Aligning EEA Central Counterparty Rules with EU Law

What problem is being addressed?
The European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement does not yet include the EU regulation that sets out how central counterparties (CCPs) should be recovered and resolved if they fail. Without this, the rules that apply in the EU for CCPs are not automatically applied in the EEA, creating a gap in financial stability protection for the 30 EEA states (EU members plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

How that problem is being solved here
The European Commission proposes that the Council adopt a position for the EU in the EEA Joint Committee. That position will lead the Committee to amend three parts of the EEA Agreement – Annex IX (Financial services), Annex XII (Free movement of capital) and Annex XXII (Company law) – so that they contain Regulation (EU) 2021/23 on the framework for the recovery and resolution of central counterparties and three related acts (Regulation (EU) 2021/168, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/450, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/451 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/840). The amendment also updates the roles of EU supervisory authorities and the EFTA Surveillance Authority so that both EU and EFTA states follow the same rules.

What changes as a result of this document

1. Regulation (EU) 2021/23 and its related acts are formally incorporated into the EEA Agreement.
2. Annex IX, Annex XII and Annex XXII are amended to reference the new regulation and its technical standards.
3. The text clarifies that the European Commission, the European Supervisory Authorities, and the EFTA Surveillance Authority all have the same responsibilities for CCPs in the EEA.
4. The amendments are published in the Official Journal of the European Union and take effect on the date the Council decision is adopted (26 November 2025).

These changes bring the EEA’s rules for central counterparties into line with EU law, strengthening financial stability across all EEA states.