THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 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, 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 (‘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 provisions and arrangements concerning cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms.
(4)
It is appropriate to continue the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement in actions funded from the general budget of the Union concerning ‘Operation and development of the internal market, particularly in the fields of notification, certification and sectoral approximation’ and ‘Implementation and development of the internal market’.
(5)
It is appropriate that, pursuant to Article 1(8) of Protocol 32 to the EEA Agreement, the cooperation among the Parties should continue beyond 31 December 2013, irrespective of when the EEA Joint Committee Decision annexed to this Decision is adopted or whether the fulfilment of constitutional requirements for this EEA Joint Committee decision, if any, is notified after 10 July 2014.
(6)
Entities established in the EFTA States should be entitled to participate in activities which start before the entry into force of the EEA Joint Committee Decision annexed to this Decision. The costs incurred for such activities, the implementation of which starts after 1 January 2014, may be considered eligible under the same conditions as those applicable to costs incurred by entities established in the Union Member States provided that the EEA Joint Committee Decision enters into force before the end of the action concerned.
(7)
Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement should therefore be amended, in order to allow for this extended cooperation to continue beyond 31 December 2013.
(8)
The position of the Union within the EEA Joint Committee should be based on the attached draft decision,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: