Considerations on COM(2021)772 - EU position as regards the amendment of Protocol 4 on rules of origin to the EEA Agreement

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

 
dossier COM(2021)772 - EU position as regards the amendment of Protocol 4 on rules of origin to the EEA Agreement.
document COM(2021)772 EN
date April  5, 2022
 
table>(1)The Agreement on the European Economic Area (‘the EEA Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by Decision 94/1/ECSC, EC of the Council and the Commission (1) and entered into force on 1 January 1994.
(2)Protocol 4 to the EEA Agreement lays down the rules of origin. Pursuant to Article 98 of the EEA Agreement, the EEA Joint Committee established by Article 92 of the EEA Agreement (‘the Joint Committee’) may decide to amend Protocol 4.

(3)The Joint Committee will adopt a decision amending Protocol 4 (‘decision’) during its next meeting, before the end of 2023.

(4)It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Joint Committee, as the decision will have legal effects in the Union.

(5)The Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin (‘the Convention’) was concluded by the Union by Council Decision 2013/94/EU (2) and entered into force in relation to the Union on 1 May 2012. It lays down provisions on the origin of goods traded under relevant bilateral free trade agreements concluded between the Contracting Parties to the Convention, which apply without prejudice to the principles laid down in those bilateral agreements.

(6)Discussions on amending the Convention have resulted in a new set of modernised and more flexible rules of origin to be incorporated into the Convention. Pending the conclusion and entry into force of the amendment of the Convention, the Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement have agreed to apply as soon as possible an alternative set of rules of origin based on those of the amended Convention, which may be used bilaterally as alternative rules of origin to those laid down in the Convention (‘Transitional rules’) (3). To that effect, the decision will also provide for the Transitional rules.

(7)The text of the Joint Committee draft decision on which the Council based its position in Decision (EU) 2020/2058 (4) was rejected by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States for technical reasons at the meeting of the EEA Joint Sub-Committee on the free movement of goods held on 30 June 2021. Therefore, in the interests of clarity and legal certainty, Decision (EU) 2020/2058 should be repealed and the Council should establish a new position to be taken by the Union within the Joint Committee as regards the amendment of Protocol 4.

(8)The Contracting Parties to the EEA Agreement started to apply the Transitional rules among themselves on a bilateral basis from 1 September 2021. Therefore, it is appropriate to apply the decision retroactively from 1 September 2021 under the conditions provided for by Article 4 thereof, to ensure consistency in the application of rules of origin within the EEA.

(9)The position of the Union within the Joint Committee should therefore be based on the attached draft decision,