Agreement on the European Economic Area

ACTS REFERRED TO

1. 371 L 0304: Council Directive 71/304/EEC of 26 July 1971 concerning the abolition of restrictions on freedom to provide services in respect of public works contracts and on the award of public works contracts to contractors acting through agencies of branches (OJ No L 185, 16.8.1971, p. 1).

The provisions of the Directive shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptations:

(a)

the list of professional trade activities shall be replaced by Annex II of Directive 89/440/EEC;

(b)

with regard to Liechtenstein, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1995;

with regard to Switzerland, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1994;

during these transition periods the application of the Directive will be reciprocally suspended between these States and the other Contracting Parties.

2. 371 L 0305: Council Directive 71/305/EEC of 26 July 1971 concerning the coordination of procedure for the award of public works contracts (OJ No L 185, 25.8.1971, p. 5), as amended by:

• 389 L 0440: Council Directive 89/440/EEC of 18 July 1989 (OJ No L 210, 21.7.1989, p. 1),

• 390 D 0380: Commission Decision 90/380/EEC of 13 July 1990 concerning the updating of Annex I to Council Directive 89/440/EEC (OJ No L 187, 19.7.1990, p. 55).

The provisions of the Directive shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptations:

(a)

with regard to Liechtenstein, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1995;

with regard to Switzerland, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1994;

during these transistion periods, the application of the Directive will be reciprocally suspended between these States and the other Contracting Parties;

(b)

in Article 4(a), the phrase ‘in conformity with the EEC Treaty’ shall read ‘in conformity with the EEA Agreement’;

(c)

in Article 4(a)(l) and 4(a)(3), in so far as it is not introduced in Finland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, VAT shall mean:

• ‘liikevaihtovero/ omsättningsskatt’ in Finland;

• ‘Warenumsatzsteuer’ in Liechtenstein;

• ‘Warenumsatzsteuer/ impot sur le chiffre d'affaires/imposta sulla cifra d'affari’ in Switzerland;

(d)

in Article 4(a)(2), the value of the thresholds in national currencies of the EFTA States shall be calculated so as to come into effect on 1 January 1993 and shall in principle be revised every two years with effect from 1 January 1995 and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities;

(e)

Article 24 shall be supplemented as follows:

• ‘in Austria, the Firmenbuch, the Gewerberegister, the Mitgliederverzeichnisse der Landes-kammern;

  in Finland, the Kaupparekisteri, Handelsregistret;

  in Iceland, the Firmaskrà;

  in Liechtenstein, the Gewerberegister;

  in Norway, the Foretaksregisteret;

  in Sweden, the Aktiebolagsregistret, Handelsregistret;

  in Switzerland, the Handelsregister, the Registre du Commerce, Registro di Commercio.’;

(f)

in Article 30(a)(1), the date of 31 October 1993 shall be replaced by 31 October 1995;

(g)

Annex I is supplemented by Appendix 1 to this Annex.

3. 377 L 0062: Council Directive 77/62/EEC of 21 December 1976 coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts (OJ No L 13, 15.1.1977, p. 1) as amended by Directive 80/767/EEC and Directive 88/295/EEC, as amended and supplemented by:

• 380 L 0767: Council Directive 80/767/EEC of 22 July 1980 adapting and supplementing in respect of certain contracting authorities Directive 77/62/EEC coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts (OJ No L 215, 18.8.1980, p. 1), as amended by Directive 88/295/EEC,

• 388 L 0295: Council Directive 88/295/EEC of 22 March 1988 amending Directive 77/62/EEC relating to the coordination of procedures on the award of public supply contracts and repealing certain provisions of Directive 80/767/EEC (OJ No L 127, 20.5.1988, p. 1),

The provisions of the Directive shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptations:

(a)

with regard to Liechtenstein, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1995;

with regard to Switzerland, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1994;

during these transistion periods, the application of the Directive will be reciprocally suspended between these States and the other Contracting Parties;

(b)

in Article 2(a), the reference to ‘Article 223(l)(b) of the Treaty’ shall be replaced by reference to ‘Article 123 of the EEA Agreement’;

(c)

In Article 5(l)(a), in so far as it is not introduced in Finland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, VAT shall mean:

• ‘Liikevaihtovero/ omsättningsskatt’ in Finland,

• ‘Warenumsatzsteuer’ in Liechtenstein,

• ‘Warenumsatzsteuer/ impôt sur le chiffre d'affaires/imposta sulla cifra d'affari’ in Switzerland;

(d)

on the understanding that the threshold expressed in ECU shall only apply within the EEA, the following words shall be deleted in Article 5(1)(c):

• in the first sentence, the words ‘and the threshold of the GATT Agreement expressed in ECU’;

• in the second sentence, the words ‘and of the ECU expressed in SDRs’;

(e)

in Article 5(l)(c), the value of the thresholds in the national currencies of the EFTA States shall be calculated so as to come into effect on 1 January 1993;

(f)

in Article 9(1), the date of 1 January 1989 shall be replaced by 1 January 1993;

(g)

in Article 20(4) the sentence ‘within the time limit laid down in Article 30’ shall read ‘before 1 January 1993’;

(h)

Article 21 shall be supplemented as follows:

• in Austria, the Firmenbuch, the Gewerberegister, the der Landeskamern,

• in Finland, the Kaupparekisteri, the Handelsregistret,

• in Iceland, the Firmaskrà,

• in Liechtenstein, the Gewerberegister,

• in Norway, the Foretaksregisteret,

• in Sweden, the Aktiebolagsregistret, the Handelsregistret,

• in Switzerland, the Handelsregister, the Registre du Commerce, the Registro di Commercio;

(i)

in Article 29(l)(b), the date of 31 October 1991 shall be replaced by 31 October 1994;

(j)

Annex I to Directive 80/767/EEC shall be supplemented by Appendix 2 to this Annex;

(k)

Annex I to Directive 88/295/EEC shall be supplemented by Appendix 3 to this Annex.

4. 390 L 0531: Council Directive 90/531/EEC of 17 September 1990 on the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors (OJ No L 297, 29.10.1990, p. 1).

The provisions of the Directive shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptations:

(a)

with regard to Liechtenstein, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1995,

with regard to Switzerland, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1994;

during these transition periods the application of the Directive will be reciprocally suspended between these States and the other Contracting Parties;

(b)

with regard to Norway, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force on 1 January 1995 or before upon notification by Norway of having complied with this Directive. During this transition period the application of the Directive will be reciprocally suspended between Norway and the other Contracting Parties;

(c)

in Article 3(1 )(e) the reference to ‘Article 36 of the Treaty’ shall be read as a reference to ‘Article 13 of the EEA Agreement’;

(d)

in Article 11, point 1, the phrase ‘in conformity with the Treaty’ shall read ‘in conformity with the EEA Agreement’;

(e)

in Article 12(1) and 12(6), in so far as it is not introduced in Finland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland VAT shall mean:

• ‘Liikevaihtovero/omsättningsskatt’ in Finland,

• ‘Warenumsatzsteuer’ in Liechtenstein,

• ‘Warenumsatzsteuer/impôt sur le chiffre d'affaires/imposta sulla cifra d'affari’ in Switzerland;

(f)

in Article 27(5) the reference to ‘Article 93(3) of the Treaty’ shall be replaced by a reference to ‘Article 62 of the EEA Agreement’;

(g)

in Article 29, the term ‘third countries’ shall be understood as ‘countries other than the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement’;

(h)

in Article 29(1) the term ‘Community’ shall read ‘Community, as regards Community entities, or the EFTA States, as regards their entities’;

(i)

in Article 29(1) the term ‘Community undertakings’ shall read ‘Community undertakings, as regards Community agreements, or EFTA States' undertakings, as regards EFTA States' agreements’;

(j)

in Article 29(1) the words ‘the Community or its Member States in respect of third countries’ shall read ‘either the Community or its Member States in respect of third countries or the EFTA States in respect of third countries’;

(k)

in Article 29(5), the words ‘by a Council decision’ shall read by a ‘decision in the context of the general decision-making procedure of the EEA Agreement’;

(l)

Article 29(6) shall read as follows:

‘6. In the context of the general institutional provisions of the EEA Agreement, annual reports shall be submitted on the progress made in multilateral or bilateral negotiations regarding access for Community and EFTA undertakings to the markets of third countries in the fields covered by this Directive, on any result which such negotiations may have achieved, and on the implementation in practice of all the agreements which have been concluded.

In the context of the general decision-making procedure of the EEA Agreement the provisions of this Article may be amended in the light of such developments.’;

(m)

in order to enable the contracting entities in the EEA to apply Article 29(2) and (3), the Contracting Parties shall ensure that the suppliers established in their respective territories determine the origin of the products in their tenders for supply contracts in conformity with Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 of the Council of 17 June 1968 on the common definition of the concept of the origin of goods (OJ No L 148, 28.6.1968, p. 1);

(n)

in order to obtain maximum convergence Article 29 will be applied in the EEA context on the understanding that:

• the operation of paragraph (3) is without prejudice to the existing degree of liberalization towards third countries,

• the Contracting Parties consult closely in their negotiations with third countries. The application of this regime will be jointly reviewed during 1996;

(o)

in Article 30, the values of the thresholds in national currencies of the EFTA States shall be calculated so as to come into effect on 1 January 1993. They shall in principle be revised every two years with effect from 1 January 1995;

(p)

Annexes I to X are supplemented by Appendices 4 to 13 to this Annex, respectively.

5. 389 L 0665: Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public works contracts (OJ No L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 33).

The provisions of the Directive shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptations:

(a)

with regard to Liechtenstein, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1995;

with regard to Switzerland, the measures necessary to comply with this Directive shall enter into force by 1 January 1994;

during these transition periods the application of the Directive will be reciprocally suspended between these States and the other Contracting Parties;

(b)

in Article 2(8), the reference to ‘Article 177 of the EEC Treaty’ shall be read as by a reference to the ‘criteria laid down by the Court of Justice in its interpretation of Article 177 of the EEC Treaty’.(1)

6. 371 R 1182: Regulation (EEC/Euratom) No 1182 of 3 June 1971 determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits (OJ No L 124, 8.6.1971, p. 1).(2)

The provisions of the Regulation shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptations:

(a)

with regard to Liechtenstein, the measures necessary to comply with this Regulation shall enter into force by 1 January 1995;

with regard to Switzerland, the measures necessary to comply with this Regulation shall enter into force by 1 January 1994;

during these transition periods the application of the Regulation will be reciprocally suspended between these States and the other Contracting Parties;

(b)

the words ‘Council and Commission acts’ shall mean acts referred to in this Annex.

(1)

Examples: Case 61/65 Vaassen v Beambtenfonds Mijnbedrijf [1966] ECR 261; [1966] CMLR 508: Case 36/73 Nederlandse Spoorwegen v Minister van Verkeer en Waterstaat [1973] ECR 1299; [1974] 2 CMLR 148; Case 246/80 Broekmeulen v Huisarts Registratie Commissie [1981] ECR 2311: [1982] 1 CMLR 91.

(2)

Article 30 of Directive 71/305/EEC and Article 28 of Directive 77/62/EEC refer to this Regulation which needs therefore to be part of the ‘acquis’.