DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE No 29/2020

of 7 February 2020

amending Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms [2023/307]

THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (“the EEA Agreement”), and in particular Articles 86 and 98 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) In its Resolution on the developments in the governance of the European Research Area of 26 May 2010  ( 1 ) , the Council of the European Union agreed that the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (CREST) was to be renamed as the European Research Area Committee (ERAC). In its Resolution on the advisory work for the European Research Area of 30 May 2013  ( 2 ) , the Council of the European Union further agreed to rename ERAC as the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC).

(2) Pursuant to Article 1(4) of Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement, representatives of the EFTA States shall be associated with the work of CREST, and this provision should therefore be amended in order to reflect that this cooperation is to take place in ERAC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Article 1(4) of Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement shall be replaced by the following:

“Given the particular nature of the cooperation foreseen in the fields of research, innovation and technological development, representatives of the EFTA States shall in addition be associated with the work of the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC) and other Union committees which the European Commission consults in these fields, to the extent necessary for the good functioning of that cooperation.”

Article 2

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

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.

Done at Brussels, 7 February 2020.

For the EEA Joint Committee

The President

Clara GANSLANDT

( 1 )   Doc. 9067/10.

( 2 )   Doc 10331/13.

( *1 )   No constitutional requirements indicated.