Policy paper

Separation Agreement Joint Committee annual report for the year 2022

Published 4 October 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Report from the Secretariat to the Joint Committee on the functioning of the Agreement on arrangements between Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the EEA Agreement and other agreements applicable between the United Kingdom and the EEA EFTA States by virtue of the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union (The Separation Agreement) for the calendar year 2022

Introduction

1. The Separation Agreement established a Joint Committee (Article 65) to supervise and facilitate the implementation and application of the Agreement. The Separation Agreement requires the Joint Committee to issue an annual report, drawn up by the Secretariat, each calendar year. This report is provided pursuant to Article 65(6).

2. The Secretariat to the Joint Committee operates under the authority of the rotating Joint Committee Chair to perform the tasks conferred on it, as outlined in the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee. The Secretariat is composed of officials from His Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom and the EFTA Secretariat.

3. The Separation Agreement requires the Joint Committee to meet at least once a year after the end of the transition period as defined in Article 2(h). In 2022, the Joint Committee met once, on 8 June 2022. The meeting was chaired by the Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the EU.

4. This report provides an overview of Separation Agreement from 1 January 2022 until 31 December 2022.

5. The report contains three annexes:

a. the full text of the Joint Committee decision adopted in 2022

b. the Joint Statement issued by the Parties following the meeting of the Joint Committee in 2022

c. reports by the Independent Monitoring Authority and the EFTA Surveillance Authority, respectively, issued pursuant to Article 64(3) of the Separation Agreement

Separation agreement joint committee activity in 2022

6. The Joint Committee met on 8 June 2022. Liechtenstein chaired the meeting, which was held in London.

7. At the meeting, representatives from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and the United Kingdom gave updates on their implementation and application of the Separation Agreement, with a particular emphasis on the provisions relating to citizens’ rights. Both the EEA EFTA States and the United Kingdom agreed that implementation of the Agreement was going well, and that citizens’ rights remain a priority.

8. Representatives of the Independent Monitoring Authority and the EFTA Surveillance Authority also attended, presenting information on the monitoring of the implementation and application of the Separation Agreement.

9. The Joint Committee adopted one decision (No 1/2022), amending Part I of Annex I to the Separation Agreement. The amendment was adopted pursuant to Article 34(3) of the Separation Agreement to reflect any new decision or Recommendation which has been adopted by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems (“Administrative Commission”) and which has been incorporated into and is in force under the EEA Agreement.

10. The EEA EFTA States and the United Kingdom noted at the meeting that they shared the objective of ensuring the continued correct implementation and application of the Separation Agreement, to provide certainty to citizens. A Joint Statement to this effect was issued by the Parties following the meeting of the Joint Committee.

Conclusion

11. The Joint Committee’s actions and decision during 2022 provide a solid foundation for ongoing cooperation between the EEA EFTA States and the United Kingdom and the continued proper implementation of the Separation Agreement.

Signed in Brussels, 27 September 2023

For the Joint Committee, The Chair

Jiří Klaška

Specialist Director, Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion

Annex A – Decision No.1/2022 of the joint committee

Decision No. 1/2022 of the Joint Committee established by the Separation Agreement of 8 June 2022 amending Part I of Annex I to the Separation Agreement

The Joint Committee, having regard to the Separation Agreement^{[footnote 1]} , and in particular Articles 34(3) and 66(1) thereof, Whereas:

(1) pursuant to Article 34(3) of the Separation Agreement, the Joint Committee shall amend Part I of Annex I to reflect any new decision or recommendation which has been adopted by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems (“Administrative Commission”) and which has been incorporated into and is in force under the EEA Agreement

(2) the Administrative Commission has adopted three decisions which have been incorporated into and are in force under the EEA Agreement, and which are not listed in Part I of Annex I to the Separation Agreement

(3) part I of Annex I to the Separation Agreement should therefore be amended accordingly

Has adopted this decision:

Article 1

1. The following decisions are added in Part I of Annex I to the Separation Agreement:

(a) Under Electronic Data Exchange (E series):

• decision No E6 of 19 October 2017 concerning the determination of when an electronic message is considered legally delivered in the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) system (OJ C 355, 4.10.2018, p. 5.) ^{[footnote 2]}

(b) Under Horizontal issues (H series):

• decision No H10 of 21 October 2020 concerning the methods of operation and the composition of the Technical Commission for Data Processing of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems (OJ C 89, 16.3.2021, p. 6) ^{[footnote 3]}

• decision No H11 of 9 December 2020 regarding the postponement of deadlines mentioned in Articles 67 and 70 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 as well as in decision No S9 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic (OJ C 170, 6.5.2021, p. 4)^{[footnote 4]}

2. The following decision is deleted from Part I of Annex I to the Separation Agreement:

(a) Under Horizontal issues (H series):

• decision No H8 of 17 December 2015 (updated with minor technical clarifications on 9 March 2016) concerning the methods of operation and the composition of the Technical Commission for Data Processing of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems (OJ C 263, 20.7.2016, p. 3)^{[footnote 5]}

Article 2

This decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption. In relation to Iceland and Liechtenstein, this decision shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following their respective notification to the Depository that their domestic legal requirements have been fulfilled.

The text of this decision shall be deposited with the Depositary.

Done at London, 8 June 2022

For the Joint Committee, The Chair

Pascal Shafhauser

Ambassador, Mission of Liechtenstein to the EU

Annex B – Joint Statement of 8 June 2022

Separation Agreement Joint Committee Meeting (June 2022): Joint Statement

The third meeting of the Separation Agreement Joint Committee was held in London today, chaired by officials from the Principality of Liechtenstein, with representatives from Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, and the United Kingdom (UK) in attendance. The Committee was established by the Separation Agreement to monitor its implementation and application. The Separation Agreement ensures that nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway (‘the EEA EFTA States’) already living in the UK, or UK nationals living in the EEA EFTA States at the end of the transition period, have largely the same rights as before the UK left the EU. In addition to the right of residence, these include entitlements to social security and the recognition of professional qualifications.

During the meeting, representatives from the EEA EFTA States and the UK updated each other about their implementation and application of the Separation Agreement, focusing on the provisions relating to citizens’ rights. Representatives of the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the Independent Monitoring Authority also attended, presenting information on the monitoring of the implementation and application of the Separation Agreement.

The EEA EFTA States and the UK adopted a decision amending Part I of Annex I to the Separation Agreement, in order to include recent relevant decisions of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems.

The EEA EFTA States and the UK continue to work together to ensure the correct implementation and application of the Separation Agreement, to provide certainty to citizens.

Annex C – Reports by the independent monitoring authority and the EFTA surveillance authority for 2022

The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) annual report for 2022 to the Specialised Committee and Joint Committee is available to download from the IMA publications page.

The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) annual report for 2022 to the Separation Agreement Joint Committee is available to download from the ESA annual reports page.

1. Agreement on arrangements between Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the EEA Agreement and other agreements applicable between the United Kingdom and the EEA EFTA States by virtue of the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union of 28 January 2020. ↩

2. Incorporated into the EEA Agreement by decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 235/2019 of 27 September 2019. ↩

3. Incorporated into the EEA Agreement by decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 137/2022 of 29 April 2022. ↩

4. Incorporated into the EEA Agreement by decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 10/2022 of 4 February 2022. ↩

5. Repealed under the EEA Agreement by decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 137/2022 of 29 April 2022. ↩