48th annual report of the european free trade association 2008

48TH ANNUAL REPORT 2008OF THE EUROPEAN FREETRADE ASSOCIATION

2194-RAPPORT-2009-06:1897-THIS-IS-EFTA-24 16/03/09 16:49

Annual Report of the European Free Trade Association 2008

For basic information on EFTA, please see the publication ‘This is EFTA’. Further information is alsoavailable on our website: www.efta.int/

• Editor: Elin Bjerkebo

• Cover: SCANPIX

• Printed by Drifosett, BrusselsLayout by Orangemetalic

• Printed March 2009

Cover picture: Oilrigs outside Sotra, Norway. Photo: Willy Haraldsen

You can get more copies of this issue free of charge by contacting [email protected]


persons, services and capitalamong its members, as well asclose cooperation in otherfields. The EEA has expandedconsiderably over the years. Itnow consists of three EFTAStates and 27 EU MemberStates with a combinedpopulation of approximately500 million people, andconstitutes the biggest commonmarket in the world.

In 2008 we made good progress in the management ofthe Agreement. After years of active follow-up fromthe EEA EFTA States, the EU Chemicals Regulation –REACH – was inserted into the EEA, well in time forbusinesses in the EEA EFTA States to participate in thepre-registration of substances on an equal footing withtheir counterparts from the EU Member States. ThisRegulation also ensures the participation of the EEAEFTA States in the new European Chemicals Agency.

Securing the environment for future generations andthe fight against climate change are importantpriorities today in European policies. In 2008 the EEAEFTA States adopted the Decision on the GreenhouseGas Emissions Trading Scheme enabling theirparticipation in the Scheme for the period 2008-2012.

Through the EEA Agreement, the EEA EFTA Statesalso contribute to reducing social and economicdisparities throughout the European Economic Area.The EEA Grants and Norway Grants are administeredfrom Brussels by the Financial Mechanism Office. In 2008 the final open calls for individual projects forthe period 2004-2009 were launched and closed. By the end of the year more than €800 million hadbeen committed to the beneficiary states.

Together with the two Deputy Secretaries-General, I have worked to further improve the efficiency of theEFTA Secretariat to the benefit of the EFTA States. Weare pleased with the results achieved and will strive tocontinually increase our productivity in 2009.

Kåre Bryn

Secretary-General

Dear Reader,

2008 has been a productive year for the European FreeTrade Association. Significant progress was made inEFTA’s two core activities: the European EconomicArea and the organisation’s expanding network of freetrade relations. The results include securing theparticipation of the EEA EFTA States in REACH (theEU Chemical Regulation) and the signing of free tradeagreements (FTAs) with Canada and Colombia.

On 1 May 2008, EFTA’s FTA with SACU (Botswana,Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) enteredinto force. It is EFTA’s first agreement with anothertrading block and the first time that EFTA has concludedan agreement with sub-Saharan African countries. Thisagreement reflects the different levels of developmentbetween the parties, for example by addressing economiccooperation and technical assistance.

The EFTA States and Colombia finalised their freetrade negotiations in 2008 and signed an FTA at theEFTA Ministerial meeting in Geneva on 25 November.Negotiations with Peru and the Gulf CooperationCouncil also progressed well in 2008. Agreements areforeseen to be signed in 2009.

During 2008, EFTA explored opportunities fordeveloping closer free trade relations with severalother countries. Negotiations between India and theEFTA States were initiated in 2008. India is already animportant economic partner of the EFTA States, with atotal two-way merchandise trade of 4.1 billion USD in2008, an increase of 14% from the previous year. Ajoint feasibility study between EFTA and the RussianFederation was concluded in 2008, and the aim is tolaunch negotiations in 2009. Closer economic tiesbetween EFTA and those two important tradingpartners will surely prove mutually beneficial.

It is important that EFTA maintain an active free tradepolicy to secure competitive market access conditionsfor our operators. At the same time the EFTA countriesstrongly support the World Trade Organization andunderline that their FTAs are complementing themultilateral trading system.

The Agreement on the European Economic Area has nowbeen in force for 15 years. The Agreement is based on theobjective of providing for the free movement of goods,

FOREWORD


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD 3

EFTA COUNCIL 5

EFTA Ministerial meetings 5The EFTA Council atAmbassadorial Level 6The EFTA Convention 6

FREE TRADE RELATIONS 7

Main Developments 8Management of EFTA Free Trade Agreements 10Technical Assistance 11Relations with WTO 11

THE EEA AGREEMENT 13

The EEA Council 13The EEA Joint Committee 13The Standing Committee of the EFTA States 14Legal and Institutional Matters 14Free Movement of Goods 14

Free Movement of Services and Capital 22Free Movement of Persons 24Flanking and Horizontal Policies 25Heads of EFTA NationalStatistical Institutes 31EFTA-EU Cooperation in theField of Statistics 31Technical Cooperation in the Field of Statistics 32

THE EEA AND NORWAY GRANTS 33

ADVISORY BODIES 35

Parliamentary Committees 35Consultative Committees 35

INFORMATION ACTIVITIES 37

ADMINISTRATION 40

APPENDICES 41


EFTA COUNCILEFTA Ministerial meetings

The EFTA Council met twice at Ministerial level in2008 in Switzerland, in Lugano on 30 June and inGeneva on 25 November. During the first half of 2008the Council was chaired by Switzerland, and Icelandserved as chair during the second half.

At their summer meeting in June, the EFTAMinisters met with Mr Luis Guillermo Plata,Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism ofColombia, to mark the recent conclusion of a freetrade agreement between Colombia and the EFTAStates. In their communiqué, the EFTA Ministersexpressed their satisfaction with the continuedexpansion of EFTA’s network of free tradeagreements. They welcomed the signing of the FTAwith Canada at the end of January 2008, the entryinto force of the FTA with the Southern AfricanCustoms Union (SACU)[1] on 1 May 2008, as well asthe conclusion of negotiations with the GulfCooperation Council (GCC).[2] The Ministers notedthe significant progress achieved with Algeria andPeru, and the steps taken to advance relationsbetween EFTA and important economic partners inAsia, such as the decision to launch negotiations

with India. They stated their readiness to resumenegotiations with Thailand, commence negotiationswith Indonesia, and deepen the dialogue withMalaysia. Additionally, the Ministers underlined theimportance of the further expansion of EFTA’s FTAnetwork in Europe by preparing the ground for freetrade negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, and bycontinuing the processes with Serbia and Albania.Finally, the Ministers established an ad hoc EFTAWorking Group on Trade and Environment.

At the Ministerial meeting held in Geneva on 25November 2008 the EFTA Ministers and theColombian Trade Minister signed the EFTA-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The EFTAMinisters looked forward to settling outstandingissues in the negotiations with Peru, expecting anagreement to be signed in 2009. Similarly, theMinisters hoped that an FTA with the GCC could besigned in the coming months. They also welcomedthe EFTA-Russia Joint Study Group Report, whichconcluded that a broad-based bilateral FTA betweenthe EFTA States and the Russian Federation wouldsignificantly advance the economic relationshipbetween the Parties, and the Ministers expressedtheir wish to start preparations for the opening offree trade negotiations in 2009. EFTA Ministers

[1] SACU: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland.[2] GCC: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.

The EFTA Ministers and the Secretary-General met with Colombia at the summer Ministerial Meeting in Lugano: Kåre Bryn, EFTA Secretary-General , Rita Kieber-Beck, Ministerof Foreign Affairs, Liechtenstein, Annelene Svingen, State Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Norway, Luis Guillermo Plata, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Industry,Colombia, Doris Leuthard, Federal Councillor, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Switzerland and Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairsand External Trade of Iceland.

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welcomed the start of negotiations with India,underlining their interest in reaching an earlyconclusion, and reiterated their hope that negotiationswith Algeria would be concluded in the first quarterof 2009. The EFTA Ministers expressed theirreadiness to launch negotiations with Albania, Serbiaand Ukraine in the first half of 2009. Moreover, theMinisters were satisfied with the ongoing processwith Malaysia and confirmed EFTA’s interest inengaging in negotiations with Indonesia. They furtherdecided to establish an ad hoc Working Group onSocial and Labour Standards in FTAs.

