Key Benefits:
Original text
(Status on 4 April 2006)
The Swiss Confederation,
Hereinafter referred to as "Switzerland",
And
The European Community,
Hereinafter referred to as 'the Community',
Hereinafter jointly appointed the "Contracting Parties",
Recognizing the transboundary nature of environmental problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation in the environmental field;
Taking into account Regulation (EEC) No O 1210/90 of the Council of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Information and Observation Network for the Environment, as amended by Regulation (EC) No O 933/1999 of the Council and Regulation (EC) n O 1641/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council;
Taking into account the fact that the activities of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network have already been extended to other European countries through bilateral agreements concluded by the European Community,
Agreed to the following provisions:
Switzerland participates fully in the European Environment Agency, hereinafter referred to as "the Agency", and the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) and applies the acts listed in Annex I.
Switzerland contributes financially to the activities referred to in Art. 1 (agency and EIONET) as follows:
Switzerland participates fully, but without the right to vote, on the Board of Directors of the Agency and is associated with the work of the Scientific Committee of the Agency.
Within six months of the entry into force of this Agreement, Switzerland shall inform the Agency of the main elements of its national information networks, in accordance with the acts listed in Annex I.
In particular, Switzerland shall designate among the institutions referred to in Art. 4 or other organisations established in its territory, a 'national focal point' responsible for the coordination and/or transmission of information to be provided at national level to the Agency and to the institutions or bodies forming part of EIONET, y Including thematic centres referred to in Art. 6.
Switzerland may also, within the period laid down in Art. 4, designate the institutions or other organisations established in its territory which could be specifically responsible for cooperating with the Agency in respect of certain topics of particular interest. An institution so designated should be able to conclude an agreement with the Agency to act as a thematic centre of the network for specific tasks. These centres cooperate with other institutions that are part of the network.
Within six months of receiving the information referred to in Art. 4, 5 and 6, the Agency's Board of Directors reviews the main elements of the network to take account of the participation of Switzerland.
Subject to confidentiality, Switzerland should provide data in accordance with the obligations and practice established by the Agency's work programme.
The Agency may agree, with the institutions or bodies designated by Switzerland and forming part of the network, referred to in Art. 4, 5 and 6, arrangements, in particular contracts, necessary for the proper performance of the tasks entrusted to them.
The environmental data provided to the Agency or communicated by it may be published and made available to the public, provided that the confidential information in Switzerland enjoys the same level of protection as in the Community.
The Agency has legal personality in Switzerland and enjoys the widest legal capacity accorded to legal persons under the law of that State.
Switzerland shall apply to the Agency the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities, set out in Annex III to this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Art. 12, para. 2 (a) of the Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) n O 259/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities and the regime applicable to other servants of these Communities, Swiss nationals enjoying their civil rights may be recruited Contract by the Executive Director of the Agency.
The provisions relating to the financial control exercised by the Community in Switzerland in respect of participants in the activities of the Agency or EIONET are set out in Annex IV.
The Contracting Parties shall take any general or specific measure necessary for the fulfilment of their obligations under this Agreement. They shall ensure that the objectives set out in this Agreement are met.
A Joint Committee composed of representatives of the Contracting Parties shall ensure the proper application of this Agreement. The Committee shall meet at the request of a Contracting Party.
2. The members of the Joint Committee shall consult on the implications of any new act of Community legislation amending Regulation (EEC) No O 1210/90 or any other legal instrument referred to in this Agreement, including, where appropriate, the likely impact of the financial contribution provided for in Art. 2 of this Agreement and in Annex II.
3. In accordance with the respective internal procedures of the Contracting Parties, the Joint Committee may adopt a decision amending the Annexes to this Agreement or other measures to preserve the proper functioning of this Agreement.
4. The Joint Committee shall decide by mutual agreement.
The Annexes to this Agreement, including the Appendices thereto, shall form an integral part of the Agreement.
This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applicable and in accordance with the conditions laid down by that Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territory of Switzerland.
This Agreement shall be concluded for an unlimited period. Either Contracting Party may denounce it by notifying the other party of its intention. This Agreement shall cease to be applicable six months after that notification.
This Agreement shall be approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their own procedures. It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Contracting Parties have notified each other of the completion of the procedures necessary for that purpose.
This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian and Swedish languages. And Czech, each of these texts being equally authentic.
2. The Maltese version of this Agreement shall be authenticated by the Contracting Parties on the basis of an exchange of letters. It shall also be authentic, on the same basis as the languages referred to in subs. 1.
In witness whereof, The undersigned plenipotentiaries have signed at the bottom of this Agreement.
Done at Luxembourg, 26 October 2004.
In all cases where the acts referred to in this Annex refer to the Member States of the European Community or the requirement of a connecting link with them, those references shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Agreement, Refer also to Switzerland or to the requirement of an identical connecting link with Switzerland.
The financial contribution that Switzerland will have to make to the budget of the European Union for its participation in the Agency will be calculated by dividing the annual Community subsidy to the Agency's budget for a given year by the number of States Members of the Community.
The contribution of Switzerland shall be managed in accordance with the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.
3. Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by representatives and experts of Switzerland participating in the activities or meetings of the Agency relating to the implementation of its programme of work shall be reimbursed by the Agency on the same Basis and according to the same procedures as the costs incurred for experts from the Member States of the Community.
4. After the entry into force of this Agreement and at the beginning of each subsequent year, the Commission of the European Communities, hereinafter referred to as "the Commission", shall send to Switzerland a call for funds corresponding to the contribution of the Commission to The Agency as provided for in this Agreement. For the first calendar year of its participation, Switzerland will pay a proportionate contribution calculated from the date of its participation until the end of the current year. In the following years, the contribution shall be such as provided for in this Agreement. This contribution shall be expressed in euro and paid to a bank account of the Commission denominated in euro.
5. Switzerland will pay its contribution in accordance with the call for funds before 1 Er May provided that the Commission sent the call for funds before 1 Er April, or no later than 30 days after the sending of the call for funds.
Any delay in the payment of the contribution shall give rise to the payment by Switzerland of interest on the outstanding amount due on the due date. The interest rate corresponds to the rate applied by the European Central Bank, at the due date, for its operations in euro, plus 1.5 percentage points.
The premises and buildings of the Communities shall be inviolable. They shall not be subject to search, requisition, confiscation or expropriation.
The assets and assets of the Communities shall not be subject to any measure of administrative or judicial constraint without the authorisation of the Court of Justice.
The archives of the Communities shall be inviolable.
The Communities, their assets, income and other property are exempt from all direct taxes.
The governments of the Member States shall, whenever possible, take appropriate measures for the remission or refund of indirect rights or sales taxes in the price of immovable or movable property when the Communities make significant purchases for their official use, the price of which includes duties and taxes of that nature. However, the application of those provisions must not have the effect of distorting competition within the Communities.
No exemption is granted in respect of taxes and duties which constitute mere remuneration for services of general utility.
The Communities shall be exempt from all customs duties, prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles intended for their official use; the articles so imported shall not be sold for consideration or free of charge on the The territory of the country in which they have been introduced, unless it is subject to conditions approved by the Government of that country.
They are also exempt from customs duties and any prohibition and restriction of import and export in respect of their publications.
The European Coal and Steel Community may hold any currency and have accounts in any currency.
For their official communications and the transfer of all their documents, the institutions of the Communities shall enjoy, in the territory of each Member State, the treatment accorded by that State to diplomatic missions.
Official correspondence and other official communications of the institutions of the Communities cannot be censored.
1. Passes the form of which is adopted by the Council and which are recognised as valid circulation titles by the authorities of the Member States may be issued to the members and servants of the institutions of the Communities by the Presidents of these. Such passes shall be issued to officials and other servants under the conditions laid down by the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Other Servants of the Communities.
The Commission may enter into agreements with a view to the recognition of such passes as valid titles of movement within the territory of third States.
2. However, the provisions of s. 6 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Coal and Steel Community shall remain applicable to the members and servants of the institutions which, upon the entry into force of this Treaty, are in possession of the laissez-passer Under this section until the application of the provisions of s. 1.
There shall be no administrative or other restriction on the free movement of Members of the European Parliament to or from the place of meeting of the European Parliament.
Members of the European Parliament shall be granted customs and foreign exchange control:
Members of the European Parliament may not be sought, detained or prosecuted because of the opinions or votes cast by them in the performance of their duties.
During the sessions of the European Parliament, the members of the European Parliament shall be entitled to:
Immunity also covers them when they travel to or from the place of meeting of the European Parliament.
Immunity cannot be invoked in the case of flagrante delicto, nor can it interfere with the right of the European Parliament to waive the immunity of one of its members.
The representatives of the Member States participating in the work of the institutions of the Communities as well as their advisers and technical experts shall enjoy, during the performance of their duties and during the course of their journeys to or from the Place of the meeting, privileges, immunities or facilities of use.
This Article shall also apply to members of the advisory bodies of the Communities.
In the territory of each of the Member States and irrespective of their nationality, officials and other servants of the Communities:
Under the conditions and in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Council acting on a proposal from the Commission, officials and other servants of the Communities shall be subject, in favour of them, to a tax on salaries, wages and emoluments Paid by them.
They shall be exempt from national taxes on the salaries, wages and emoluments paid by the Communities.
For the application of income and capital taxes, inheritance rights and conventions for the avoidance of double taxation between the Member States of the Communities, officials and other servants of the Communities which, solely because of the exercise of their duties in the service of the Communities, establish their residence in the territory of a Member State other than the country of the tax domicile that they possess at the time of entry into the service of the Communities are considered, both in the country of their residence and in the country of the tax home, As having retained their residence in the latter country if the latter is a member of the Communities. This provision shall also apply to the spouse in so far as the spouse does not carry out his or her own professional activity and the dependent children and the care of the persons referred to in this Article.
Personal property belonging to the persons referred to in the preceding paragraph and situated in the territory of the State of residence shall be exempt from the inheritance tax in that State; for the purpose of establishing such tax, they shall be deemed to be In the State of the tax domicile, subject to the rights of third States and the possible application of the provisions of the international conventions relating to double taxation.
Home acquired due solely to the performance of duties in the service of other international organizations shall not be taken into account in the application of the provisions of this Article.
The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, shall lay down the system of social benefits applicable to officials and other servants of the Communities.
The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the other institutions concerned, shall determine the categories of officials and other servants of the Communities to which, in whole or in part, the provisions of Art. 12, 13, para. 2, and 14.
The names, qualities and addresses of officials and other servants included in these categories shall be communicated periodically to the governments of the Member States.
The Member State in whose territory the seat of the Communities is situated shall grant the missions of third States accredited to the Communities the diplomatic immunities and privileges of use.
Privileges, immunities and facilities shall be granted to officials and other servants of the Communities exclusively in the interest of the latter.
Each institution of the Communities shall be required to waive the immunity granted to an official or other agent in all cases in which it considers that the waiver of such immunity is not contrary to the interests of the Communities.
For the purposes of this Protocol, the institutions of the Communities shall act in concert with the responsible authorities of the Member States concerned.
Art. 12 to 15 inclusive and art. 18 are applicable to the members of the Commission.
Art. 12 to 15 inclusive and art. 18 shall apply to the Judges, the Advocates-General, the Registrar and the Assistant Rapporteurs of the Court of Justice, without prejudice to the provisions of Art. 3 of the protocols on the Statute of the Court of Justice relating to immunity from jurisdiction of judges and Advocates General.
This Protocol shall also apply to the European Investment Bank, the members of its bodies, its staff and representatives of the Member States participating in its work, without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol on Status of the report.
In addition, the European Investment Bank will be exempt from taxation and parafiscal taxation on the occasion of increases in its capital as well as various formalities which such operations may involve in the State of the seat. Similarly, its dissolution and liquidation will not result in any perception. Finally, the activity of the Bank and its bodies, under the statutory conditions, will not give rise to the application of turnover taxes.
This Protocol shall also apply to the European Central Bank, its members and its staff, without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the Central Bank European.
In addition, the European Investment Bank will be exempt from taxation and parafiscal taxation on the occasion of increases in its capital as well as various formalities which such operations may involve in the State of the seat. The activity of the Bank and its bodies, under the conditions laid down in the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, will not give rise to the application of turnover taxes.
The above provisions also apply to the European Monetary Institute. Similarly, its dissolution and liquidation will not result in any perception.
In witness whereof, The undersigned plenipotentiaries have signed at the bottom of this Protocol.
Done at Brussels, on the eighth of April one thousand nine hundred and sixty-five.
(Suivent signatures)
1. Extension of application to Switzerland
Any reference made to the Member States in the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities (hereinafter referred to as "the Protocol") shall be understood as including Switzerland, unless the following provisions agree Otherwise.
2. Exemption from indirect taxes (including VAT) for the Agency
Goods and services exported outside Switzerland are not subject to the Swiss Value Added Tax (VAT). As regards the goods and services provided to the Agency in Switzerland for its official use, the exemption from VAT is effected, in accordance with Art. 3, para. 2, of the Protocol, by means of reimbursement. The exemption from VAT shall be granted if the actual purchase price of the goods and services mentioned in the invoice or equivalent document amounts to a total of at least 100 Swiss francs (tax included).
The VAT refund is granted on presentation to the Federal Contributions Administration, Main Division of VAT, of the Swiss forms provided for that purpose. Applications shall be processed, in principle, within three months of the filing of the refund application together with the necessary supporting documents.
3. Procedures for the application of the rules concerning the staff of the Agency
With regard to art. 13, para. 2, of the Protocol, Switzerland exempts, in accordance with the principles of its domestic law, officials and other agents of the Agency within the meaning of Art. 2 of the Regulation (Euratom, ECSC, EEC) O 549/69 of 25 March 1969 (OJ L 74, 27.3.1969, p. (1) Federal, cantonal and communal taxes on salaries, wages and emoluments paid by the Community and submitted to the Community for the benefit of an internal tax.
Switzerland shall not be regarded as a Member State within the meaning of c. 1 above for the application of s. 14 of the Protocol.
Officials and other servants of the Agency, as well as members of their families who are affiliated with the social insurance system applicable to officials and other servants of the Community, are not necessarily subject to the Swiss system Social insurance.
The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have exclusive competence in all matters concerning relations between the Agency or the Commission and its staff with regard to the application of the Regulation (ECA/Euratom) n O 259/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1) and the other provisions of Community law laying down the working conditions.
The Agency and the Commission shall communicate directly with all persons or entities established in Switzerland who participate in the activities of the Agency or EIONET, either as a contractor, participating in a programme of the Agency, a person who has received a Payment made from the budget of the Agency or the Community, or as a subcontractor. Such persons may transmit directly to the Commission and to the Agency any relevant information and documentation which they are required to communicate on the basis of the instruments referred to in this Agreement and of the contracts or agreements And decisions taken within the framework of those decisions.
1. In accordance with Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 and the Financial Regulation adopted by the Executive Board of the Agency on 26 March 2003, with the provisions of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 23 December 2002, as well as with the other regulations to which Refers to this Agreement, contracts or agreements concluded and decisions made with beneficiaries established in Switzerland may provide that scientific, financial, technological or other audits may be carried out at any time To them and their subcontractors by agents of the Agency and the Commission or by Other persons authorised by them.
2. The agents of the Agency and of the Commission and of the other persons authorised by the Agency shall have appropriate access to the sites, works and documents, as well as to all necessary information, including in electronic format, to carry out the These audits. This right of access shall be explicitly included in contracts or agreements concluded pursuant to the instruments referred to in this Agreement.
The Court of Auditors of the European Communities has the same rights as the Commission.
4. Audits may take place up to five years after the expiration of this Agreement or in accordance with the terms provided for in the contracts, conventions and decisions in question.
5. The Swiss Federal Audit Office shall be informed in advance of the audits carried out on Swiss territory. This information is not a legal requirement for carrying out these audits.
1. Under this Agreement, the Commission (OLAF) is authorised to carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections on the territory of Switzerland in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 2185/96 of the Council of 11 November 1996.
2. On-the-spot checks and inspections shall be prepared and conducted by the Commission in close cooperation with the Swiss Federal Audit Office or with the other competent Swiss authorities designated by the Federal Audit Office, Who are informed in due course of the object, purpose and legal basis of the checks and checks, so that they can provide all the necessary assistance. To this end, officials of the competent Swiss authorities may participate in on-the-spot checks and inspections.
3. If the relevant Swiss authorities so wish, on-the-spot checks and verifications shall be carried out jointly by the Commission and the Commission.
4. When the participants in the programme object to on-the-spot checks or inspections, the Swiss authorities shall, in accordance with the national provisions, provide the controllers of the Commission with the assistance necessary to enable them to Completion of their on-site monitoring and verification duties.
5. The Commission shall, as soon as possible, communicate to the Swiss Federal Audit Office, any fact or suspicion relating to an irregularity which it has been aware of in connection with the execution of on-the-spot checks or inspections. In any event, the Commission is required to inform the abovementioned authority of the result of such checks and verifications.
For the purposes of the proper implementation of this Annex, the competent Swiss and Community authorities shall conduct regular exchanges of information and, at the request of one of them, shall consult.
2. The competent Swiss authorities shall, without delay, inform the Agency and the Commission of any element brought to their knowledge, suggesting the existence of irregularities relating to the conclusion and execution of contracts or agreements concluded in Application of the instruments referred to in this Agreement.
Information communicated or obtained under this Annex, in any form, shall be covered by professional secrecy and shall benefit from the protection afforded to similar information by Swiss law and by Relevant provisions applicable to Community institutions. Such information may not be communicated to persons other than those who, within the Community institutions, Member States or Switzerland, are, by their functions, called upon to know, or be used for any other purpose than Those of ensuring effective protection of the financial interests of the contracting parties.
Without prejudice to the application of Swiss criminal law, administrative measures and penalties may be imposed by the Agency or by the Commission in accordance with the regulations (EC, Euratom) n O Council of 25 June 2002 and Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 2342/2002 of the Commission of 23 December 2002, and with Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 2988/95 of the Council of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests.
The decisions of the Agency or of the Commission, taken within the scope of this Agreement, which include, for persons other than States, a pecuniary obligation, shall be enforceable in Switzerland. The executory formula shall be affixed, without any control other than that of the verification of the authenticity of the security, by the authority designated by the Swiss Government which shall inform the Agency or the Commission thereof. Enforcement shall take place in accordance with the rules of the Swiss procedure. The legality of the binding decision shall be subject to the supervision of the Court of Justice of the European Communities.
The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Communities under an arbitration clause shall be enforceable under the same conditions.
1 Art. 1 al. 1 of the AF of 17 Dec. 2004 ( RO 2006 1109 )
