Decision of the EEA Joint Committee

No 154/2003

of 7 November 2003

amending Annex XII (Free movement of capital) to the EEA Agreement

THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, as amended by the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area, hereinafter referred to as "the Agreement", and in particular Article 98 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Annex XII to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 48/2003 of 16 May 2003(1).

(2) Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 on cross-border payments in euro(2) is to be incorporated into the Agreement,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The following point is inserted after point 2 (Directive 2000/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) of Annex XII to the Agreement:

"3. 32001 R 2560: Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 on cross-border payments in euro (OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 13).

The provisions of the Regulation shall, for the purposes of the present Agreement, be read with the following adaptation:

Credit institutions authorised in Liechtenstein shall be exempted from the obligations provided for in Article 3 of the Regulation until 1 July 2005."

Article 2

The text of Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 in the Icelandic and Norwegian languages, to be published in the EEA Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union, shall be authentic.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on 8 November 2003, provided that all the notifications under Article 103(1) of the Agreement have been made to the EEA Joint Committee(3).

Article 4

This Decision shall be published in the EEA section of, and in the EEA Supplement to, the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 7 November 2003.

For the EEA Joint Committee

The President

HSH Prinz Nikolaus von Liechtenstein

(1) OJ L 193, 31.7.2003, p. 20.

(2) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 13.

(3) Constitutional requirements indicated.