At the summer meeting in June, the EEA EFTAMinisters welcomed the recent adoption of variousDecisions in the Agreement on the EuropeanEconomic Area (EEA). These included the Food LawPackage, which formalises EEA EFTA participation inthe European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); the EU’sGreenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme for theperiod 2008-2012; the right of citizens of the Unionand their family members to move and reside freelywithin the territory of the Member States according tothe provisions of the EEA Agreement; and the EUChemicals Regulation – REACH – including the EEAEFTA States’ participation in the new EuropeanChemicals Agency. Additionally, the Ministers stressedthe importance of continuous close cooperation withthe EU on Energy and Climate Change policies. Theyalso underlined the importance of the closeinvolvement of the EEA EFTA States in the furtherdevelopment of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policyand expressed their support for the comprehensiveintegrated approach. Overall, the Ministers reaffirmedthe importance of continued EEA EFTA contributionsto the decision-shaping process of EEA-relevant EUlegislation through participation in appropriateCommittees and Working Groups, and by submissionof EEA EFTA Comments. The Ministers alsowelcomed the active participation of the EEA EFTAStates in the EU Programmes for the period 2007-2013, which promotes common interests towards amore competitive and innovative Europe.

At their meeting in June, the EFTA Ministersreasserted their strong support for the WTO and themultilateral trading system. They highlighted the needfor a comprehensive approach to the Doha Roundnegotiations, and agreed that progress needed to bemade not only in agriculture, but also in other areaslike industrial goods, services and rules.

At their November meeting, the Ministers reiteratedtheir commitment to a successful conclusion of theDoha negotiations and agreed to support all efforts tomove the talks forward. They also emphasised theimportance of reinforcing the multilateral system andresisting protectionist tendencies in the context of thecurrent economic crisis.

At the summer Ministerial meeting in 2008, the EFTAMinisters met with the two EFTA advisory bodies, theParliamentary Committee and the ConsultativeCommittee, and discussed recent developments inEFTA’s free trade relations, the EEA, and the Dohanegotiations. The Ministers expressed theirappreciation for the high-quality input and useful workundertaken by the Committees.

At the Ministerial meeting in Geneva, the Ministersmet with the Parliamentary Committee and discussedrecent developments in EFTA’s free trade policies andEEA matters.

The Communiqués from the Ministerial meetings canbe found in the Appendices to this Report.

The EFTA Council atAmbassadorial Level

In the first half of 2008 Switzerland served as EFTACouncil Chair, and Iceland chaired the Council in thesecond half. The Council met ten times during 2008 atthe level of Heads of Permanent Delegations to EFTAin Geneva. The Council discussed EFTA's free traderelations with regard to potential new partners,ongoing free trade negotiations and the management ofexisting agreements. The Council approved a numberof technical cooperation projects and dealt withadministrative and budgetary matters.

The EFTA Convention

The EFTA Council is responsible for the VaduzConvention, which is regularly updated to reflectlegislative developments in the EEA Agreement andthe Swiss-EU agreements. In 2008, the Councilamended tables 2 and 3 of Annex D to the Convention,listing tariff concessions on agricultural products, toincrease the concessions for cheese and curd grantedby Norway and Liechtenstein/Switzerland to all EFTAStates to a tariff-free quota of 90 tons.


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In 2008, EFTA dynamically pursued its policy ofexpanding preferential trade relations and concludingfree trade agreements (FTAs) with partner countriesworldwide. By the end of the year, EFTA’s formaltrade relations beyond the European Union extended to42 countries at the following levels of engagement:

• Free Trade Agreements in force:EFTA had fully operational FTAs with nineteenpartner countries (Chile, Croatia, Egypt, Israel,

Jordan, Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Macedonia,Mexico, Morocco, Palestinian Authority,Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, and the SouthernAfrican Customs Union, comprising Botswana,Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland).

• Signed Free Trade Agreements:The FTA with Canada was signed in January 2008.Negotiations with Colombia were successfullyconcluded in June, and the agreement was formally

FREE TRADE RELATIONS

Joint Declarations and Free Trade Agreements between EFTAand Third Countries Fig. 1

Partner Joint Declaration Free Trade Agreement Signature Signature Entry into force

Albania 10 December 1992Algeria 12 December 2002Canada 26 January 2008Chile 26 June 2003 1 December 2004Colombia 17 May 2006 25 November 2008Croatia 19 June 2000 21 June 2001 1 April 2002Egypt 8 December 1995 27 January 2007 1 August 2007Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)[1] 23 May 2000Israel 17 September 1992 1 January 1993Jordan 19 June 1997 21 June 2001 1 September 2002Korea, Republic of 15 December 2005 1 September 2006Lebanon 19 June 1997 24 June 2004 1 January 2007Macedonia 29 March 1996 19 June 2000 1 May 2002Mexico 27 November 2000 1 July 2001Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR)[2] 12 December 2000Mongolia 28 July 2007Montenegro 12 December 2000Morocco 8 December 1995 19 June 1997 1 December 1999Palestinian Authority 16 December 1996 30 November 1998 1 July 1999Peru 24 April 2006Southern African Customs Union(SACU)[3] 26 June 2006 1 May 2008Serbia 12 December 2000Singapore 26 June 2002 1 January 2003Tunisia 8 December 1995 17 December 2004 1 June 2005Turkey 10 December 1991 1 April 1992Ukraine 19 June 2000

[1] Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Quatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.[2] Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.[3] Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland.


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signed in November. Both FTAs are in the processof being ratified by the Parties.

• Free Trade Negotiations:EFTA was in FTA negotiations with ten countries(Algeria, India, Peru, Thailand, and the GulfCooperation Council comprising Bahrain, Kuwait,Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United ArabEmirates).

• Joint Feasibility Studies:Reports by Joint Study Groups on closer traderelations were finalised with Indonesia and theRussian Federation.

• Joint Declarations:Joint Declarations on Cooperation existed with ninecountries with which EFTA has not yet entered intofree trade negotiations (Albania, Mongolia,Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and theMERCOSUR States comprising Argentina, Brazil,Paraguay and Uruguay).

Main Developments

Southern African Customs Union(SACU)

On 1 May 2008, the FTA between the EFTA States andthe five SACU member countries (Botswana, Lesotho,Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) entered intoforce. It represents the four EFTA States’ first freetrade agreement with another trading bloc, their firstwith partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and the first witha Least Developed Country (Lesotho).

The EFTA-SACU agreement focuses on theliberalisation of trade in goods. The dismantling ofcustoms duties is being carried out in an asymmetricalway: while EFTA is granting duty-free market access onmost products as of the entry into force of the FTA, theSACU States will remove tariffs gradually until 2014 orafter a joint review by the Parties, depending on theproducts concerned. The different levels of developmentof the Parties are also taken into account by thepossibility of special treatment for Botswana, Lesotho,Namibia and Swaziland, and by setting out principles ofeconomic cooperation and technical assistance.

Bilateral arrangements between SACU and theindividual EFTA States cover basic agriculturalproducts and form part of the instruments establishing

the free trade area. Furthermore, the agreementcontains provisions on the protection of intellectualproperty rights and on anti-competitive practices.Within five years after the FTA enters into force, theJoint Committee established thereunder will examinean extension of the scope to trade in services,investment and government procurement.

In 2007, the EFTA States exported goods worth 850million USD to the SACU countries, withpharmaceutical products and machinery constitutingthe leading items. EFTA’s imports from SACUamounted to 1.6 billion USD, with precious stones andmetals being the main product categories.

Colombia

On 25 November 2008 the EFTA States and Colombiasigned a free trade agreement in Geneva. Thenegotiations leading to this FTA lasted one year andwere concluded in June 2008, after five rounds. Upuntil the fourth round, in what was a novel process forEFTA, talks with Colombia and with Peru wereconducted jointly, before concluding separate FTAswith the two countries.

The FTA with Colombia is EFTA’s third in LatinAmerica, alongside Mexico and Chile. Itscomprehensive coverage ranges from trade inindustrial and agricultural goods to trade in services,investment, government procurement, competition andintellectual property rights. Basic agricultural productsare covered by bilateral arrangements betweenColombia and the respective EFTA States. Two-waymerchandise trade between EFTA and Colombiareached 720 million USD in 2007.

EFTA Ministers signing the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia on 25November 2008.


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India

With total two-way merchandise trade of 3.6 billionUSD in 2007, as well as substantial levels of bilateraltrade in services and direct investments, India isalready an important economic partner of the EFTAStates. As shown in the joint EFTA-India studyundertaken in 2007, the relationship holds significantpotential, and a broad-based free trade agreementwould create an effective basis for strengthened tradeand investment linkages between both sides.

In January 2008, Ministers from the EFTA States andIndia endorsed the report of the Joint Study Group andagreed to prepare for the start of free tradenegotiations. The first full round of negotiations tookplace in October 2008 in New Delhi, followed by asecond round in December in Geneva. The Parties arecommitted to continuing, and if possible finalising, thenegotiating process during 2009.

