Annual Report 2002 EFTA Surveillance Authority Rue De Trèves 74 B-1040 Brussels Summary 2001

Annual Report 2002 EFTA Surveillance Authority Rue de Trèves 74 B-1040 Brussels www.eftasurv.int Summary 2001 Foreword The Agreement on the European Economic Area has now been in force for nine years. The Agreement continues to ensure access to an increasingly important Internal Market, and is a cornerstone of trade policy in the EFTA States. With its dynamic character, the EEA Agreement has stood the test of time. Just as the Agreement functions in parallel with the EC Treaty to ensure a homogenous Internal Market, the Authority works in parallel with the European Commission to ensure that the Agreement is implemented and applied in an equal manner throughout the European Economic Area. It is worth noting, however, that certain Articles of the EC Treaty, which have been added since 1992, are not reflected in the EEA Agreement. There is a growing concern that differences between the EC Treaty and the EEA Agreement may eventually result in an Internal Market moving at different speeds, thus reducing the efficiency of the Internal Market. During 2002, considerable effort was made by the EFTA States to improve their implementation records for EEA law. These efforts have been fruitful: all the EFTA States now figure among the EEA countries with the highest implementation scores. Statistics show that the number of cases dealt with by the Authority in 2002 has been reduced compared to the previous year. This can be attributed in part to the improved implementation records of the EFTA States, and in part to a gradual shift in focus of the Authority’s tasks towards resolution of complaints and examination of implementing legislation and away from legislative notification by EFTA States. In order to be better equipped to handle its future workload and to be more flexible, the Authority, in 2002, merged the Goods Directorate and the Persons, Services and Capital Movements Directorate into a new Internal Market Affairs Directorate. In 2002, the Authority focused its attention particularly on the free movement of services and the free movement of capital. More open financial and capital markets being an important goal. The Authority dealt with discriminatory practices and provisions that also, in effect or indirectly, limited the free movement of capital. This focus will continue in 2003. An important task for the Authority remains to secure compliance with the competition and state aid rules of the EEA Agreement. Food safety remains an important issue for citizens in the EFTA States. This field has been and will continue to be a priority within the Authority, both with respect to veterinary inspections and implementation control of EEA rules in this area. Over the last years, the Authority has noticed increased media attention on its activities. While the Authority welcomes this recognition of the importance of its work, a perception in the EFTA States that the Authority is creating, rather than simply applying, EEA law has not gone unnoticed. It is important to bear in mind that the Authority is an organisation whose tasks are of a legal nature – it is not a political body. Moreover, the EEA Agreement, including its secondary legislation, is agreed upon by the EFTA States. The Authority has no legislative powers. Looking forward, the enlargement of the European Union will enhance the importance of the EEA Agreement to the EFTA States. Although the existing imbalances between the two pillars of the EEA will increase even further, the Authority will continue to play a central role in ensuring that the EFTA States remain equal partners in the European Economic Area, bound by the same internal market principles and rules as the EU Member States. Einar M. Bull President Summary 2001 Table of Contents 1 SUMMARY 1 2 INTRODUCTION 5 3 THE EEA AGREEMENT 6 3.1 THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA 6 3.2 THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY 6 3.2.1 Tasks and competences 9 3.2.2 Organisation 9 3.2.2.1 College 9 3.2.2.2 Departments 9 3.2.2.3 Staff and recruitment 9 3.2.2.4 Medium Term Plan of the Authority 11 3.2.3 Information activities 12 4 FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS, PERSONS, SERVICES AND CAPITAL 13 4.1 INTRODUCTION 13 4.2 STATISTICS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DIRECTIVES AND CASE HANDLING 13 4.2.1 Implementation control 13 4.2.2 INFORMATION RELATIVE TO IMPLEMENTATION 14 4.2.3 IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF DIRECTIVES 14 4.2.3.1 All directives 14 4.2.3.2 Directives to be complied with in 2001 15 4.2.4 CASE HANDLING 16 4.2.5 INFRINGEMENT CASES 18 4.2.6 CLOSURES AND OPEN CASES 22 4.3 FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS 23 4.3.1 Introduction 23 4.3.2 Basic provisions on the free movement of goods 23 4.3.3 Discriminatory taxation 24 4.3.4 Secondary legislation with regards to technical