Asylum: state responsible for examining a request, agreement EC/Iceland and Norway

PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the criteria and mechanisms for establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum lodged in a Member State or Iceland or Norway. COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Decision 2001/258/EC CONTENT: THe main provisions of the Agreement include the following: - the provision of the Dublin Convention shall be implemented by Iceland and Norway and applied in their mutul relations and in their relations with the Member States; - the provision of the Date-protection Directive shall be implemented and applied mutatis mutandis by Iceland and Norway; - this Agreement shall apply to the Eurodac Regulation which will also be implemented in Iceland and Norway; - when drafting new legislation, the Commission shall informally seek advice from experts of Iceland and Norway in the same way it seeks advice from experts of the Member States for drawing up its proposals; - a Joint Committee is established composed of the contracting parties; - provisions relating to new acts and measures under the Dublin Convention; - Iceland and Norway shall submit a report annually to the Joint Committee on the way in which their administrative authorities and their courts have applied and interpreted certain provisions; - as far as administrative and operational costs linked to the installation and operation of the central unit of Eurodac are concerned, Iceland and Norway shall contribute to the general budget of the European Union an annual sum of: - for Iceland 0.1% - for Norway 4,995% of the initial reference amount of EUR 9 575 000 in commitment appropriations and of EUR 5 000 000 in payment appropriations and from the budgetary year 2002 onwards the relevant budget appropriations for the budgetary year concerned; - as far as other administrative or operational costs involved in the application of this Agreement are concerned, Iceland and Norway shall share in these costs by contributing to the general budget of the European Union an annual sum in accordance with the percentage of the gross national product of their countries in relation to the gross national product of all participating States; - regarding documents, any costs of translation or interpretation into or from Icelandic or Norwegian shall be borne by both countries; - the national data-protection supervisory authorities of Iceland and Norway and the independent supervisory body established by virtue of Article 286(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community shall cooperate to the extent necessary for the performance of their duties and in particular by exchanging all useful information; - the Agreement shall not effect the Agreement on the European Economic Area or any other Agreement; - the Kingdom of Denmark may request to participate in thisAgreement; - the Agreement shall not apply to Svalbard (Spitzbergen), to Denmark or to the French overseas department; - the Agreement shall take effect in Gibraltar only on the application of the Dublin Convention, or any Community measure which replaces that Convention, to Gibraltar. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 01.04.2001.