Other PartnersIn 2008 EFTA conducted a joint feasibility study withthe Russian Federation, examining the potential forcloser trade and investment relations. Completed inNovember, the report by the Joint EFTA-Russia StudyGroup concluded that a comprehensive free tradeagreement would significantly advance the economicrelationship for both sides. EFTA Ministers endorsedthe report on 25 November 2008 and expressed theirwillingness to start preparing for free tradenegotiations in 2009.

At their meeting in November 2008, the EFTAMinisters also reviewed economic relations with otherEuropean countries and declared their interest andreadiness to commence free trade negotiations withAlbania, Serbia and Ukraine. The basis for enhancedeconomic partnerships with all three States wasestablished by earlier Joint Declarations onCooperation.

In the Mediterranean region, EFTA pursued its freetrade negotiations with Algeria, with a view tocompleting its FTA network in the area. Three fullrounds of negotiations were held in 2008, and theParties aim at finalising the negotiating process inearly 2009.

In the Middle East, the negotiations with the sixmember states of the Gulf Cooperation Council weresubstantively concluded in April 2008, after five

rounds. The legal review of the negotiated texts andclarifications of other issues continued throughout thesecond half of the year. EFTA expects the FTA with theGCC States to be signed in the course of 2009.

In Southeast Asia, EFTA continued its respectivedialogues on closer economic relations with Indonesiaand Malaysia. In November 2008, EFTA Ministersreiterated their readiness to engage in negotiations withIndonesia on the basis of the recommendations by theJoint Study Group of 2006, and expressed their hopethat the suspended negotiations with Thailand couldresume at the earliest possible opportunity.

In a further important development, the FTA withCanada was signed in January 2008 in Davos,Switzerland. After the EU, the United States, Chinaand Japan, Canada is EFTA’s fifth largest tradingpartner. Total two-way trade merchandise tradeamounted to 10.9 billion USD in 2007. The agreementis foreseen to enter into force in mid-2009.

In Latin America, in addition to the signing of the freetrade agreement with Colombia, a final round ofnegotiations with Peru took place in October 2008 inLima. Following a legal review and settlement of thelast outstanding issues, EFTA hopes that the Partieswill be able to sign the agreement in 2009.

The EFTA States and Peru completed the last round of FTA negotiations on 31 October 2008. The spokespersons for the two sides were AmbassadorMarie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, Switzerland, and Vice-Minister EduardoFerreyros, Peru.


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Management of EFTA FreeTrade Agreements

In 2008, the EFTA States held Joint Committeemeetings with seven free trade partners (Chile, Egypt,Israel, Republic of Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, and thePalestinian Authority). On these occasions, EFTA andits partner countries reviewed the functioning of therespective agreements. They also assessed the need foradjustments and extensions of commitments in light ofrecent developments. As a result, several decisions toupdate the legal texts of FTAs were taken, andsubstantive follow-up work was agreed on, inparticular with Israel (FTA partner since 1993) andMexico (partner since 2001). Furthermore, work onpossible future amendments to existing FTAs was alsopursued with other partners, such as Singapore.

Joint Committee Meetings in 2008 Fig. 2

Free Trade Partner Venue and date of meetingJoint EFTA-Palestinian Authority Committee (2nd) Geneva, 13 March 2008

Joint EFTA-Chile Committee (2nd) Santiago de Chile, 8 April 2008

Joint EFTA-Korea Committee (1st) Seoul, 28 May 2008

Joint EFTA-Israel Committee (6th) Crans-Montana, 12 June 2008

Joint EFTA-Mexico Committee (4th) Geneva, 23 September 2008

Joint EFTA-Egypt Committee (1st) Geneva, 4 November 2008

Joint EFTA-Macedonia Committee (2nd) Geneva, 28 November 2008

The second Joint EFTA-Macedonia Committee was co-chaired by AmbassadorNorbert Frick from Liechtenstein and Macedonian Deputy Minister of EconomyMetodij Hadzi-Vaskov.


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In the framework of EFTA’s technical assistanceactivities, projects undertaken in 2008 included:

• seminars in Chile, Indonesia and the Palestinianterritories on how to export to the EFTA Sates;

• a seminar in Indonesia on fisheries; • a seminar in Lebanon on sanitary and phytosanitary

measures; • a seminar with the Palestinian Authority on rules of

origin and verification procedures; and• scholarships at the World Trade Institute in Bern,

Switzerland for officials from Tunisia.

The budget allocated to these activities amounted to500 000 Swiss francs. However, this figure does notinclude bilateral programmes and initiativesundertaken by individual EFTA Member Statesalongside EFTA activities.

Relations with WTO

Under the WTO’s transparency mechanism forbilateral and regional trade agreements (see box onpage 12), EFTA submitted an early notificationregarding the start of negotiations with India in 2008.EFTA also filed a notification for the signing of theagreement with Canada and the entry into force ofthe FTA with the SACU States. Moreover, the EFTA-Egypt and EFTA-Tunisia agreements were examinedby the WTO’s Committee on Regional TradeAgreements in November.

EFTA’s Technical AssistanceEFTA’s economic cooperation and technical assistanceactivities cover a range of projects and programmesfunded through the organisation’s budget. The mainobjective of these activities is to prepare prospectivepartners for free trade relations with EFTA and to assistexisting FTA partners in the implementation of their freetrade agreements. The programmes and projects areprimarily directed at developing countries and economiesin transition.

EFTA arranges training, seminars, workshops and studyvisits adapted to the particular needs of the partnercountries. Areas where EFTA provides assistance includetrade facilitation and trade promotion, customs and originmatters, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and

phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, services, andstatistics. Moreover, EFTA participates in EU technical assistance programmes and in projects aimed at thirdcountries, especially with regard to customs matters, standardisation and statistics.

Technical assistance activities are organized by the EFTA Secretariat. Experts from EFTA Member States, theSecretariat and partner countries implement the projects.

In March 2008 EFTA co-organised a Technical Assistance seminar in Indonesia.


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WTO’s Monitoring of Free Trade AgreementsMost-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment is a key principle underlying the multilateral trading system. In particular,MFN treatment means that a lower customs duty offered by one Member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)to another country must be extended to all other Members of the WTO. However, a country may enter into a freetrade agreement or customs union granting more favourable treatment to the participating States than to the otherWTO Members if it observes certain conditions stipulated in the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreements, toensure the complementarity of the FTA with the WTO system (notably Article XXIV of the GATT, for trade ingoods, and Article V of the GATS, for trade in services).

By the end of 2008, the WTO had been notified of a total of 421 free trade agreements (or “bilateral/regional tradeagreements”). The WTO General Council established a new transparency mechanism for such agreements in2006. This mechanism provides for the early announcement and notification to the WTO of any agreement, aswell as for consideration by the WTO membership of such agreements on the basis of a “Factual Presentation”prepared by the WTO Secretariat. The factual presentations provide an overview of the main provisions of theFTA as well as information on the overall liberalisation undertaken by the Parties within the agreement. Inaddition, the WTO is to receive notification with regard to any changes affecting the implementation or theoperation of an FTA.

The current transparency mechanism is being implemented on a provisional basis – a permanent one is to beadopted as part of the overall results of the ongoing Doha round of negotiations. The EFTA Member States arecommitted to the rules and the implementation of this mechanism, in line with their overall priority given to themultilateral trading system. Since the introduction of the 2006 transparency mechanism, and alongside numerousnotifications, three free trade agreements have been considered by the WTO Committee on Regional TradeAgreements (CRTA), namely EFTA-Chile, EFTA-Egypt and EFTA-Tunisia.

FTA Network - Across Europe and beyond


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THE EEA AGREEMENT

The EEA Council

The EEA Council was chaired by the EU side during thefirst half of the year, and by EFTA in the latter half. In2008 the EEA Council met on 27 May and 13November. The EEA Council reviewed the ongoingwork in EEA cooperation and noted the progress reportsfrom the EEA Joint Committee. The Ministersconfirmed the positive overall functioning anddevelopment of the EEA Agreement and appreciated thefact that new acts were being quickly incorporated intothe Agreement. They also discussed the current financial

crisis and the EEA Financial Mechanisms; anorientation debate also took place on the EuropeanCommission’s Communication on “the European Unionand the Arctic Region”. The Conclusions from thesemeetings are found in the appendices to this Report.

The EEA Joint Committee

During the year, the Joint Committee discussed theappropriate level of participation for the EEA EFTAStates in the European Institute of Gender Equality, aswell as access for EEA EFTA citizens to work in theEuropean Commission Executive Agencies. On 28November 2008 the Icelandic Government presented aNotification of protective measures under Article 43 ofthe EEA Agreement.