regulations, standards, testing and certification 26 4.3.4.1 Motor Vehicles 26 4.3.4.2 Construction Plant and Equipment 26 4.3.4.3 Medicinal products 26 4.3.4.4 Environment Protection 27 4.3.4.5 Machinery 27 4.3.4.6 Medical Devices 27 4.3.4.7 Dangerous Substances 27 V 2002 EFTA Surveillance Authority 4.3.5 Operation of certain procedures 27 4.3.5.1 Information procedure on draft technical regulations 27 4.3.5.2 National measures derogating from the principle of free movement of goods 28 4.3.5.3 Notification procedures on chemicals 29 4.3.5.4 Safeguard measures with regard to unsafe products in accordance with specific Directives 29 4.3.5.5 Notification of conformity assessment bodies 29 4.3.6 Energy 30 4.3.7 Product Liability 30 4.3.8 Intellectual Property 30 4.4 FOOD SAFETY 30 4.4.1 Introduction 30 4.4.2 Foodstuffs 31 4.4.2.1 Implementation control 31 4.4.2.2 Reporting tasks 31 4.4.3 Veterinary issues 32 4.4.3.1 Implementation control 32 4.4.3.2 Complaints 32 4.4.3.3 Application of the Agreement 33 4.4.4 Feedingstuffs 34 4.4.5 Seeds 34 4.4.6 Product Safety 34 4.4.6.1. Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) 34 4.4.6.2. Non-food products (RAPEX) 35 4.5 FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS 35 4.5.1 Free Movement of Workers 35 4.5.1.1 Implementation control 35 4.5.1.2 Complaints 36 4.5.1.3 Own-initiative cases 37 4.5.2 Mutual recognition of professional qualifications 38 4.5.2.1 Implementation control 38 4.5.2.2 Complaints 38 4.5.3 Right of establishment 39 4.5.3.1 Implementation control 39 4.5.3.2 Complaints 39 4.5.4 Social security 41 4.5.4.1 Implementation control 42 4.5.4.2 Complaints 42 4.6 FREEDOM TO PROVIDE SERVICES 42 4.6.1 Financial Services 43 4.6.1.1 Banking 43 4.6.1.2 Insurance 44 VI 4.6.1.3 Stock exchange and securities 45 4.6.2 Information Society and Postal Services 46 4.6.2.1 Audiovisual Services 46 4.6.2.2 Electronic communication services 47 4.6.2.3 Data protection 47 4.6.2.4 Information society services 47 4.6.2.5 Postal services 47 4.6.3 Transport 47 4.6.3.1 Road, inland and railway transport 47 4.6.3.2 Inland waterway transport 48 4.6.3.3 Maritime transport 48 4.6.3.4 Civil Aviation 50 4.6.4 Non-harmonised service sectors 50 4.6.4.1 Complaints 50 4.6.4.2 Own-initiative cases 52 4.7 FREE MOVEMENT OF CAPITAL 53 4.7.1 Application control 53 4.7.2 Complaints 54 4.8 HORIZONTAL AREAS RELEVANT TO THE FOUR FREEDOMS 54 4.8.1 Introduction 54 4.8.2 Health and Safety at Work 54 4.8.3 Labour law 56 4.8.4 Equal treatment for men and women 57 4.8.5 Consumer protection 58 4.8.6 Environment 59 4.8.6.1 General provisions 59 4.8.6.2 Water and Air 60 4.8.6.3 Chemicals, industrial risk and biotechnology 60 4.8.6.5 Complaints 60 4.8.7 Company law 60 4.8.7.1 Basic Company law 61 4.8.7.1.1 Implementation control 61 4.8.7.1.2 Complaints 62 4.8.7.2 Accounting and auditing 62 4.8.8 Statistics 62 5 PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 63 5.1 INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL OVERVIEW 63 5.2 IMPLEMENTATION CONTROL 63 5.3 APPLICATION OF THE RULES ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 64 5.4 MANAGEMENT TASKS 67 6 COMPETITION 68 VII 6.1 INTRODUCTION 68 2002 EFTA Surveillance Authority 6.2 CASES 63 6.2.1 Overview 63 6.2.2 Broadcasting and media 70 6.2.3 Telecommunications 71 6.2.4 Postal services 71 6.2.5 Energy 71 6.2.6 Insurance 71 6.2.7 Other cases 72 6.3 CO-OPERATION WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 72 6.3.1 Co-operation in individual merger cases 72 6.3.2 Co-operation in other Commission cases 72 6.3.3 Consultation on legislative reform and general policy 74 6.4 NEW ACTS 75 6.4.1 Legislation 75 6.4.2 Non-binding acts 75 6.4.3 Hearing officer 76 6.5 IMPLEMENTATION CONTROL 77 6.6 LIAISON WITH NATIONAL AUTHORITIES 77 7 STATE AID 79 7.1 MAIN RULES OF THE EEA AGREEMENT 79 7.2 DEVELOPMENT OF STATE AID RULES 80 7.2.1 Legislation 80 7.2.2 The Authority’s State Aid Guidelines 80 7.3 CASES 81 7.3.1 Statistics on cases 81 7.3.2 Aid for Research and Development (R&D) 81 7.3.3 Aid for environmental protection 82 7.3.4 State guarantees 82 7.3.5 Aid to the film industry 83 7.3.6 Aid to shipbuilding 83 7.3.7 Aid to maritime transport 84 7.3.8 Aid to the aviation sector 84 7.3.9 Regional aid 85 7.3.10 Other cases 85 7.4 CO-OPERATION WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 86 7.5 OTHER TASKS 86 7.5.1 Annual reporting on existing aid schemes 86 8 THE AUTHORITY BEFORE THE EFTA COURT AND THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE 87 8.1 CASES BEFORE THE EFTA COURT 87 8.2 CASES BEFORE THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 87 VIII ANNEX: List of directives taken over into the EEA Agreement in 2002 91 Summary 2001 1 Summary The task of the EFTA Surveillance Authority is, together with that 33% of the acts applicable under the EEA Agreement the European Commission, to ensure the fulfilment of the had been fully implemented by the EFTA States.

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