Council Decision (EU) 2017/1967 of 23 October 2017 on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms (The Union's preparatory action on defence research)

• CELEX: Decision (EU) 2017/1967
• Articles: 6

Article 1

The position to be adopted, on the Union's behalf, within the EEA Joint Committee on the proposed amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms, shall be based on the draft decision of the EEA Joint Committee attached to this Decision.

Article 1

The following paragraph is added in Article 1 of Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement:

‘13.

(a)

The EFTA States shall, as from 11 April 2017, participate in Union activities related to the following budget line, entered into the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017:

—

Budget line 02 04 77 03 : “Preparatory action on defence research”.

(b)

The EFTA States shall contribute financially to the activities referred to in point (a) in accordance with Article 82(1)(a) of the Agreement.

(c)

The costs incurred by institutions, undertakings, organizations and nationals of the EFTA States for their participation in the activities referred to in point (a), the implementation of which starts after 11 April 2017, shall be considered eligible as from the beginning of the action under the same conditions as those applicable to costs incurred by institutions, undertakings, organizations and nationals of the EU Member States and pursuant to the relevant grant agreement or grant decision, provided that Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No …/2017 of … [this Decision] has entered into force before the end of the preparatory action.

(d)

Iceland and Liechtenstein shall not participate in that preparatory action, and shall not financially contribute to the activities referred to in point (a).’.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following the last notification under Article 103(1) of the EEA Agreement  ( *1 ) .

It shall apply from 11 April 2017.

Article 3

This Decision shall be published in the EEA Section of, and in the EEA Supplement to, the Official Journal of the European Union .

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX

ANNEX

Declaration by the EFTA States to Decision No …/2017 amending Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement to extend the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to include the participation of the EFTA States in the Union's preparatory action on defence research

This Decision extends the cooperation of the Contracting Parties to include the participation of the EFTA States in the Union's preparatory action on defence research. The EFTA States consider that defence matters fall outside the scope of the EEA Agreement, and therefore that the adoption of this Decision does not extend the scope of the EEA Agreement to include defence matters beyond the participation of the EFTA States in that preparatory action. The EFTA States also stress that Iceland and Liechtenstein shall not participate in, and shall not financially contribute to, this preparatory action.