Among the decisions adopted by the Joint Committeewere: the Decision providing for EEA EFTAparticipation in REACH; the Decision on the EuropeanInstitute of Innovation and Technology; and theDirective on the right of citizens of the European Unionand their family members to move and reside freelywithin the territory of the Member States. Inconjunction with the latter a General Declaration wasadopted stating that immigration policy is not a part ofthe EEA Agreement.

The Joint Committee met 8 times in 2008, andadopted 130 decisions incorporating 218 legal acts.

Meeting of the Standing Committee of the EFTA States and the EEA Joint Committee in Brussels on 4 July 2008.

The Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) brings together the 27 EUMembers and three of the EFTA countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway –in a single internal market.


The Standing Committee ofthe EFTA States

In the first half of the year, Norway chaired theStanding Committee and Liechtenstein served as chairin the second half. The agendas and conclusions of theStanding Committee meetings are available on theEFTA website.

Legal and InstitutionalMatters

Subcommittee V met 6 times in 2008. The Committeedevoted considerable efforts to analysing the LisbonTreaty and its potential implications for the EEAAgreement.

Also, Subcommittee V addressed numerous otherissues in 2008. The Committee started work on ananalysis of authorisation procedures for placingproducts on the market and will continue with this in2009. Work was completed on the analysis of theCompetition rules in the coal and steel sectors andthe streamlining of the procedures regardingDeclarations and Statements to Decisions of theEEA Joint Committee. In addition, a comprehensivenote containing a case study of the EEA two-pillarsystem was finalised.

Moreover, the Subcommittee revisited the issue ofthe publication procedures for the EEA Supplementand the implementation of the Decision of theStanding Committee of the EFTA States on publicaccess to documents.

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Last but not least, the EEA EFTA States continued tomonitor other horizontal policy developments in theEU in light of how they may affect the EEAAgreement. To this end, in 2008 the Secretariatprepared papers on the Single Market Review and theBetter Regulation Initiative.

Free Movement of Goods

A substantial part of EU legislation concerns the freemovement of goods, a principle which is appliedthroughout the Internal Market. This does not mean thatall products can circulate freely. They must conform torequirements set for the protection of legitimateinterests, such as health, safety and the environment. Inaddition, in order to ensure a fair and efficient market,a wide range of legislative measures have beenestablished in the fields of competition, state aid andpublic procurement.

Subcommittee I prepares for the integration into theEEA Agreement of legislation that relates to all aspectsof the free movement of goods, competition, state aid,public procurement, intellectual property rights andenergy matters. The work of Subcommittee I is assistedby 14 Working Groups and 26 Expert Groups.

Under the EFTA Council two committees work on issuesrelated to goods, the Committee on Technical Barriers toTrade and the Origin and Customs Experts Committee.They met several times in 2008 and were involved,among other things, in revisions of parts of the EFTAVaduz Convention, standardisation and conformityassessment issues, requests for funding of joint EU-EFTAquality infrastructure projects geared towards thirdcountries, and coordination of relevant customs matters.

The Lugano ConventionIn order to revise and update the Lugano Convention (Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement ofjudgments in civil and commercial matters), the Council of the European Union in 2002 authorised theCommission to open negotiations with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The negotiations were opened with anexchange of views in September 2003 and were suspended until 2006. Negotiations on the formal revision of theLugano Convention re-opened at the diplomatic session in Lugano from 9 to 12 October 2006. On 30 October2007, the revised Lugano Convention was signed in Lugano.

The EFTA Secretariat continued to follow the work under the Lugano Convention and participated as an observerinstitution in the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Lugano Convention.


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Veterinary, Food and AgriculturalIssuesThe veterinary and food legislation in the EEAAgreement applies only to Iceland and Norway.Since 2007, Liechtenstein has been subject to theSwiss-EU Agricultural Agreement as regardslegislation in these areas.

Veterinary Issues

In 2008, the EEA Joint Committee incorporated theimplementation rules regarding control andsurveillance of the animal disease ‘bluetongue’ andseveral amendments of the Transmissible SpongiformEncephalopaties (TSE) Regulation, as well as anumber of other acts concerning animal diseases andanimal products.

The Food Law Package, including key legislation ongeneral food law and on the European Food SafetyAuthority (EFSA), a regulatory framework for animalby-products, hygiene issues and official food and feedcontrol, was incorporated into the EEA Agreement in2007. An extension of certain veterinary legislation toIceland was also part of the Package. Parliamentaryprocedures were finalised in Norway in June 2008 andin Iceland they are still ongoing. The Package isexpected to enter into force in 2009.

During 2008, approximately 60 veterinary acts undersimplified procedures were identified.

Animal Feed

The Working Group on Feedingstuffs met twice in2008, and discussed, among other things, legislationwhich had recently been adopted in the EU. Thisincludes implementing rules for the authorisation offeed additives, the revision of the maximum limit forundesirable substances, and methods of sampling andanalysis. The Working Group also prepared EEAEFTA comments to a new proposal for a regulation onthe placing on the market and the use of feed, whichwere taken into account by the Council of theEuropean Union. All acts incorporated during 2008were related to authorisations for additives under thelegal framework for additives in animal feed.

Food

The two most important regulations in the food area thatwere incorporated into the EEA Agreement in 2008 dealtwith nutrition and health claims made on foods and withthe addition of vitamins and minerals to food. Theseregulations are not yet in force in the EEA EFTA MemberStates, as parliamentary procedures must first befinalised. Several legal acts concerning food contactmaterials were also incorporated into the EEA Agreementin 2008, as well as a directive concerning infant formulae.

Meeting of Subcommittee I on the Free Movement of Goods, 16 September 2008, at the EFTA Secretariat in Brussels.


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The EFSA Food Law Regulation, which is the newgeneral legal basis in the food area, is still awaiting entryinto force (see page 16 under Veterinary Issues).

During 2008, discussions continued between the EEAEFTA Member States and the Commission on theintegration of the Novel Foods Regulation of 1997, theRegulations of 2003 on genetically modified food andfeed, and the traceability and labelling of geneticallymodified organisms (GMOs).

The Commission adopted two important legislativeproposals on novel foods and food information to theconsumers in 2008. The Expert Group on Foodstuffsprepared EEA EFTA comments to these two proposals.The Expert Group on Organic Production continuedpreparations for the incorporation into the EEAAgreement of the new framework legislation regardingorganic production, which entered into force in the EUon 1 January 2009.

Trade in Agricultural Products

Throughout 2008, Norway met several times with theEuropean Commission to discuss extendedconcessions on trade in agricultural products, based onArticle 19 of the EEA Agreement. Negotiations will

continue in 2009. Meanwhile, Iceland continued itsnegotiations with the Commission with regard toprocessed agricultural products. The outcome of thesenegotiations, which are expected to be completed soon,is foreseen to be implemented in Protocol 3 of the EEAAgreement as a bilateral regime.

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

EFTA deals with the removal of technical barriers totrade in two fora: the EFTA Committee on TechnicalBarriers to Trade (TBT), which reports to the EFTACouncil (i.e. including Switzerland), and the WorkingGroup on Technical Barriers to Trade, whichcoordinates the assessment of EEA relevance andacceptability of new EU legislation to the three EEAEFTA Member States. Switzerland is an observerwithin this Working Group. The TBT Committee andthe Working Group each met five times in 2008.

The main issues in 2008 were the EFTA study oncertification and marks, and the New LegislativeFramework (NLF) for the marketing of products adoptedin the EU in July 2008. Other topics of interest werestandardisation policy issues, technical assistance projectsto third countries in the field of quality infrastructure anda mutual recognition agreement with Turkey.

EFTA study on Certification and Marks in EuropeThe report from the EFTA study on “Certification and Marks in Europe” waspublished on 21 April 2008. The main objective of the study was to create a betterunderstanding of crucial parts of the market for marks in Europe with a view toimproving the functioning of the Internal Market. Multiple certification, with orwithout marks, can amount to a barrier to trade for SMEs.

The study sheds light on certification leading to the affixing of marks in selectedsectors, with special emphasis on what is happening at national level. Schemesoperating at European level were also covered. The study shows that there is a needfor a shift in policy focus, from marks to certification (and marks). The study alsoidentifies several success factors for European marking schemes such as thewithdrawal of equivalent national schemes and strong support from manufacturers,scheme operators and public authorities.

On 11 June 2008, in cooperation with the European Commission and the European Parliament, EFTA held a workshopentitled "Certification and marking for Europe." The workshop was attended by 100 representatives of importantstakeholders. The political aim of the Workshop was to make a contribution to the free movement of safe products inEurope, where a balance is to be struck between free movement and the level of certification required.

The executive summary and the full report, as well as the presentations from the workshop, can be downloadedfrom the EFTA website: www.efta.int/publications


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Motor Vehicles

In February 2008 a regulation concerning type approvalof motor vehicles with respect to emissions from lightpassenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6)and on access to vehicle repair and maintenanceinformation was incorporated into the EEA agreement.In 2008, the Commission followed up the adoption ofDirective 2007/46/EC (framework directive) with aregulation replacing several annexes in the Directive.The adopted system establishes a framework for theapproval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and ofsystems, components and separate technical unitsintended for such vehicles. The framework directive stillawaits incorporation into the EEA agreement. In totalseven acts concerning vehicles were incorporated intothe EEA Agreement in 2008.

Medicinal Products

On 2 October 2008, the EFTA Secretary-Generalparticipated in the 3rd and final meeting of thePharmaceutical Forum on behalf of the EFTA

countries. The Forum was established in 2005 by theCommission to examine the competitiveness of theEuropean-based pharmaceutical industry and relatedpublic health issues. Among the more than 40presentations during the meeting, prepared remarks bythe Secretary-General on an issue related to access ofmedicines in small markets was well-received by theaudience. The attendance at this final meeting of theForum was particularly high, with all 27 EU MemberStates represented.

In November 2008, after several rounds of discussionsand requests for clarification triggered by theadaptations proposed by the EEA EFTA MemberStates, the Secretariat officially sent the 2004Pharmaceutical Package to the Commission. ThePackage consists of a set of EU legal acts, essentiallyupdating rules on the authorisation and supervision ofmedicinal products. The incorporation of this long-pending Package into the EEA Agreement, scheduledfor early 2009, will allow for the parallel incorporationof several other key pharmaceutical acts dealingamong other things with paediatric issues.

Technical Cooperation in the Field of Quality InfrastructureThe four EFTA States have a long-standing policy of contributing financially and participating actively in EUtechnical cooperation programmes in the field of quality infrastructure. Quality infrastructure refers to all aspectsof metrology, standardisation, accreditation, market surveillance, testing, quality management, inspection andcertification that have a bearing on conformity assessment.

The overall objective of these jointly financed EU/EFTA programmes consists of facilitating intra-regional tradeand overall free movement of goods, with a view to improving the competitiveness of the economy in the targetedregion and preparing the beneficiaries for future EU/EEA accession negotiations.

In September 2008 EFTA and the Commission successfully completed a 16-month regional project running under theCommunity Assistance for Reconstruction, Developmentand Stabilisation (CARDS) framework, which aims tofurther strengthen cooperation between qualityinfrastructure institutions in the Western Balkans. Thebeneficiaries of this project were Albania, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. In view ofthe project's positive outcome, the EFTA Council decidedto support a follow-up initiative running under the newEU Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Instrumentframework. This new €2 million regional project,scheduled to start in early 2009, will also include Turkeyin addition to the Western Balkans. EFTA will have a seaton the Steering Committee of this project.

July 2008: Final Steering Committee meeting in Koper (Slovenia) of the CARDS2006-2008 Quality Infrastructure project co-financed by EFTA.


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Chemicals

The main issue in 2008 was the incorporation of theREACH Regulation. This regulation requiresproducers and importers of chemicals to registersubstances and to provide a set of safety testing resultsbefore the products are placed on the market. The mosthazardous substances will require authorisation inorder to be legally placed on the market. The EFTASecretariat worked throughout the year to secureaccess to all the relevant committees set up under theEuropean Chemical Agency (ECHA) for the EEAEFTA Member States.

The EEA EFTA States adopted the REACH Regulationin March 2008 in the EEA Joint Committee and thenational parliaments finalised their procedures in June.This ensured that companies located in these countriescould pre-register their chemicals in the same way asbusinesses in the EU Member States. The deadline forsuch pre-registrations was set at 1 December 2008, andcompanies that pre-registered their products by thenwill benefit from transitional periods ranging from 3.5to 11 years. Companies that did not meet this deadline

will have to submit a full registration file before beingable to place their products on the market.

In total 13 acts on chemicals were incorporated into theagreement in 2008.

Mutual Recognition Agreements

Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) areinstruments that facilitate market access to thirdcountries by reducing the costs and time associated withobtaining product certifications. Protocol 12 of the EEAAgreement ensures the smooth functioning and thehomogeneity of the EEA market with regard to MRAs.In April 2008 the EEA EFTA Member States and Canadacompleted the revision of parts of their MRA, inparticular the chapters on Telecommunications TerminalEquipment and Electromagnetic Compatibility. Theimplementation of the agreed changes is scheduled to becompleted in 2009. The EFTA TBT Committee also heldan additional round of negotiations with Turkey on aprotocol to the EFTA-Turkey Free Trade Agreement onMutual Recognition of Conformity Assessment in 2008.

Market Surveillance and Consumer Product Safety

A key issue in the New Legislative Framework for themarketing of products is the obligation of the EFTAstates to get ready for the implementation of improvedmarket surveillance instruments. Through the TBTCommittee, initiatives such as the sharing ofexperiences and the development of common positionsare discussed and agreed. EFTA States have furtherbeen active in meetings conducted by the SeniorOfficials Group for Standardisation and ConformityAssessment policy (SOGS). They also joined therecently formed SOGS Market Surveillance Group.

The EFTA countries participate in the work ofPROSAFE, the product safety enforcement forum ofEurope, which consists of an informal network ofmarket surveillance enforcement authorities. Thisorganisation was successful in its application for EUfinancing for an extensive three-year project entitledEMARS – enhancing market surveillance through bestpractices – which commenced in 2006 and was due tobe completed at the end of 2008. The secretariat forthis project is located in the EFTA Secretariat buildingin Brussels. A two-day PROSAFE meeting on theEMARS project was held in the EFTA premises on 28-29 October and addressed practical proposals for jointactions in 2009-2011. The EFTA States are activelyinvolved in this process and they also participated in

Following the incorporation of the REACH Regulation, companies in the EEA EFTAStates were free to participate in the pre-registration of chemicals.

© European commission - DG enterprise and Industry - R4


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the International Product Safety Week, organised byDG SANCO on 17-21 November 2008. Both thePROSAFE meeting and the International ProductSafety Week meetings were attended by the EFTASecretariat and reports were given to the EFTAcountries via the TBT Committee.

Another key issue in the New Legislative Framework(NLF) is the strengthening of accreditation at nationaland European level. As a consequence of the NLF, theEFTA Secretariat is preparing for the signing ofGuidelines of Co-operation between the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA), the EuropeanCommission and EFTA. This agreement will be followedby an annual operating grant agreement between the EAand the Commission and between the EA and EFTA.

European Standardisation

The EFTA countries and the European Commission givefinancial support to the work carried out by the EuropeanStandardisation Organisations (ESOs) – CEN (EuropeanCommittee for Standardisation), CENELEC (EuropeanCommittee for Electrotechnical Standardisation) andETSI (European Telecommunications StandardisationInstitute). Like the Commission, EFTA has the formalstatus of Counsellor to CEN and ETSI, and is entitled toparticipate in the Administrative Boards of theseorganisations, as well as the General Assemblies of thethree ESOs. In their respective General Assemblies,CEN and CENELEC decided to enhance cooperationand agreed to have a common Director General in 2009.

In 2008, the Working Group on TBT continued to beinvolved in the preparation of mandates for the ESOsfor new standardisation activities to facilitate thefunctioning of the Internal Market. The mandates thatwere approved in 2008 mainly concerned consumerproduct safety, telecommunications, ICT, bio-basedproducts and environmental issues. The EFTA TBTCommittee decided to support the prolongation of aEuropean seconded standardisation expert in China,for 3 new years from July 2009, and also gave itssupport to the placement of a similar expert in India in2009. The Committee also follows the development ofa project aiming at establishing an EU-China internetinformation-sharing platform for standardisation.

In parallel with the Commission, EFTA also signedAnnual Operating Grants with the three ESOs tocontribute to the operational costs of the CentralSecretariats of the organisations. EFTA's 5% financialcommitment to standardisation activities amounted toalmost one million euros in 2008. EFTA continued itsfinancial support to ANEC, the European Associationfor the Coordination of Consumer Representation inStandardisation, and ECOS, the EuropeanEnvironmental Citizens Organisation forStandardisation, which represent consumers andenvironmental interests in standardisation. It alsocontinued to provide financial support to EOTA, theEuropean Organisation for Technical Approvals(relating to the construction sector). At the end of 2008the Commission adopted the final proposal for newFramework Partnership Agreements for futurestandardisation activities, and the EFTA Secretariat hasbeen preparing the parallel agreements for approval bythe EFTA countries as early as possible in 2009.

