Transcript How EU law becomes EEA law

EFTA Seminar on the EEA Agreement – 4 February 2015
How EU law becomes EEA law
Procedures for incorporation of EU acts in the EEA
Agreement
Dora Sif Tynes
Head of Legal Services
EFTA Secretariat
[email protected]
Challenges
• Changes to the EU Treaties
• Abolition of the EU pillars (combining areas)
• EU Agencies with legislative competence
• Extended geographical scope (offshore/maritime)
• Efficient ”take over” of EU legislation (homogeneity)
• EEA EFTA influence on EU decision making
• Making the EEA Agreement known
EEA decision shaping on the EU side
European Commission drafts new legislation
COM shall seek advise from the EFTA States and the
EU Member States in the same way – Art. 99 EEA
EP and MS
discuss
EP/Council acts
Experts
discuss
delegated acts
MS experts
discuss
implementing acts
EFTA-EU exchange
of views – Art. 99 EEA
EFTA participation
Art.100 EEA
EFTA participation
Art. 100 EEA
EU act published in the Official Journal of the EU
Footnote-marking for EEA relevant acts (not legally binding)
EU adopts new legislation...
EEA position taking on the EFTA side
• EFTA Secretariat identifies relevant acts and conducts a preliminary
assessment. ’Standard sheets’ sent to experts.
• EFTA experts (Working Groups) discuss
- EEA relevance
- Possible need for technical adaptation
- Possible need for substantial adaptations/negotiations
- Possible need for parliamentary procedures (Art. 103 EEA)
• EFTA Secretariat drafts a EEA Joint Committee Decision for
incorporation of the act(s) into the EEA Agreement
• Draft JCD submitted to the EU side (EEAS) after approval by the EFTA
Subcommittee
EFTA Subcommittees and Working Groups
Processing JCDs
• Draft approved by EEA EFTA States
handed over to EU side
• Inter-service consultations (10 days)
– No adaptation or pure technical adaptations,
EEAS/Commission has competence to clear draft
– Substantive adaptations call for approval of Council (3
– 6 months)
Processing JCDs cont.
• Once draft has been approved by both sides,
decision is put on “long list” (list of JCDs to be
adopted by JC)
• Final long list confirmed at least two weeks
before the meeting of the JC
• Internal procedures in EEA EFTA States
(consultations with Parliaments etc.)
• JC adopts the JCD
• Publication
EEA position taking on the EU side
European
Commission
EEA EFTA States’
position
DIRECTORATEGENERALS
LEGAL
SERVICE
European External
Action Service
(EEAS)
Council
If adaptations or financial
contributions are involved
COUNCIL
(Ministers)
COREPER
(Ambassadors)
WORKING GROUP
ON
EFTA MATTERS
DG BUDGET
EU’s position
EEA decision-taking
EFTA Standing
Committee
EFTA Subcommittees
EFTA Working
Groups
Adopted
EEA Joint
Committee
Decision
Draft decision
Constitutional
requirements
Article 103 EEA
Entry into force
Adopted
EEA
relevant EU
legislation
Council
European
External Action
Service (EEAS)
Commission
EFTA
Surveillance
Authority
Implementation in national law
(Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway)
The Backlog
• Acts waiting incorporation into the EEA
Agreement
• Secretariat runs monitoring list
• Political discussion with EU side since
October 2011
• Statistics from 2006 show backlog varying
from ca 400 acts to over 600
Why is there Backlog?
• Inherent in the set-up of the system ?
– Act must first be published in OJ before formal
processing can start
– Packages of acts (mother acts + delegated and
implementing acts)
• Shift from Directives to Regulations
– Number of Regulations has risen from 13% at signing
to 73% today
• Cumbersome EFTA Procedures
• Cumbersome EU Procedures
Standing Committee Decision of 8 May 2014
• Commission Proposals
• Early start
• Fast-track Procedure
• Standard procedure
Early identification
• In order to grant EEA EFTA Experts more time for their
assessment:
– We will start processing earlier
– Before publication in Official Journal
• Starting when the act is available and substance cannot
change
• The new procedures foresees a new starting point for
Commission acts
The fast-track procedure
• Deals with acts which do not:
• raise any EEA horizontal challenges,
• do not need any adaptations
• and do not call for any constitutional requirements.
• Deals with pre-identified acts – subject to a decision in
Subcommittee I-IV
• Secretariat has discretion to propose
The fast-track procedure
• Experts can oppose the fast-track procedure when:
– the act entails horizontal challenges
– requires adaptations
– requires constitutional requirements
• If opposition Experts shall provide the Secretariat and the
other MS experts with an explanation
More information….
www.efta.int