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E1994C0037

DECISION OF THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY No 37/94/COL of 11 May 1994 on the amendment of paragraph 3 (f) of Chapter 27 of the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the Field of State Aid

Official Journal L 240 , 15/09/1994 P. 0032 - 0032

DECISION OF THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY No 37/94/COL of 11 May 1994 on the amendment of paragraph 3 (f) of Chapter 27 of the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the Field of State Aid THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITYhas amended paragraph 3 (f) of Chapter 27 of the Procedural and Substantive Rules in the Field of State Aid (1), adopted on 19 January 1994, by replacing it by the following:'A reference rate of interest is used to adjust aid to current values and to calculate aid elements of loans. The reference rate shall reflect the average rate of interest in the market concerned. The reference rate of interest is fixed by the EFTA Surveillance Authority on proposal from the EFTA State at the beginning of each year on the basis of the average of the relevant indicative rate of the preceding quarter (for technical reasons September, October and November). However, the reference rate will be adjusted again in the course of the year if the difference between the current reference rate and the average of the indicative rate recorded over the last three months should exceed 15 % of the prevailing reference rate.The reference/discount rates for each EFTA State is for the present fixed as follows:>TABLE>Done at Brussels, 11 May 1994.For the EFTA Surveillance AuthorityHeinz ZOUREKCollege Member(1) OJ No L 231, 3. 9. 1994, p. 1.


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31995D0284

95/284/EC: Council Decision of 17 July 1995 on the conclusion of the Agreements in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and, on the one hand, Barbados, Belize, the Republic of the Congo, Fiji, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Jamaica, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Suriname, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Kingdom of Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Zambia, the Republic of Zimbabwe, and on the other hand, the Republic of India on the supply of raw cane sugar to be refined

Official Journal L 181 , 01/08/1995 P. 0022 - 0023

COUNCIL DECISION of 17 July 1995 on the conclusion of the Agreements in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and, on the one hand, Barbados, Belize, the Republic of the Congo, Fiji, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Jamaica, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Suriname, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Kingdom of Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Zambia, the Republic of Zimbabwe, and on the other hand, the Republic of India on the supply of raw cane sugar to be refined (95/284/EC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 113 in conjunction with Article 228 (2), first sentence thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Whereas negotiations with the ACP States Party to Protocol 8 on ACP sugar annexed to the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention and India have taken place in order to define the conditions under which imports of raw cane sugar from those countries under the additional quota will take place;Whereas Article 16 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1785/81 of 30 June 1981 on the common organization of the markets in the sugar sector (1) provides that tariff quotas resulting from agreements concluded in the framework of the Uruguay Round of multinational trade negotiations shall be opened and administered in accordance with detailed rules adopted under the procedure laid in Article 41 of the Regulation;Whereas Article 37 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 1785/81 states that a shortfall to fill the maximum needs of the Community refineries shall be covered by importing special preferential sugar at a special rate of duty under agreements with States referred to in Article 33 of that Regulation and other States;Whereas the said negotiations have resulted in agreements which are subject to confirmation by the Governments of the ACP States concerned, on the one hand, and the Republic of India, on the other hand, and by the Community;Whereas it is appropriate to open such a tariff quota for raw cane sugar to be refined for maintaining the current access for ACP States parties to Protocol 8 to the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention, the Republic of India and other third States;Whereas it is appropriate to approve the Agreements in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and, on the one hand, the States referred to in the Protocol and, on the other hand, the Republic of India on the supply of raw cane sugar to be refined,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Article 1 The Agreements in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and, on the one hand, Barbados, Belize, the Republic of the Congo, Fiji, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Jamaica, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Suriname, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Kingdom of Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Zambia, the Republic of Zimbabwe, and on the other hand, the Republic of India on the supply of raw cane sugar to be refined are hereby approved on behalf of the Community.The texts of Agreements are attached to this Decision.Article 2 The President of the Council is hereby authorized to designate the person empowered to sign the Agreements referred to in Article 1 in order to bind the Community.Article 3 This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.Done at Luxembourg, 17 July 1995.For the CouncilThe PresidentL. ATIENZA SERNA(1) OJ No 177, 1. 7. 1981, P. 4. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1101/95 (OJ No L 110, 17. 5. 1995, p. 1).


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32000D0436

2000/436/EC: Council Decision of 29 June 2000 setting up a Social Protection Committee

Official Journal L 172 , 12/07/2000 P. 0026 - 0027

Council Decisionof 29 June 2000setting up a Social Protection Committee(2000/436/EC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 202 thereof,Whereas:(1) In its communication "a concerted strategy for modernising social protection" of 14 July 1999, the Commission made suggestions for the enhancement of cooperation in the field of social protection by, among other things, setting up a group of high-level officials.(2) In its Resolution of 16 February 2000 on the communication from the Commission on a concerted strategy for modernising social protection, the European Parliament welcomed the Commission's communication and the creation of such a group.(3) In its conclusions of 17 December 1999 on the strengthening of cooperation for modernising and improving social protection(1), the Council underlined the need for cooperation in modernising social protection, based on a structural and permanent dialogue, follow-up and exchange of information, experience and good practice between the Member States.(4) The Council, in the same conclusions:- supported the Commission's suggestion to establish a mechanism for enhanced cooperation brought about by the work of the group of high-level officials for the implementation of this action,- underlined that this kind of cooperation should cover all forms of social protection and help the Member States, where necessary, to improve and strengthen their social protection systems in accordance with their national priorities, and recalled the competence of the Member States for the organisation and financing of social protection,- considered it particularly important that this new cooperation towards improving and modernising social protection should be a coherent action, parallel to, and interactive with, the European employment strategy as well as to the macroeconomic dialogue,- endorsed the four broad objectives as identified by the Commission, namely: to make work pay and provide secure income, to make pensions safe and pension systems sustainable, to promote social inclusion and to ensure high quality and sustainable health care; and recognised that the aspects relating to finance are common to all the objectives,- emphasised that equality between women and men must be mainstreamed in all activities aiming at the four objectives, and- underlined the role of the social partners in the modernisation of the social protection process.(5) The Council conclusions of the Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000 acknowledged the importance of social protection in further developing and modernising an active and dynamic welfare State in Europe, and invited the Council to strengthen cooperation between Member States by exchanging experiences and best practice on the basis of improved information networks, which are the basic tools in this field.(6) To support this cooperation, the Lisbon European Council assigned certain key tasks to the group of high-level officials, in particular, as a first priority:- to prepare a study on the future evolution of social protection from a long-term point of view, giving particular attention to the sustainability of pension systems, and- to be involved in the setting of adequate targets and in establishing indicators to suport the implementation of the efforts of the Member States and the European Union to promote social inclusion.(7) It is appropriate to continue the work already begun by the interim group of high-level officials, established following the aforementioned Council conclusions, by replacing it by an advisory Committee in accordance with this Decision,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Article 11. An Advisory Social Protection Committee (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") is hereby established to strengthen cooperation between the Member States on social protection policies, in full compliance with the Treaty and with due regard for the powers of the Community's institutions and organs.2. The tasks of the Committee shall be:- to monitor the development of social protection policies in the Member States and the Community,- to promote exchanges of information, experience and good practice between Member States and with the Commission,- without prejudice to Article 207 of the Treaty, to prepare an annual report on social protection to be submitted to the Council, reporting on policy developments in respect of the achievement of objectifs pointed out by the Council.The Committee may, at the request of the Council or the Commission or on its own initiative, prepare other reports or opinions or undertake other work in the area of its competence.3. The Committee shall work, as appropriate, in cooperation with other relevant bodies and committees dealing with social and economic policy matters, such as the Employment Committee and the Economic Policy Committee.4. In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall establish appropriate contacts with the social partners.Article 21. The Committee shall consist of two representatives appointed by each Member State and two representatives of the Commission. These representatives may be assisted by two alternates.2. The Committee may call on external experts where appropriate to its agenda.Article 31. The Committee shall elect its chairperson from among the representatives of the Member States for a non-renewable term of two years.2. The chairperson shall be assisted by four vice-chairpersons, of whom two shall be elected by the Committee from among its members for a term of two years. The third shall be a representative from the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council and the fourth shall be a representative from the Member State which will hold the next Presidency.3. The Commission shall provide the analytical and organisational support for the Committee. It shall designate a member of its staff as Secretary, who shall act on the instructions of the Commitee when assisting the Committee in carrying out its tasks. The Commission shall liaise with the General Secretariat of the Council with regard to the holding of meetings.4. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.5. Meetings of the Committee shall be convened by the chairperson, either on his or her own initiative or at the request of at least half of the members of the Committee.Article 4The Committee may entrust the study of specific questions to its alternate members or may establish working groups to this end. In such cases, the chair shall be taken by either a member or an alternate member of the Committee or by a Commission official, appointed by the Committee. The working groups may call upon experts to assist them.Article 5The interim working party of high-level officials, established following the Council Conclusions of 17 December 1999, shall cease its activity on the date of the first meeting of the Committee set up by this Decision. The first meeting of the Committee shall take place no later than six months after the date of adoption of this Decision.Done at Luxembourg, 29 June 2000.For the CouncilThe PresidentM. Arcanjo(1) OJ C 8, 12.1.2000, p. 7.


title: 2008/173/EC: Council Decision of 18 February 2008 on the tests of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)

text:
               1.3.2008

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 57/14

      COUNCIL DECISION

   of 18 February 2008
   on the tests of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)
   (2008/173/EC)
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on European Union,
   Having regard to Council Decision 2001/886/JHA of 6 December 2001 on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (1), and in particular Article 4(c) and Article 6(6) thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               The development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) has been entrusted to the Commission pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2424/2001 of 6 December 2001 on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (2) and Decision 2001/886/JHA. The network requirements for SIS II development are established by Commission Decision 2007/170/EC of 16 March 2007 laying down the network requirements for the Schengen Information System II (first pillar) (3) and by Commission Decision 2007/171/EC of 16 March 2007 laying down the network requirements for the Schengen Information System II (third pillar) (4).

               (2)

               The second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) was established by Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) and by Council Decision 2007/533/JHA (6) on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System. This Decision is without prejudice to those texts, including their final provisions.

               (3)

               Those final provisions define the conditions that will allow the Council, acting by the unanimity of its Members representing the Governments of the Member States participating in SIS 1+, to fix the date of application of those texts. They provide, inter alia, that the Commission declares the successful completion of a comprehensive test of SIS II, as referred to in Article 55(3)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 71(3)(c) of Decision 2007/533/JHA, which shall be conducted by the Commission together with the Member States, and the preparatory bodies of the Council validate the proposed test result and confirm that the level of performance of SIS II is at least equivalent to that achieved with SIS 1+.

               (4)

               It is understood that this Decision should be complemented by the adoption in the future of the appropriate legislation to regulate, in detail, the organisation and coordination of a SIS II comprehensive test, which should be executed in full cooperation between the Member States and the Commission. The CS-SIS should remain the sole responsibility of the Commission.

               (5)

               It is necessary to conduct tests in order to assess whether SIS II can work in accordance with the technical and functional requirements as defined in the SIS II legal instruments.

               (6)

               Tests should also assess non-functional requirements such as robustness, availability and performance.

               (7)

               It is necessary for the Commission to test that the Central SIS II can be connected to the national systems of the Member States, whereas Member States participating in SIS 1+ should make the necessary technical arrangements to process SIS II data and exchange supplementary information.

               (8)

               It is necessary to clarify further the tasks to be performed by the Commission and the Member States with regard to the completion of certain SIS II tests.

               (9)

               It is necessary to set out the requirements for the definition, development and application of the test specifications and how the tests should be validated.

               (10)

               SIS II can become operational only when all Member States fully participating in SIS 1+ have made the necessary arrangements to process SIS II data. Cases where a Member State considers that tests could not be successfully completed should therefore be documented.

               (11)

               The Committee assisting the Commission during the development of SIS II, and referred to in Article 6 of Decision 2001/886/JHA, has not delivered a favourable opinion on the draft measures of the Commission. The Commission therefore submitted to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken and informed the European Parliament in accordance with Article 6(5) of Decision 2001/886/JHA.

               (12)

               The United Kingdom is taking part in this Decision, in accordance with Article 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and Article 8(2) of Council Decision 2000/365/EC of 29 May 2000 concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis
                   (7).

               (13)

               Ireland is taking part in this Decision in accordance with Article 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and Article 6(2) of Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis
                   (8).

               (14)

               As regards Iceland and Norway, this Decision constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those two States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis
                   (9), which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point G, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC (10) on certain arrangements for the application of that Agreement.

               (15)

               As regards Switzerland, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the association of the Swiss Confederation with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis
                   (11), which falls within the area referred to in Article 1, point G, of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decisions 2008/149/JHA (12) and 2008/146/EC (13) on the conclusion of that Agreement on behalf of the European Union and on behalf of the European Community,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The specifications relevant to certain SIS II tests related to the Central SIS II, the communication infrastructure and the interactions between Central SIS II and the national systems (N.SIS II), in particular their scope and objectives, their requirements and their process shall be as set out in the Annex.
   Article 2
   This Decision shall take effect on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      Done at Brussels, 18 February 2008.

            For the Council

            The President

         D. RUPEL

      (1)  OJ L 328, 13.12.2001, p. 1. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/1007/JHA (OJ L 411, 30.12.2006, p. 78), corrected by OJ L 27, 2.2.2007, p. 43.

      (2)  OJ L 328, 13.12.2001, p. 4. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1988/2006 (OJ L 411, 30.12.2006, p. 1), corrected by OJ L 27, 2.2.2007, p. 3.

      (3)  OJ L 79, 20.3.2007, p. 20.

      (4)  OJ L 79, 20.3.2007, p. 29.

      (5)  OJ L 381, 28.12.2006, p. 4.

      (6)  OJ L 205, 7.8.2007, p. 63.

      (7)  OJ L 131, 1.6.2000, p. 43.

      (8)  OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 20.

      (9)  OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36.

      (10)  OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31.

      (11)  OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 52.

      (12)  OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 50.

      (13)  OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 1.

      ANNEX
      1.   SCOPE OF SIS II TESTS
      Certain SIS II tests referred to in this Decision shall demonstrate that Central SIS II, the communication infrastructure and the interactions between Central SIS II and the national systems (N.SIS II) (except those of Bulgaria and Romania) (1) work in accordance with the technical and functional requirements set out in the SIS II legal instruments.
      These SIS II tests shall also demonstrate that Central SIS II, the communication infrastructure and the interactions between Central SIS II and the national systems (N.SIS II) can work in accordance with non-functional requirements such as robustness, availability and performance.
      2.   PROCESS DETAILED SCOPE AND ORGANISATION OF SIS II TESTS
      The sequence of tests, their objective, scope and organisation shall be articulated as follows:

                  The first phase of tests shall address testing of the connectivity and resilience of the SIS II communication infrastructure.

                  The second phase of tests shall address testing of the Central SIS II without N.SIS II.

                  The third phase of tests shall address testing of the Central SIS II with some N.SIS II and testing of the compliance of each national system with the specifications described in the reference version of the Interface Control Document (ICD).

            The Test Advisory Group (2) established by the SIS II Committee is competent to report on the results of the tests to the SIS II Committee. The Test Advisory Group shall identify, categorise and describe any issue it detects and propose options for solutions. The Commission services and the Member States’ experts shall provide all necessary information for the Test Advisory Group to perform its task.
      2.1.   Test documentation
      The Commission shall define the detailed specifications of the tests. The Commission shall make available to the Member States involved the draft and finalised test specifications and the provisions for the management and coordination of the tests within a schedule agreed with the Member States’ experts.
      2.2.   Coordination of the tests
      All tests set out in the test documentation shall be coordinated by the Commission. For doing so the Commission shall work in close cooperation with the Test Advisory Group.
      2.3.   Running the tests
      The Commission shall execute the tests, together with the Member States involved on the basis of the test specifications and in accordance with the schedule agreed by the Commission together with Member States’ experts, and demonstrate that the test results are as foreseen in the test specifications.
      For the N.SIS II compliance tests, each Member State, with the support of the Commission, shall be responsible for running and ensuring the smooth performance of the tests within the agreed schedule.
      2.4.   Acceptance of the tests
      The Test Advisory Group shall report on the results of certain SIS II tests to the SIS II Committee. The Test Advisory Group shall identify, categorise and describe any issue it detects and propose options for solutions. The Commission services and the Member States experts shall provide all necessary information for the Test Advisory Group to perform its task.
      The Commission will decide on the successful completion of certain SIS II tests taking into account the views expressed by Member States experts within the framework of SIS II Committee.
      Where the tests documentation divides the tests into separate phases the Commission shall inform Member States of the results of each phase before the start of the following phase.
      The acceptance of the N.SIS II compliance tests will be based on a report, prepared by an expert appointed by the Member States, containing a detailed analysis of the test results and conclusions as to the validation of the Member States’ national systems.
      If a Member State considers that tests could not be successfully completed, this should be noted in the report.
      2.5.   Tests of the communication infrastructure
      The objective of this test exercise shall be to demonstrate that the communication infrastructure of SIS II up to the uniform national interface (NI-SIS) can work in accordance with the requirements laid down in Decisions 2007/170/EC and 2007/171/EC. The scope of this test exercise includes testing the connectivity and the resilience of the SIS II communication infrastructure between CS-SIS and each NI-SIS, between the CS-SIS and backup CS-SIS as well as the resilience of the Local National Interfaces (LNI) and, where applicable, the Back-up Local National Interfaces (BLNI).
      2.6.   Central SIS II and national compliance tests
      The objective of the whole set of Central SIS II tests shall be to test that the Central SIS II meets the functional and non-functional specifications defined in the reference version of the ICD (Interface Control Document) and the DTS (Detailed Technical Specifications).
      The objective of the N.SIS II Compliance test shall be to ensure the compatibility of each N.SIS II with the CS-SIS and to verify the compliance of the National Systems with the reference version of the Interface Control Document. The compliance tests for the N.SIS II may run in parallel with the tests of the Central SIS II.
      After the successful completion of certain SIS II tests, the Commission shall inform Member States’ experts within the framework of the SIS II Committee that the test results of the communication infrastructure and of the Central SIS II tests are as foreseen in the test specifications.
      After the successful completion of certain SIS II tests, the Commission shall set up a migration environment for the Central SIS II. This environment shall be stable and suitable to be used for migration.
      3.   REFERENCE VERSIONS OF THE INTERFACE CONTROL DOCUMENT (ICD) AND DETAILED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION (DTS) FOR TESTING
      The Central SIS II and the national systems (N.SIS II) in each of the Member States shall be tested against the same specifications.
      The DTS prepared by the Commission shall define the functional and non-functional specifications of the Central SIS II.
      The ICD prepared by the Commission shall define the interface between the Central SIS II and the national systems. It shall contain the technical specifications of the system-to-system interactions in terms of data items and messages passed, protocols used as well as timing and sequencing of events.
      Specifications, as provided in the ICD and DTS, shall be stable for a given period and the timing of the update of both systems shall be laid down in a release plan that shall define the reference version for a given test phase. Issues found during the test campaigns shall be reported, analysed and solved in accordance with a release management plan and associated change management plan. The release management plan and associated change management plan shall be made available by the Commission, taking into account the opinion of Member States’ experts.
      4.   INTERIM AND FINAL REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE TEST PHASES
      The Commission shall draw up, on a regular basis, reports on the status of the tests. The reports shall note which test phase is currently being dealt with and which Member States have completed, begun or not yet begun that phase. If any repercussions for the project timetable are noticeable, they and their cause should be recorded.
      On conclusion of each test phase the Commission shall draw up a report on the results, any issue it detects and options for solutions. In cases where a Member State considers that tests could not be successfully completed it shall record this fact, stating the reasons, in a note for the minutes.

         (1)  As regards other Member States not participating in SIS 1 + like Cyprus, their participation in the SIS II tests referred to in this Decision is without prejudice to any future Council Decision on the full application of the SIS II.

         (2)  The Test Advisory Group created on 27 April 2007 according to Article 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the SIS II Committee, reports to the SIS II Committee. It reports after the completion of each test part to help preparing the acceptance of SIS II tests.


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32003D0882

2003/882/EC: Council Decision of 27 November 2003 authorising the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy to sign, in the interest of the European Community, the Protocol amending that Convention

Official Journal L 338 , 23/12/2003 P. 0030 - 0031

Council Decisionof 27 November 2003authorising the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy to sign, in the interest of the European Community, the Protocol amending that Convention(2003/882/EC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 61(c), and Article 67(5) in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Whereas:(1) The Protocol amending the Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy, amended by the Additional Protocol of 28 January 1964 and by the Protocol of 16 November 1982 (hereinafter referred to as the "Paris Convention") was negotiated with a view to improving compensation for victims of damage caused by nuclear accidents. It provides for increasing liability amounts and extending the system of nuclear third party liability to environmental damage.(2) In accordance with the Council's negotiating directives of 13 September 2002, the Commission negotiated the Protocol of amendment to the Paris Convention for matters falling within the jurisdiction of the European Community. However, the Council's negotiating directives did not provide for negotiating a clause allowing the accession of the Community to the Protocol.(3) The Protocol was finally adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention. The text of the Protocol complies with the Council's negotiating directives.(4) The Community has exclusive jurisdiction with regard to amending Article 13 of the Paris Convention where such amendment would affect the rules laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters(1). The Member States retain their jurisdiction for matters covered by the Protocol which do not affect Community law. Given the subject matter and the aim of the Protocol of amendment, acceptance of the provisions of the Protocol which come under Community jurisdiction cannot be dissociated from the provisions which come under the jurisdiction of the Member States.(5) The Protocol of amendment to the Paris Convention is particularly important in the light of the interests of the Community and its Member States, because it improves compensation for damage caused by nuclear accidents.(6) The Paris Convention and its Protocol of amendment are not open to participation by regional organisations. As a result, the Community is not in a position to sign or ratify the Protocol, or to accede to it. Under these circumstances, and only on a very exceptional basis, it is justified that the Member States sign the Protocol in the interest of the Community.(7) However, three Member States, namely Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg, are not Parties to the Paris Convention. Given that the Protocol amends the Paris Convention, that Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 authorises the Member States bound by that Convention to continue to apply the rules on jurisdiction provided for in it and that the Protocol does not substantially amend the rules on jurisdiction of the Convention, it is objectively justified that this Decision should be addressed only to those Member States that are Parties to the Paris Convention. Accordingly, Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg will continue to base themselves on the Community rules contained in Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 and to apply them in the area covered by the Paris Convention and by the Protocol amending that Convention.(8) The Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention should therefore sign, in the interest of the European Community and subject to the conditions laid down in this Decision, the Protocol amending the Paris Convention, subject to its possible conclusion at a later date. Such signature is without prejudice to the position of Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg.(9) Consequently, the provisions of the Protocol, as regards the European Community, will be applied only by those Member States which are currently Parties to the Paris Convention and will be without prejudice to the position of Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg.(10) The United Kingdom and Ireland are bound by Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 and are therefore taking part in the adoption of this Decision.(11) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark does not take part in the adoption of this Decision, and is not bound by it or subject to its application,HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:Article 11. Without prejudice to the Community's powers, the Member States which are currently Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention shall sign, in the interest of the European Community, the Protocol amending the Paris Convention, subject to its possible conclusion at a later date. Such signature shall be without prejudice to the position of Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg.2. The text of the Protocol amending the Paris Convention is attached to this Decision.3. For the purposes of this Decision, the term "Member State" shall mean all Member States with the exception of Austria, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg.Article 2Member States shall endeavour to sign the Protocol before 31 December 2003.Article 3When signing the Protocol of amendment to the Paris Convention, Member States shall inform the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in writing that signature has taken place in accordance with this Decision.Article 4This Decision is addressed to the Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.Done at Brussels, 27 November 2003.For the CouncilThe PresidentR. Castelli(1) OJ L 12, 16.1.2001, p. 1.