same reason, the Contracting Parties, although recalling that Council Decision 2009/371/JHA⁽¹⁰⁾ is not incorporated in the EEA Agreement, recognise that Europol obtains permanent read-only access to data stored in the Union Registry and in the EUTL.

11. The Contracting Parties recall, however, that the granting of information rights and of permanent read-only access as foreseen in Article 110 of Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 is without prejudice to the understanding that police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters as well as tax administration or enforcement fall outside the scope of the EEA Agreement, and that the Regulation therefore does not confer on the institutions mentioned any other rights than those explicitly foreseen in its Article 110.

12. Annex XX to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: