Consultations shall then be held in the EEA Joint Committee with a view to finding a commonly acceptable solution.
If within three months the EEA Joint Committee has not been able to find such a solution, and if the practice in question causes, or threatens to cause, distortion of competition affecting trade between the Contracting Parties, the interim measures may be replaced by definitive measures, strictly necessary to offset the effect of such distortion. Priority shall be given to such measures that will least disturb the functioning of the EEA.
2. The provisions of this Article will also apply to State monopolies, which are established after the date of signature of the Agreement.
Chapter 3. Other Common Rules
Article 65.
1. Annex XVI contains specific provisions and arrangements concerning procurement which, unless otherwise specified, shall apply to all products and to services as specified.
2. Protocol 28 and Annex XVII contain specific provisions and arrangements concerning intellectual, industrial and commercial property, which, unless otherwise specified, shall apply to all products and services.
Part V. HORIZONTAL PROVISIONS RELEVANT TO THE FOUR FREEDOMS
Chapter 1. Social Policy
Article 66.
The Contracting Parties agree upon the need to promote improved working conditions and an improved standard of living for workers.
Article 67.
1. The Contracting Parties shall pay particular attention to encouraging improvements, especially in the working environment, as regards the health and safety of workers. In order to help achieve this objective, minimum requirements shall be applied for gradual implementation, having regard to the conditions and technical rules obtaining in each of the Contracting Parties. Such minimum requirements shall not prevent any Contracting Party from maintaining or introducing more stringent measures for the protection of working conditions compatible with this Agreement.
2. Annex XVIII specifies the provisions to be implemented as the minimum requirements referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 68.
In the field of labour law, the Contracting Parties shall introduce the measures necessary to ensure the good functioning of this Agreement. These measures are specified in Annex XVIII.
Article 69.
1. Each Contracting Party shall ensure and maintain the application of the principle that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. For the purposes of this Article, 'pay' means the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or in kind, which the worker receives, directly or indirectly, in respect of his employment from his employer. Equal pay without discrimination based on sex means:
(a) that pay for the same work at piece rates shall be calculated on the basis of the same unit of measurement;
(b) that pay for work at time rates shall be the same for the same job.
2. Annex XVIII contains specific provisions for the implementation of paragraph 1.
Article 70.
The Contracting Parties shall promote the principle of equal treatment for men and women by implementing the provisions specified in Annex XVIII.
Article 71.
The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to promote the dialogue between management and labour at European level.
Chapter 2. Consumer Protection
Article 72.
Annex XIX contains provisions on consumer protection.
Chapter 3. Environment
Article 73.
1. Action by the Contracting Parties relating to the environment shall have the following objectives:
(a) to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment;
(b) to contribute towards protecting human health;
(c) to ensure a prudent and rational utilization of natural resources.
2. Action by the Contracting Parties relating to the environment shall be based on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source, and that the polluter should pay. Environmental protection requirements shall be a component of the Contracting Parties' other policies.
Article 74.
Annex XX contains the specific provisions on protective measures which shall apply pursuant to Article 73.
Article 75.
The protective measures referred to in Article 74 shall not prevent any Contracting Party from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective measures compatible with this Agreement.
Chapter 4. Statistics
Article 76.
1. The Contracting Parties shall ensure the production and dissemination of coherent and comparable statistical information for describing and monitoring all relevant economic, social and environmental aspects of the EEA.
2. To this end the Contracting Parties shall develop and use harmonized methods, definitions and classifications as well as common programmes and procedures organizing statistical work at appropriate administrative levels and duly observing the need for statistical confidentiality.
3. Annex XXI contains specific provisions on statistics.
4. Protocol 30 contains specific provisions on the organization of cooperation in the field of statistics.
Chapter 5. Company Law
Article 77.
Annex XXII contains specific provisions on company law.
Part VI. COOPERATION OUTSIDE THE FOUR FREEDOMS
Article 78.
The Contracting Parties shall strengthen and broaden cooperation in the framework of the Community's activities in the fields of:
- research and technological development,
- information services,
- the environment,
- education, training and youth,
- social policy,
- consumer protection,
- small and medium-sized enterprises,
- tourism,
- the audiovisual sector, and
- civil protection,
in so far as these matters are not regulated under the provisions of other Parts of this Agreement.
Article 79.
1. The Contracting Parties shall strengthen the dialogue between them by all appropriate means, in particular through the procedures provided for in Part VII, with a view to identifying areas and activities where closer cooperation could contribute to the attainment of their common objectives in the fields referred to in Article 78.
2. They shall, in particular, exchange information and, at the request of a Contracting Party, hold consultations within the EEA Joint Committee in respect of plans or proposals for the establishment or amendment of framework programmes, specific programmes, actions and projects in the fields referred to in Article 78.
3. Part VII shall apply mutatis mutandis with regard to this Part whenever the latter or Protocol 31 specifically provides therefor.
Article 80.
The cooperation provided for in Article 78 shall normally take one of the following forms:
- participation by EFTA States in EC framework programmes, specific programmes, projects or other actions;
- establishment of joint activities in specific areas, which may include concertation or coordination of activities, fusion of existing activities and establishment of ad hoc joint activities;
- the formal and informal exchange or provision of information;
- common efforts to encourage certain activities throughout the territory of the Contracting Parties;
- parallel legislation, where appropriate, of identical or similar content;
- coordination, where this is of mutual interest, of efforts and activities via, or in the context of, international organizations, and of cooperation with third countries.
Article 81.
Where cooperation takes the form of participation by EFTA States in an EC framework programme, specific programme, project or other action, the following principles shall apply:
(a) The EFTA States shall have access to all parts of a programme.
(b) The status of the EFTA States in the committees which assist the EC Commission in the management or development of a Community activity to which EFTA States may be contributing financially by virtue of their participation shall take full account of that contribution.
(c) Decisions by the Community, other than those relating to the general budget of the Community, which affect directly or indirectly a framework programme, specific programme, project or other action, in which EFTA States participate by a decision under this Agreement, shall be subject to the provisions of Article 79(3). The terms and conditions of the continued participation in the activity in question may be reviewed by the EEA Joint Committee in accordance with Article 86.
(d) At the project level, institutions, undertakings, organizations and nationals of EFTA States shall have the same rights and obligations in the Community programme or other action in question as those applicable to partner institutions, undertakings, organizations and nationals of EC Member States. The same shall apply mutatis mutandis to participants in exchanges between EC Member States and EFTA States, under the activity in question.
(e) EFTA States, their institutions, undertakings, organizations and nationals shall have the same rights and obligations with regard to dissemination, evaluation and exploitation of results as those applicable to EC Member States, their institutions, undertakings, organizations and nationals.
(f) The Contracting Parties undertake, in accordance with their respective rules and regulations, to facilitate the movement of participants in the programme and other action to the extent necessary.
Article 82.
1. When the cooperation envisaged under the present Part involves a financial participation of the EFTA States, this participation shall take one of the following forms:
(a) The contribution of the EFTA States, arising from their participation in Community activities, shall be calculated proportionally:
- to the commitment appropriations; and
- to the payment appropriations;
entered each year for the Community in the general budget of the Community for each budgetary line corresponding to the activities in question.
The 'proportionality factor' determining the participation of the EFTA States shall be the sum of the ratios between, on the one hand, the gross domestic product at market prices of each of the EFTA States and, on the other hand, the sum of the gross domestic products at market prices of the EC Member States and of that EFTA State. This factor shall be calculated, for each budgetary year, on the basis of the most recent statistical data.
The amount of the contribution of the EFTA States shall be additional, both in commitment appropriations and in payment appropriations, to the amounts entered for the Community in the general budget on each line corresponding to the activities concerned.
The contributions to be paid each year by the EFTA States shall be determined on the basis of the payment appropriations.
Commitments entered into by the Community prior to the entry into force, on the basis of this Agreement, of the participation of the EFTA States in the activities in question - as well as the payments which result from this - shall give rise to no contribution on the part of the EFTA States.
(b) The financial contribution of EFTA States deriving from their participation in certain projects or other activities shall be based on the principle that each Contracting Party shall cover its own costs, with an appropriate contribution which shall be fixed by the EEA Joint Committee to the Community's overhead costs.
(c) The EEA Joint Committee shall take the necessary decisions concerning the contribution of the Contracting Parties to the costs of the activity in question.
2. The detailed provisions for the implementation of this Article are set out in Protocol 32.
Article 83.
Where cooperation takes the form of an exchange of information between public authorities, the EFTA States shall have the same rights to receive, and obligations to provide, information as EC Member States, subject to the requirements of confidentiality, which shall be fixed by the EEA Joint Committee.
Article 84.
Provisions governing cooperation in specific fields are set out in Protocol 31.
Article 85.
Unless otherwise provided for in Protocol 31, cooperation already established between the Community and individual EFTA States in the fields referred to in Article 78 on the date of entry into force of this Agreement shall thereafter be governed by the relevant provisions of this Part and of Protocol 31.
Article 86.
The EEA Joint Committee shall, in accordance with Part VII, take all decisions necessary for the implementation of Articles 78 to 85 and measures derived therefrom, which may include, inter alia, supplementing and amending the provisions of Protocol 31, as well as adopting any transitional arrangements required by way of implementation of Article 85.
Article 87.
The Contracting Parties shall take the necessary steps to develop, strengthen or broaden cooperation in the framework of the Community's activities in fields not listed in Article 78, where such cooperation is considered likely to contribute to the attainment of the objectives of this Agreement, or is otherwise deemed by the Contracting Parties to be of mutual interest. Such steps may include the amendment of Article 78 by the addition of new fields to those listed therein.
Article 88.
Without prejudice to provisions of other Parts of this Agreement, the provisions of this Part shall not preclude the possibility for any Contracting Party to prepare, adopt and implement measures independently.
Part VII. INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 1. The Structure of the Association
Section 1. The EEa Council
Article 89.
1. An EEA Council is hereby established. It shall, in particular, be responsible for giving the political impetus in the implementation of this Agreement and laying down the general guidelines for the EEA Joint Committee. To this end, the EEA Council shall assess the overall functioning and the development of the Agreement. It shall take the political decisions leading to amendments of the Agreement.
2. The Contracting Parties, as to the Community and the EC Member States in their respective fields of competence, may, after having discussed it in the EEA Joint Committee, or directly in exceptionally urgent cases, raise in the EEA Council any issue giving rise to a difficulty.
3. The EEA Council shall by decision adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 90.
1. The EEA Council shall consist of the members of the Council of the European Communities and members of the EC Commission, and of one member of the Government of each of the EFTA States. Members of the EEA Council may be represented in accordance with the conditions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.
2. Decisions by the EEA Council shall be taken by agreement between the Community, on the one hand, and the EFTA States, on the other.
Article 91.
1. The office of President of the EEA Council shall be held alternately, for a period of six months, by a member of the Council of the European Communities and a member of the Government of an EFTA State.
2. The EEA Council shall be convened twice a year by its President. The EEA Council shall also meet whenever circumstances so require, in accordance with its rules of procedure.
Section 2. The EEa Joint Committee
Article 92.
1. An EEA Joint Committee is hereby established. It shall ensure the effective implementation and operation of this Agreement. To this end, it shall carry out exchanges of views and information and take decisions in the cases provided for in this Agreement.
2. The Contracting Parties, as to the Community and the EC Member States in their respective fields of competence, shall hold consultations in the EEA Joint Committee on any point of relevance to the Agreement giving rise to a difficulty and raised by one of them.
3. The EEA Joint Committee shall by decision adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 93.
1. The EEA Joint Committee shall consist of representatives of the Contracting Parties.
2. The EEA Joint Committee shall take decisions by agreement between the Community, on the one hand, and the EFTA States speaking with one voice, on the other.
Article 94.
1. The office of President of the EEA Joint Committee shall be held alternately, for a period of six months, by the representative of the Community, i.e. the EC Commission, and the representative of one of the EFTA States.
2. In order to fulfil its functions, the EEA Joint Committee shall meet, in principle, at least once a month. It shall also meet on the initiative of its President or at the request of one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with its rules of procedure.
3. The EEA Joint Committee may decide to establish any subcommittee or working group to assist it in carrying out its tasks. The EEA Joint Committee shall in its rules of procedure lay down the composition and mode of operation of such subcommittees and working groups. Their tasks shall be determined by the EEA Joint Committee in each individual case.
4. The EEA Joint Committee shall issue an annual report on the functioning and the development of this Agreement.
Section 3. Parliamentary Cooperation
Article 95.
1. An EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee is hereby established. It shall be composed of equal numbers of, on the one hand, members of the European Parliament and, on the other, members of Parliaments of the EFTA States. The total number of members of the Committee is laid down in the Statute in Protocol 36.
2. The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee shall alternately hold sessions in the Community and in an EFTA State in accordance with the provisions laid down in Protocol 36.
3. The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee shall contribute, through dialogue and debate, to a better understanding between the Community and the EFTA States in the fields covered by this Agreement.
4. The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee may express its views in the form of reports or resolutions, as appropriate. It shall, in particular, examine the annual report of the EEA Joint Committee, issued in accordance with Article 94 (4), on the functioning and the development of this Agreement.
5. The President of the EEA Council may appear before the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee in order to be heard by it.
6. The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Section 4. Cooperation between Economic and Social Partners
Article 96.
1. Members of the Economic and Social Committee and other bodies representing the social partners in the Community and the corresponding bodies in the EFTA States shall work to strengthen contacts between them and to cooperate in an organized and regular manner in order to enhance the awareness of the economic and social aspects of the growing interdependence of the economies of the Contracting Parties and of their interests within the context of the EEA.
2. To this end, an EEA Consultative Committee is hereby established. It shall be composed of equal numbers of, on the one hand, members of the Economic and Social Committee of the Community and, on the other, members of the EFTA Consultative Committee. The EEA Consultative Committee may express its views in the form of reports or resolutions, as appropriate.
3. The EEA Consultative Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Chapter 2. The Decision-making Procedure
Article 97.
This Agreement does not prejudge the right for each Contracting Party to amend, without prejudice to the principle of non-discrimination and after having informed the other Contracting Parties, its internal legislation in the areas covered by this Agreement:
- if the EEA Joint Committee concludes that the legislation as amended does not affect the good functioning of this Agreement; or