Energy

The EEA EFTA Member States closely followed the3rd liberalisation package, launched by theCommission in September 2007, the Climate andEnergy Package presented in January 2008, and theSecond Strategic Energy Review which theCommission published on 13 November 2008.

Three acts in the field of energy were incorporated intothe EEA Agreement during 2008: a CommissionDecision 2006/770/EC concerning congestionmanagement of the infrastructure, a CommissionDecision on the methodology to be applied for thecollection of gas and electricity prices charged toindustrial end-users, and a Regulation concerningaccess to the natural gas transmission networks.

Senior Officer Tore N. Thomassen represents EFTA at the CEN General Assembly inBucharest, Tuesday 24 June 2008.


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One additional act, a Directive on security ofelectricity supply and infrastructure investment,entered into force during 2008. This Directive wasincorporated into the EEA Agreement in 2007 andentered into force in November 2008.

Renewables and energy efficiency were high on theagenda for the Working Group on Energy Matters. InApril 2008 the Group held a separate meeting with theCommission on the proposal for a modification of theDirective on the promotion of the use of energy fromrenewable sources. The Working Group also examinedthe Decision on harmonisation of efficiency standardsand the Directive on energy end-use efficiency andenergy services. The EEA EFTA Member Statesfollowed up on developments for the Eco-designDirective by participating in the Eco-designConsultative Forum. The Working Group workedtowards incorporating the Energy Star Regulation intothe EEA Agreement and also made efforts to enter intoan exchange of letters with the Environment ProtectionAgency in the United States on this matter. TheRegulation and the agreement with the US EPAconcern a voluntary labelling system that aims atidentifying certain standards regarding energyefficiency in office equipment.

Competition Policy

The Working Group on Competition Policy developeda draft agreement amending Protocol 4 to theSurveillance and Court Agreement on the functionsand powers of the EFTA Surveillance Authority in thefield of competition. This work was delayed due to theneed to wait for a revision of the mergerimplementation regulation, which was published inOctober 2008. The Working Group also prepared forthe incorporation into the EEA Agreement of an actconcerning settlement procedures in cartel cases, andone act concerning competition in the markets intelecommunications terminal equipment. The WorkingGroup observed closely several initiatives by the EU,in particular the White Paper on damages actions forbreach of the EC antitrust rules. Finally, the start of thereviews of the merger regulation, the modernisationregulation and the block exemptions were monitoredby the Working Group.

State Aid

The EEA EFTA Member States continued to closelyfollow the State Aid Action Plan which was launchedby the Commission in 2005 and is in effect until 2009.

Within the framework of the State Aid Action Plan, theGeneral Block Exemption 2008/800/EC wasincorporated into the EEA Agreement and entered intoforce in November 2008.

The EEA EFTA Member States participated actively inmultilateral state aid meetings in 2008, concerning theDraft Communication from the Commission on theapplication of State aid rules to public servicebroadcasting, State aid concerning new temporarymeasures in the context of financial crises, and on theEnforcement Notice. The EEA EFTA Member Statesparticipated in the Commission State Aid seminar on21 November 2008.

Public ProcurementThe Working Group on Public Procurement monitoredprogress on the Commission's proposal for a directive ondefence and sensitive security procurement. Meanwhile,the EEA EFTA Member States discussed theincorporation into the EEA Agreement of the RemediesDirective. This Directive improves the national reviewprocedures that businesses can use when they considerthat a public authority has awarded a contract unfairly.

The EEA EFTA Member States also participated in theEuropean Commission’s Advisory Committeemeetings during which some of the topics discussedwere: green procurement, public procurement andantitrust, a draft Guide related to the insertion of thesocial meanings in the public procurement, andmeasures to make access to public works contractseasier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Intellectual PropertyThe Working Group on Intellectual Property followeddevelopments with regard to a levy reform and thereview of the EC legal copyright acquis. In particular italso monitored the Commission's work on the future ofthe Patent Policy in Europe. The main event in 2008was the adoption of an Industrial Property Strategy forEurope in June. The strategy is meant to spark thedebate and work on several important issues related toindustrial rights. The main element of this strategyrelates to the work to establish a European PatentStrategy, and then a sustainable and efficient litigationprocess. The Working Group also closely monitoredthe progress of various EU initiatives againstcounterfeiting, particularly the EU’s Action Planagainst Counterfeiting and the Anti-CounterfeitingAgreement (ACTA) and counterfeiting of medicines.


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Customs Matters and TradeFacilitation

A long-standing development in the customs field, notonly within the EFTA administrations but globally, is aclear shift of focus from the collection of VAT andcustoms duties towards the application of non-tariffmeasures, especially those related to security andsafety in the supply chain.

Safety and security matters

In 2008, the EFTA Secretariat kept up to date withdevelopments regarding separate bilateralnegotiations between the European Commission andNorway and Switzerland on the initiative to integratethe two EFTA countries into the EU securitystandards of the international supply chain. The mostimportant element of these standards for the EFTAcountries is the requirement of security data (pre-arrival/pre-departure declarations) to be submitted tothe EU customs authorities before goods physicallyarrive in or leave the customs territory of the Union.Integration into the EU security standards means awaiver of the obligation to present pre-arrival/pre-departure declarations.

Free Trade Agreements

The continued integration into the pan-Euro-Medfree trade system of the Mediterranean partnercountries, i.e., Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan,Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank and Gaza Strip,Syria, Tunisia and Turkey, was an important topic for

the Committee of Origin and Customs Experts in2008. The Ministers of the Euro-MediterraneanPartnership decided in 2007 to extend the Pan-Euro-Med cumulation system to include the WesternBalkan countries. The necessary amendments in theorigin protocols to establish the legal basis for thisextension have been subject to delays. In 2008 theCommittee of Origin and Customs experts addressedcustoms matters related to free trade agreements withthird country partners and open technical customsissues among EFTA countries.

Conventions on Common Transit and theSimplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods

The purpose of these conventions, to which the EFTAcountries and the EU Member States are thecontracting parties, is to simplify the customsclearance formalities upon border-crossing. Theadaptation of the convention is necessary in order toreflect the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS)as the standard procedure was finalised in the first halfof 2008 and entered into force on 1 July 2008.

Trade Facilitation

The EFTA Group of Experts on Efficient TradeProcedures (GEETP) discussed cooperation on tradefacilitation matters with EFTA partner countries. Thegrowing complexity of trade facilitation tasks atnational and international levels and the increasingimportance of such tasks have necessitated athorough review of the functioning of the GEETP.The Group should aim to ensure mutual exchange ofinformation concerning such actions, and coordinateand provide for their input to the negotiations of freetrade agreements.

Free Movement of Servicesand Capital

Subcommittee II on the Free Movement of Capital andServices under the EFTA Standing Committeecoordinates matters of financial services, transport,information and telecommunications services,audiovisual services, postal services and company law,as well as data protection.

Five Working Groups report to Subcommittee II. Inaddition, an Ad Hoc Working Group on Services in theInternal Market reports to Subcommittees II, III and IV.

Knut Hermansen, Subcommittee I, gives a presentation for the politicians andrepresentatives of the trade community in conjunction with a COCE/WGCMmeeting in the Faeroe Islands.


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Services

The Ad Hoc Working Group on Services wasestablished in March 2004 to follow and assess theDirective on Services in the Internal Market in thecontext of the EEA Agreement. The Directive aims tocreate a real internal market in services by removingadministrative and legal barriers to the cross-borderprovision of services between Member States. Afteractively following the political developments in 2006,the Working Group now prepares the implementationwork and the work necessary for the incorporation ofthe Directive into the EEA Agreement. The Group'smandate was prolonged to May 2009.

Financial Services

In 2008 the Working Group on Financial Servicesassisted in the incorporation of the Banking Directiveson Capital Requirement and Capital Adequacy, thePayment Services Directive, and implementing themeasures of the Transparency Directive and theBanking Directives into the EEA Agreement.

The Working Group also considered and discussed anumber of new EU policy initiatives and proposalsof importance to the EEA EFTA States. A seminar onthe proposal for the new insurance frameworkDirective on Solvency II was organised in Iceland on30 May 2008, with stakeholders from the EEA EFTAStates, the Commission, and the Committee ofEuropean Insurance and Occupational PensionsSupervisors (CEIOPS).

During 2008 the Working Groups monitored someimportant proposals, including the Amendments to theSettlement Finality and Financial Collateral Directives,Codification and revision of the UCITS (Undertakingsfor Collective Investment in Transferable Securities)Directive, Amendments to the Banking Directives,Revision of the E-Money Directive, Amendments tothe Cross-border Payment in Euros Regulation,Amendments to the Deposit Guarantee SchemeDirective and a New Regulation for Credit RatingAgencies.

