E-10/25

Avenue des Arts 19H, B-1000 Brussels, tel: +32 2 286 18 11, www.eftasurv.int

Brussels, 11 June 2025 Case No: 94053 Document No: 1538201

ORIGINAL

IN THE EFTA COURT

APPLICATION

submitted pursuant to Article 31 (2) of the Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice by

THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY

represented by Sigurbjörn Edvardsson, Sigrún Ingibjörg Gísladóttir and Melpo-Menie Joséphidès

Department of Legal & Executive Affairs,

acting as Agents,

AGAINST

ICELAND

seeking a declaration that Iceland has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Act referred to at point 5oc of Annex XI to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies), as adapted by Protocol 1 to that Agreement, and under Article 7 of the EEA Agreement, by failing to adopt the measures necessary to implement the Act within the time prescribed, or in any event, by failing to inform the EFTA Surveillance Authority thereof.

Registered at the EFTA Court under NºE-10/25-01 on 11 day of June 2025.

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 3 2 PRE-LITIGATION PROCEDURE .................................................................... 3 3 LAW ................................................................................................................ 4 4 SUBMISSIONS ............................................................................................... 6 5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 7 6 SCHEDULE OF ANNEXES ............................................................................ 8

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1 INTRODUCTION

1. By this Application, the EFTA Surveillance Authority (“ESA”) brings an action under

Article 31 of the Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a

Surveillance and a Court of Justice (“SCA”). The Act in this application concerns

the accessibility of public sector websites and mobile applications, particularly for

persons with disabilities.1

2. ESA seeks a declaration from the Court that Iceland has failed to fulfil its obligations

under the Act referred to at point 5oc of Annex XI to the Agreement on the European

Economic Area (“EEA” or “the EEA Agreement”) (Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of

the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies) (“the Act”), as

adapted by Protocol 1 to that Agreement, and under Article 7 EEA, by failing to

adopt the measures necessary to implement the Act within the time prescribed, or

in any event, by failing to inform the EFTA Surveillance Authority thereof.

2 PRE-LITIGATION PROCEDURE

3. The time limit to adopt the measures necessary to implement the Act and to notify

these to the EFTA Surveillance Authority expired on 1 April 2024. Having received

no notification from Iceland setting out the measures which it had adopted to

implement the Act, ESA sent a letter of formal notice to Iceland on 12 July 2024,

concluding that by failing to take the necessary measures to make the Act part of

its internal legal order and/or by failing to notify these to the EFTA Surveillance

Authority, Iceland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the Act and under Article

7 of the EEA Agreement.2 Iceland was invited to submit its observations within two

months, i.e. by 12 September 2024.

4. On 10 October 2024, the Icelandic Government replied to the letter of formal notice,

stating that it had not yet taken the necessary measures to implement the Act.3

Furthermore, the Icelandic Government indicated that the legislative measures

1 This application is based on College Decision 082/25/COL (Annex A.1 to this Application). 2 Document No 1466350; Annex A.2 to this Application. 3 Document No. 1489923; Annex A.3 to this Application.

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necessary to implement the Directive were underway and that a Bill was expected

to be presented to Parliament in November 2024.

5. Having considered Iceland’s response, ESA delivered a reasoned opinion on 13

November 2024,4 in which it maintained the conclusion set out in its letter of formal

notice. Iceland was given two months in which to take the measures necessary to

comply with the reasoned opinions, i.e. no later than 13 January 2025.

6. The Icelandic Government did not reply to the reasoned opinion.

7. When the deadline set in the reasoned opinion expired, ESA had received no

notification that Iceland had implemented the Act. Nor was ESA in the possession

of any other information which indicated that the Act had been made part of

Iceland’s internal legal order.

8. Since Iceland had not complied with the reasoned opinion by the deadline set

therein (i.e. 13 January 2025), on 11 June 2025, ESA decided to bring the matter

before the Court pursuant to Article 31 SCA.5

9. For the sake of completeness, ESA notes that at the point of lodging the present

application, ESA has not been notified and does not have any other information to

suggest that Iceland has implemented the Act into its national legal order.

3 LAW

10. Article 3, first and second paragraph, EEA provides:

“The Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate measures, whether general

or particular, to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of this Agreement.

They shall abstain from any measure which could jeopardize the attainment of

the objectives of this Agreement.”

11. Article 7 EEA provides:

4 Document No. 1492886; Annex A.4 to this Application. 5 College Decision 082/25/COL.

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“Acts referred to or contained in the Annexes to this Agreement or in decisions

of the EEA Joint Committee shall be binding upon the Contracting Parties and

be, or be made, part of their internal legal order as follows:

(a) an act corresponding to an EEC regulation shall as such be made part

of the internal legal order of the Contracting Parties.

