EU/Norway Cooperation Agreement: satellite navigation

PURPOSE: to conclude the Cooperation Agreement on Satellite Navigation between the European Union and its Member States and Norway.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2016/367 on the conclusion of the Cooperation Agreement on Satellite Navigation between the European Union and its Member States and the Kingdom of Norway.

CONTENT: under this Decision, the Cooperation Agreement on Satellite Navigation between the European Union and its Member States and Norway is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.

To recall, the Commission has negotiated the Cooperation Agreement on Satellite Navigation between the European Union and its Member States and the Kingdom of Norway which was signed on 22 September 2010.

The Agreement covers matters falling within the competence of the Union as well as Member States. It is applied on a provisional basis by the Union, as regards elements falling within its competence, and by Norway, pending the completion of the procedures for its conclusion.

The Agreement, which will also have to be ratified by Member States, should be approved on behalf of the Union for matters falling within its competence.

The main objective of this Agreement is to further strengthen the cooperation between the Parties by complementing the provisions of the EEA Agreement applicable to satellite navigation.

The Parties agreed to apply the following principles to cooperation activities covered by this Agreement:

• the EEA Agreement shall be the basis for cooperation in satellite navigation between the Parties;
• freedom to provide satellite navigation services in the territories of the Parties;
• freedom to use all the Galileo and EGNOS services, including PRS, subject to fulfilling the conditions governing their use;
• close cooperation in GNSS security matters through the adoption and enforcement of equivalent GNSS security measures both in the Union and Norway;
• due respect of the international obligations of the Parties in respect of ground facilities of European GNSS.

This Agreement shall not affect:

• the institutional structure established by European Union law for the purpose of the operations of the Galileo programme;
• the applicable regulatory measures implementing non-proliferation commitments and export control, controls of intangible transfers of technology,
• or national security measures.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 4.3.2016.