Company Law

In 2008, the Working Group on Company Lawconsidered a number of new policy initiatives andproposals emanating from the EU. The WorkingGroup followed with particular attention theCommission's proposal for a European Private

Company (SPE) and a series of amendmentsconcerning accounting standards.

Information andTelecommunications ServicesThe discussions on (1) two Commission proposals toamend the existing regulatory framework forelectronic communications networks and services, and(2) a proposal establishing the European ElectronicCommunications Authority, were at the core of theWorking Group’s activities in 2008. The WorkingGroup participated in the discussion in the EUParliament and Council, contributing the EEA EFTAComment of 18 March 2008 focusing on the ElectronicCommunications Authority and participation ofregulators from the EFTA States. The Working Groupalso had regular exchanges of views withrepresentatives of the EU institutions (the Slovenianand French Presidencies, the responsible rapporteurs,and DG INFSO).

The EEA EFTA experts continued their activeparticipation in the discussion on the furtherharmonisation of spectrum on the European level,which is needed to boost the markets of electroniccommunications services.

Audio-visual ServicessAfter the adoption of the new Audiovisual and MediaServices Directive (AVMS Directive) the EEA EFTAStates participated in a series of workshops organisedby the Commission, dedicated to the harmonisedimplementation of the Directive into national law.They prepared the incorporation of the AVMSDirective into the EEA Agreement. At the same timethey also prepared the necessary changes at nationallevel. In addition, the EEA EFTA States participated inthe discussion on a review of the CommissionCommunication on the application of state aid rules toPublic Service Broadcasting (BroadcastingCommunication) by sending in EEA EFTA Commentsto the public consultation at the end of 2008.

The new MEDIA 2007-2013 programme wasincorporated without delay, allowing for the EFTAStates’ timely and uninterrupted participation in theprogramme. The EEA EFTA States also closelymonitored the preparatory work of the Commission fora MEDIA Mundus programme, for which a proposalwas published in January 2009.


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Postal ServicesThe Working Group on Postal Services coordinated itsmeeting with the Consultative Committee for thePostal Services Directive 2002/39/EC, in which theEEA EFTA States participate as observers. Incollaboration with the Commission unit responsible forpostal services, the Working Group started the work onthe incorporation of the amended Postal ServicesDirective, which confirms the full opening of themarket for postal services by 2009. The EEA EFTAStates also contributed to the yearly data collectionexercise on postal services, which the Commission hadrelaunched in 2006. They also co-financed the externalstudy published in 2008 on the main developments inthe postal sector (2006-2008).

TransportA significant number of proposals for new EU actswere considered and discussed in depth with theCommission during 2008. The Working Group alsomet with the EU Presidencies. The EFTA States haveactively participated in the various EU working groupsin the transport field.

In 2008, an EEA EFTA Comment regarding the EUFreight Transport Agenda was handed over to theEuropean Commission. The Working Group closelymonitored developments of the proposals in the LandTransport field, especially concerning the ThirdRailway Package. Several acts on the technicalspecification of rail interoperability were incorporatedinto the EEA Agreement in 2008. One important issuein 2008 was the publication of the new "GreeningTransport" package, which is an initiative to steertransport towards sustainability. The package,presented by the European Commission in July 2008,includes a strategy to ensure that the prices of transportbetter reflect their real cost to society.

In 2008 the maritime safety legislation package,introducing seven proposals, continued to be one of themain issues on the agenda and was closely monitoredby the Group. The Group also followed thedevelopment of the Communication of an IntegratedMaritime Policy for the EU, which included anextensive action plan.

In air transport, the second Single European SkyPackage was one of the main issues on the agenda in2008. Several Regulations concerning a Community

list of air carriers subject to an operating ban (the so-called black list) were incorporated into the EEAAgreement as well as several regulations concerningaviation safety and security. The Working Groupconsidered a number of policy initiatives andproposals. The new airport legislative package and theinitiative concerning a regulation on common rules forthe operation of air transport services were the issuesof highest importance in this field.

Other major developments in the area of transport in2008 were the publication of the Green Paper on UrbanMobility and the communication on the EU’s FreightTransport Agenda, as well as communicationsconcerning railway freight, port policy and anextensive action plan.

Free Movement of Persons

Subcommittee III on the Free Movement of Personscoordinates matters related to all aspects of themovement of persons, including the recognition ofprofessional qualifications and social security. ThreeWorking Groups report to Subcommittee III.

Free Movement of Workers andEmploymentIn 2008 the Working Group on the Free Movement ofWorkers and Employment focused mainly on thepreparation of the report on the Functioning of theTransitional Arrangements applied to the FreeMovement of Workers in the European EconomicArea. The first part of the report analyses theTransitional Arrangements applied to Bulgarian andRomanian workers and the second part examines theTransitional Arrangements applied to the workers from8 of the 10 States that joined the EU in 2004.

The EEA EFTA States continued to participate in themeetings of the Technical Committee on free movementof workers and of the Advisory Committee on freemovement of workers, which is made up ofrepresentatives of the Member States and social partners.They also attended two meetings of the newly set upexpert group on the practical challenges of implementingDirective 2004/38/EC in the Member States.

With regard to Employment, the EEA EFTA Stateswere invited to the EU Employment Committee’s(EMCO) informal meeting, which is organised each


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semester by the Presidency. They also participated inEURES, a cooperation network between the EuropeanCommission and the Public Employment Services ofthe EEA Member States which provides informationand helps both workers and employers. The EEAEFTA States also took part in the Employment sectionof the PROGRESS Programme, which supports theimplementation of the European Employment Strategythrough promoting "flexicurity" strategies and the life-cycle approach to work.

Social SecurityThe main task of the Working Group on SocialSecurity was to continue the work to compareRegulation 883/2004, simplifying the co-ordination ofthe social security systems, with Regulation 1408/71,which it will replace. The Working Group also closelyfollowed developments concerning the Commission'sproposals to amend Regulation 883/2004 and completeits Annexes, and the Commission proposal for a newImplementing Regulation.

The EEA EFTA States participated in the meetings ofthe Administrative Commission on Social Security forMigrant Workers and in its various working parties, aswell as in the Technical Commission on DataProcessing and the Audit Board.

The EEA EFTA States are also part of the MISSOCnetwork, a mutual information system on socialprotection in the European Union, which is part of thePROGRESS Programme (2007-2013) in which theEEA EFTA States participate.

Recognition of ProfessionalQualificationsIn 2008, the Working Group on the Recognition ofProfessional Qualifications focused on theimplementation of Directive 2005/36/EC on therecognition of professional qualifications and on theincorporation of two Commission Regulationsamending this Directive.

The EEA EFTA States attended the meetings of theCommittee on the recognition of professionalqualifications, and the Group of Coordinators for therecognition of professional qualifications. They alsoparticipated in the meeting of the newly establishedGroup of Contact Points.

Flanking and HorizontalPolicies

Subcommittee IV on Flanking and Horizontal Policiesunder the Standing Committee coordinates mattersrelated to all aspects of the horizontal provisions of theEEA Agreement as well as cooperation outside the fourfreedoms. Fifteen Working Groups report toSubcommittee IV.

Research and DevelopmentIn 2008, the key focus for the Working Group onResearch and Development was the preparation for theEuropean Research Area (ERA), where the workinggroup drafted an EEA EFTA Comment. The ERA grewout of the realisation that research in Europe suffersfrom insufficient funding, a lack of an environment tostimulate and exploit results, the fragmented nature ofactivities and the dispersal of resources.

During 2008 the Group joined the discussions inEurope on a common vision and on the governance ofthe ERA. Two open seminars on issues relating toERA were organised by the EFTA Working Group onResearch and Development in 2008, together with thescientific magazine “Science|Business”.

The Working Group also followed the proposal for aCouncil Regulation on the Community legal frameworkfor a European Research Infrastructure (ERIC). Thisproposal is designed to facilitate the joint establishmentand operation of research facilities between severalMember States and countries associated with theCommunity R&D Framework Programme. All EFTAStates foresee participation in ERIC.

Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) are part of theSeventh Research Framework Programme (FP7) set upto strengthen Europe’s position as a technologicallyinnovative economy and respond to industry needs.JTIs are large scale public-private partnershipsinvolving industry, the research Community and publicauthorities. Four JTIs were adopted by the Council in2008, all including EFTA participation. Among themare ‘ENIAC’, the JTI on Nanoelectronic technologiesand the ‘Clean Sky’ air transport JTI.