[…]“

12. Article 31 SCA provides:

“If the EFTA Surveillance Authority considers that an EFTA State has failed to

fulfil an obligation under the EEA Agreement or of this Agreement, it shall,

unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, deliver a reasoned opinion on

the matter after giving the State concerned the opportunity to submit its

observations.

If the State concerned does not comply with the opinion within the period laid

down by the EFTA Surveillance Authority, the latter may bring the matter before

the EFTA Court.”

13. Article 12 of the Act, as adapted, obliges the EFTA States to bring into force the

laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Act,

and to notify to ESA the text of those provisions. It reads as follows:

1. [EFTA] States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and

administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [1 April

2024]. They shall immediately inform the [Authority] thereof.

When [EFTA] States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference

to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the

occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference

shall be laid down by [EFTA] States.

2. [EFTA] States shall communicate to the [Authority] the text of the main

measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this

Directive.

3. [EFTA] States shall apply those measures as follows:

(a) to websites of public sector bodies not published before [the date of entry

into force of Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 59/2021 of 5 February

2021]: from [one year after the date of entry into force of Decision of the EEA

Joint Committee No 59/2021 of 5 February 2021];

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(b) to websites of public sector bodies not covered by point (a): from [two

years after the date of entry into force of Decision of the EEA Joint

Committee No 59/2021 of 5 February 2021];

(c) to mobile applications of public sector bodies: from [two and a half years

after the date of entry into force of Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No

59/2021 of 5 February 2021].

4 SUBMISSIONS

14. Article 3 EEA imposes upon the EEA EFTA States the general obligation to take

all appropriate measures, whether general or particular, to ensure the fulfilment of

the obligations arising out of the EEA Agreement.6

15. Under Article 7 EEA, the EEA EFTA States are obliged to implement all acts

referred to in the Annexes to the EEA Agreement, as amended by decisions of the

EEA Joint Committee. According to settled case-law, the lack of direct legal effect

of acts referred to in decisions by the EEA Joint Committee makes timely

implementation crucial for the proper functioning of the EEA Agreement also in

Iceland. The EEA EFTA States find themselves under an obligation of result in that

regard.7

16. Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 59/2021 of 5 February 2021 amended

Annex XI to the EEA Agreement by, inter alia, adding the Act. Decision No 59/2021

entered into force on 1 April 2024.8 The time limit for the EEA EFTA States to adopt

the measures necessary to make the Act part of their internal legal orders expired

on the same day.

17. The question whether an EEA EFTA State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be

determined by reference to the situation as it stood at the end of the period laid

down in the reasoned opinion.9 The Icelandic Government has not thus far sought

to contest ESA’s assertion that Iceland had not adopted the measures necessary

6 See, inter alia, Case E-6/18 ESA v Iceland, judgment of 14 May 2019, paragraph 16. 7 Ibid., paragraph 17. 8 Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway indicated constitutional requirements to the Joint Committee Decision, which entered into force on 1 April 2024. 9 See, inter alia, Case E-6/06 ESA v The Principality of Liechtenstein [2007] EFTA Ct. Rep. 238, paragraph 20.

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to make the Act a part of its internal legal order by the expiry of the time limit set in

the reasoned opinion, and had not in any event notified ESA of the measures it had

adopted to implement the Act, as required by the provisions of the Act, notably

Article 12 thereof.

18. As a result, ESA submits that Iceland has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article

7 EEA, by failing to make the Act part of its internal legal order.

5 CONCLUSION

19. Accordingly, ESA requests the Court to:

1. declare that Iceland has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Act referred

to at point 5oc of Annex XI to the Agreement on the European Economic

Area (Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile

applications of public sector bodies), as adapted by Protocol 1 to the EEA

Agreement, and under Article 7 of the EEA Agreement, by failing to adopt

the measures necessary to implement the Act within the time prescribed,

or in any event, by failing to inform the EFTA Surveillance Authority thereof,

and

2. order Iceland to bear the costs of these proceedings.

