AGREEMENT on customs cooperation between the European Community and the Kingdom of Norway

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,

and

THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY,

DESIROUS of facilitating traffic between the Community and Norway,

CONSIDERING that more economical use of resources in controlling traffic of mostly a low volume of goods and in supervising the common border could be made,

CONSIDERING that this can be achieved by introducing, in respect of their trade relations, arrangements on customs cooperation to take the place of national arrangements concluded between the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Finland, on the one hand, and between the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden, on the other hand,

CONSIDERING that, owing to geographical, historical, social and economic factors, Norway's exceptional situation justifies special arrangements in the field of customs cooperation,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

A customs cooperation between the European Community and the Kingdom of Norway shall be set up in accordance with the provisions set out below.

Article 2

1. The customs cooperation as provided for by Article 1 shall apply at the customs posts listed in the Appendix.

2. The Appendix to this Agreement shall form an integral part thereof.

Article 3

1. At the customs posts referred to in Article 2, and under the conditions set out in this Agreement, the Norwegian customs authorities shall be authorized to perform, for and on behalf of the Finnish or Swedish customs authorities, all customs checks and formalities for goods under the Community customs rules applicable to import, export, transit and the placing under any customs procedure of goods between the Community and Norway.

2. The rules referred to in paragraph 1 shall be those applicable in the Community at any moment.

3. The checks and formalities referred to in paragraph 1 do not include the payment of refunds or other amounts provided for under the common agricultural policy.

Article 4

The Norwegian customs authorities shall conclude, with respectively the Finnish and the Swedish customs authorities, an administrative arrangement for the implementation of this Agreement. These arrangements shall be notified to the Commission of the European Communities.

Article 5

The Community agents may carry out any necessary control in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) Article 18 of Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1552/89 of 29 May 1989 implementing Decision 88/376/EEC, Euratom on the system of the Communities' own resources (1);

(b) Articles 8 and 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (2);

(c) Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 595/91 of 4 March 1991 concerning irregularities and the recovery of sums wrongly paid in connection with the financing of the common agricultural policy and the organization of an information system in this field and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 283/72 (3);

(d) Article 188c of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Article 6

The Kingdom of Norway shall accept the same obligations as the customs authorities of the Community Member States in the exercise of this authorization and in particular the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of 19 May 1981 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs or agricultural matters (4).

Article 7

1. A Joint Committee is hereby established which shall be responsible for the administration of this Agreement and shall ensure its proper implementation. For this purpose it shall make recommendations.

2. For the purpose of the proper implementation of this Agreement the Contracting Parties shall exchange information and, at the request of either Party, shall hold consultations within the Joint Committee.

3. The Joint Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 8

1. The Joint Committee shall consist of representatives of the Contracting Parties.

2. The Joint Committee shall act by mutual agreement.

Article 9

1. Either Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by notifying the other Contracting Party. This Agreement shall cease to be in force twelve months after the date of such notification.

2. In case the denunciation results from a substantial fraud involving responsibility on the part of the authorities, and provided that such is mentioned in the notification, the period of twelve months, referred to in paragraph 1, shall be reduced to three months.

Article 10

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories to which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty and, on the other, to the territory of the Kingdom of Norway.

Article 11

1. This Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Norwegian languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

2. It will be approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their own procedures.

3. It shall enter into force on 1 March 1997, provided that the Contracting Parties have notified each other before that date that the procedures necessary to this end have been completed. After this date, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following such notification.

4. The provisions of the bilateral agreements on customs cooperation concluded between the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Finland, on the one hand, and between the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden, on the other hand, shall, for the matters falling within the Community's jurisdiction, cease to have effect on the entry into force of this Agreement.

Hecho en Bruselas, el diez de abril de mil novecientos noventa y siete.

Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den tiende april nitten hundrede og syv og halvfems.

Geschehen zu Brüssel am zehnten April neunzehnhundertsiebenundneunzig.

¸ãéíå óôéò ÂñõîÝëëåò, óôéò äÝêá Áðñéëßïõ ÷ßëéá åííéáêüóéá åíåíÞíôá åðôÜ.

Done at Brussels on the tenth day of April in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven.

Fait à Bruxelles, le dix avril mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-sept.

Fatto a Bruxelles, addì dieci aprile millenovecentonovantasette.

Gedaan te Brussel, de tiende april negentienhonderd zevenennegentig.

Feito em Buxelas, em dez de Abril de mil novecentos e noventa e sete.

Tehty Brysselissä kymmenentenä päivänä huhtikuuta vuonna tuhatyhdeksänsataayhdeksänkymmentäseitsemän.

Som skedde i Bryssel den tionde april nittonhundranittiosju.

Utferdiget i Brussel den tiende april nittenhundreognittisyv.

Por la Comunidad Europea

For Det Europæiske Fællesskab

Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft

Ãéá ôçí ÅõñùðáúêÞ Êïéíüôçôá.

For the European Community

Pour la Communauté européenne

Per la Comunità europea

Voor de Europese Gemeenschap

Pela Comunidade Europeia

Euroopan yhteisön puolesta

För Europeiska gemenskapen

>REFERENCE TO A FILM>

For Kongeriket Norge

>REFERENCE TO A FILM>

APPENDIX

CUSTOMS POSTS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 2

1. Customs posts between Norway and Sweden

1.1. Posts located on Norwegian territory

- Junkerdal

- Ørje

- Østby

- Svinesund

- Vauldalen

1.2. Posts located on Swedish territory

- Åsnes

- Bjørnfjell/Narvik (5*)

2. Customs posts between Norway and Finland

2.1. Posts located on Norwegian territory

- Neiden

- Polmak

2.2. Posts located on Finnish territory

- Kilpisjärvi

- Kivilompolo

- Karigasniemi

- Utsjoki

(1) OJ No L 155, 7. 6. 1989, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2729/94 (OJ No L 293, 12. 11. 1994, p. 5).

(2) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 (OJ No L 125, 8. 6. 1995, p. 1).

(3) OJ No L 67, 14. 3. 1991, p. 11.

(4) OJ No L 144, 2. 6. 1981, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 945/87 (OJ No L 90, 2. 4. 1987, p. 3).

(5*) Located on Norwegian territory.