Sigurbjörn B. Edvardsson Sigrún Ingibjörg Gísladóttir

Melpo-Menie Joséphidès

Agents of the EFTA Surveillance Authority

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6 SCHEDULE OF ANNEXES

No

Description

Referred to in

this Application

at paragraph(s)

Number of

pages

1 College Decision 082/25/COL 1, 8 2

2 Letter of Formal Notice 3 2

3 Reply to the Letter of Formal Notice 4 1

4 Reasoned Opinion 5 3

Government of Iceland Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Reykjavík, 13 August 2025

To the President and Members of the EFTA Court

Statement of Defence

submitted pursuant to Article 107 of the Rules of Procedure of the EFTA Court by

the Government of Iceland

represented by Mr. Hendrik Daði Jónsson, Legal Adviser, Ministry for Foreign Affairs,

Mr. Einar Gunnar Thoroddsen, Head of Division, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, and Mr. Þorsteinn Júlíus Árnason, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs,

acting as Agents in

Case E-10/25

EFTA Surveillance Authority v

Iceland

in which the EFTA Surveillance Authority seeks a declaration that Iceland has failed its obligations under the Act referred to at point 5oc of Annex XI to the EEA Agreement, as adapted by Protocol 1 thereto, and under Article 7 of the EEA Agreement, by failing to adopt the measures necessary to implement the Act within the time prescribed, or in any event, by failing to inform the EFTA Surveillance Authority thereof.

The Government of Iceland has the honour of lodging the following Statement of Defence.

Registered at the EFTA Court under NºE-10/25-05 on 13 day of August 2025.

2

I. Introduction

1. By a letter dated 13 June 2025, the Registrar of the EFTA Court served the Government

of Iceland with the Application of the EFTA Surveillance Authority (“the Authority”),

dated 11 June 2025, which the Court had received electronically on that day.

2. The Authority seeks a declaration from the EFTA Court that Iceland has failed to fulfil

its obligations under Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile

applications of public sector bodies1, referred to in point 5oc of Annex XI to the EEA

Agreement (“the Agreement”), as adapted by Protocol 1 to the Agreement, (“the Act”),

and under Article 7 of the Agreement, by failing to adopt the measures necessary to

implement the Act within the time prescribed, or in any event, by failing to inform the

Authority thereof.

3. In the Court’s letter of 13 June 2025, the Government of Iceland was invited, with

reference to Article 107 of the Rules of Procedure of the EFTA Court, to lodge a defence

within two months from the date of the notification, that is by Wednesday 13 August

2025.

II. Submissions

4. The Government of Iceland does not dispute the facts of the case, as presented in

Section 2 of the Application. Namely, the Government acknowledges that the

measures necessary to implement the Act had not been adopted by the deadline set

out in the Authority’s Reasoned Opinion, that is by 13 January 2025, and the Authority

had furthermore not been informed thereof, in accordance with Article 12(2) of the

Act.

5. The Government of Iceland will therefore not contest the declaration sought by the

Authority under Section 5 of the Application.

6. The Government of Iceland wishes to inform the Court, however, that a bill

establishing a legal basis for the implementation of the Act into the Icelandic legal

order as a national regulation was presented to the Althing in the spring session of

1 OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, pp. 1.

3

its 154th legislative session, in its 155th legislative session and its 156th legislative

session. As the bill has not been adopted, the implementation of the Act into the

Icelandic legal order unfortunately remains pending.

7. The Government of Iceland intends to propose an independent implementation bill

to the 157th legislative session of the Althing in 2025, with the intention of having it

adopted as law before the end of the year.

III. Conclusion

8. The Government of Iceland does not contest the declaration sought by the Authority

under Section 5 of the Application.

For the Government of Iceland,

Hendrik Daði Jónsson Einar Gunnar Thoroddsen Þorsteinn Júlíus Árnason

Agents

1, rue du Fort Thüngen, L-1499 Luxembourg. Telephone: +352 42 108-1

E-mail: [email protected]

Case E-10/25-8

Luxembourg, 20 August 2025

Sent via e-EFTACourt

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find enclosed copies of the application from the EFTA Surveillance Authority

dated 11 June 2025 initiating proceedings before the EFTA Court in Case E-10/25 –

EFTA Surveillance Authority v Iceland, and the defence from Iceland dated 13 August

2025. Copies of annexes to the application can be requested by contacting the Registry.

The application was received electronically on 11 June 2025, and entered in the

register of the Court (reg. No E-10/25-1) under Case No E-10/25 on that day.

The defence was received electronically on 13 August 2025 and entered in the register of

the Court on that day (reg. No E-10/25-5).

In accordance with Article 20 of the Statute of the EFTA Court, the Governments of the

EFTA States, the Union and the European Commission are entitled to submit statements

of case or written observations, in English, to the Court within two months from the date

of this notification, i.e. by Monday, 20 October 2025.

On behalf of the Registrar.

Yours faithfully,

Bryndís Pálmarsdóttir

Senior Administrator

Encl.