Over the last few years, the European Commission hasset up five Executive Agencies, direct subordinates ofthe European Commission, with a view to entrustingthem with certain tasks relating to the management of


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EU programmes. The EEA EFTA States contribute tothe Executive Agencies on the same basis as for theprogrammes, and hope to participate on an equalfooting in the operations of these agencies.

Finally, the Working Group followed the developmentswith regard to the establishment of a EuropeanInstitute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Environment

The main issues followed by the Working Group in2008 were the revision of the EU Emission TradingScheme and the inclusion of aviation in thescheme. The trading scheme is based on therecognition that creating a price for CO2, throughthe establishment of a market for emissionreductions, offers the most cost-effective way forcountries to meet their Kyoto obligations and movetowards a low-carbon economy. The EEA EFTAStates, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, havebeen participating in the trading scheme since 1 January 2008. The Working Group also closelyfollowed a proposal for an updated Waste Directiveand a proposal for a new Directive on IndustrialEmissions. Another issue closely followed by theWorking Group was a proposed Directive that willaim at protecting the environment through criminallaw, an issue that will need the special attention ofthe Working Group.

In 2008, the EEA Joint Committee adopted a broad rangeof decisions including eco-labels, the shipment of waste,fluorinated greenhouse gasses, the monitoring andreporting of greenhouse gas emissions and a standardisedand secured system of registries pursuant to the EU

Emission Trading Scheme, on environmental liabilityand the management of mining waste.

On several occasions the Working Group discussedpolicy documents and progress in the field ofenvironmental legislation with the Commission.Among the topics discussed were the revision of theEU Emission Trading Scheme, the EU proposal onCarbon Capture & Storage, the Protection of theEnvironment through Criminal Law and the EEArelevance of the National Emission Ceilings Directive.

The Working Group on the Environment and theWorking Group on Transport jointly discussed issuesof mutual relevance and met with the Commission todiscuss the environmental challenges in the transportsector, the Renewables Directive and the inclusion ofaviation in the EU Emission Trading Scheme.

In 2008, the Group met with both the SlovenianPresidency to discuss its priorities for the first half of2008, and the Czech Presidency to discuss its prioritiesfor the first half of 2009.

Education, Training and Youth

The EFTA participation in the Lifelong LearningProgramme (2007-2013) and the Youth in ActionProgramme (2007-2013) are the main priority areas ofthe Working Group on Education, Training and Youth.

The Working Group followed the development of aEuropean Qualification Framework (EQF), which isa translation tool for comparing and transferringqualifications across the EEA. Another key issue forthe Working Group during 2008 was EFTA’s

OMC SeminarOn 14 May 2008, the Working Group on Education, Training and Youthheld a conference at the EFTA Secretariat on the Open Method ofCoordination (OMC) and Lifelong Learning and Youth. The day-longseminar brought together both practitioners and academics for a fruitfuldebate. The conference also provided an arena for the members of theworking group to share their experiences with the use of OMC. Onemain focus of the conference was to prepare and engage people from theEFTA States to participate actively and efficiently in the OMC cycles,and provide input to and feedback from the upcoming consultations onconcrete actions. All four EFTA countries participated and reiterated theimportance of OMC initiatives as arenas for learning and for gatheringas well as sharing information.

Gordon Clark, Head of Unit with the EuropeanCommission gave a presentation of the role of the OMCwithin the Lifelong Learning agenda.


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participation in the “Rights of the Child” initiativeand other initiatives in the area of education, trainingand youth.

In 2008, the Working Group also followed the settingup of The European Institute of Innovation andTechnology (EIT). The EIT is a major EU initiativewhich aims to foster excellence in Europeaninnovation and to provide new solutions for majorchallenges, such as climate change, renewableenergies or the next generation of information andcommunication technologies. The EFTA States co-fund and participate in the activities of the EIT –Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway by way of theEEA Agreement, and Switzerland on a bilateralbasis. The EIT held the first meeting of its GoverningBoard in September at its new site in Budapest.

During 2008, the Working Group also followed theCommission Communications in areas such asmultilingualism, schools and migration.

The Disabled, the Elderly andSocial ExclusionIn 2008, the EEA EFTA States focused their attentionon the EU’s Renewed Social Agenda which was tabledon 2 July 2008, with particular emphasis on theproposal for a Directive on anti-discrimination outsidethe labour market. They also closely followed thepreparations for the European Year for CombatingPoverty and Social Exclusion 2010 and continuedactive participation in the PROGRESS Programme.

Gender Equality and Family PolicyA key focus for the Group in 2008 continued to be thediscussions with the Commission concerning themodalities for EEA EFTA participation in theEuropean Institute for Gender Equality.

The EEA EFTA States continued their activeparticipation in the gender equality strand of thePROGRESS Programme and in the Daphne IIIProgramme on Community action to prevent violenceagainst children, young people and women and toprotect victims and groups at risk (2007-2013).

The Group closely studied the EU’s Renewed SocialAgenda with particular emphasis on the proposals fordirectives to reconcile private and professional life, aswell as the proposal for an anti-discriminationdirective outside the labour market.

Health and Safety at Work andLabour LawIn 2008 the experts continued to follow closely thediscussions on the revision of the Working TimeDirective, and likewise the proposal for aTemporary Agency Directive, in particular sinceboth reached a political agreement in the EUCouncil in June 2008. The Temporary Agency WorkDirective was adopted in November 2008 and theGroup began discussions on its possibleincorporation in the EEA Agreement.

Another key focus for the Working Group was theproposal for a revised European Works CouncilsDirective, and the debate taking place at EU level withregard to the Posting of Workers Directive. Onepriority for the Group was to discuss a possible EEAEFTA participation in the Bilbao Agency on Healthand Safety at Work.

Consumer AffairsThe actions under the Consumer Programme (2007-2013), in which the EEA EFTA States participate,were a high priority issue for the Working Group in2008. The aim of this Programme is to complement,support and monitor national consumer policies andto contribute to protecting consumer rights tohealth, education, and information. One of the mainactions under the Programme is linked to theConsumer Markets Scoreboard. The annualConsumer Markets Scoreboard, which was firstpublished on 29 January 2008, monitors theperformance of markets in terms of economic andsocial outcomes for consumers. The WorkingGroup’s top priority in 2008 was to ensure theinclusion of EEA EFTA data in the 2009 edition ofthe Scoreboard.

The group has also tracked progress on the proposalfor a Directive on the protection of consumers withrespect to certain aspects of timeshare, long-termholiday products, resale and exchange.

During 2008 the EEA EFTA States closely followedthe developments regarding the revision of theConsumer acquis and namely the new proposal for aDirective on Consumer Rights. The EEA EFTA Statesalso continued their participation in the EU’sConsumer Policy Network (CPN).


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Consumers' ConsultativeCommittee

The Consumers' Consultative Committee, made up ofrepresentatives from the consumers' organisations inthe EEA EFTA States, plays an advisory role onconsumer issues. The Committee met in May 2008, inconnection with a meeting of ANEC, an organisationresponsible for coordinating consumer participation inEuropean standardisation.

Enterprise Policy

The main issues followed by the Working Group in 2008were the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Policy(SME) and the follow-up regarding the Competitivenessand Innovation Programme (CIP). The SME Policyrecognises the central role of SMEs in Europeaneconomies and puts into place a comprehensive SMEpolicy framework for the EU and its Member States. TheCompetitiveness and Innovation Programme also targetssmall and medium-sized enterprises and helps them toinnovate. Its aim is to boost energy efficiency andrenewable energy sources, environmental technologies,entrepreneurship and a better use of information andcommunication technology.

The Working Group continued to follow thedevelopment of SOLVIT, an on-line problem-solvingnetwork through which the authorities work together tosolve problems caused by the misapplication of InternalMarket law by public authorities without legalproceedings. The Working Group also monitored the EUBetter Regulation, the development of the Your Europe

Portal, the EU Innovation Agenda and the developmentof the Internal Market Information system (IMI), whichprovides Member State administrations with amultilingual, open and flexible database tool to supportthe mutual assistance and information exchange requiredto implement Internal Market legislation efficiently.

On several occasions the Working Group discussedpolicy documents and progress in the field ofenterprise policy with the Commission. Among thetopics discussed were Industrial Policy, BetterRegulation, the Small and Medium Sized EnterprisePolicy and the Small Business Act.

Civil ProtectionThe EEA EFTA States continued to actively participatein two programmes in the field of civil protection: theCommunity Mechanism for Civil Protection and theCivil Protection Financial Instrument 2007-2013.

The horizontal package concerning European CriticalInfrastructure, including the EU programme“Prevention, Preparedness and ConsequenceManagement of Terrorism and Other Security relatedRisks”, continued to be closely monitored andcoordinated by the Working Group on Civil Protection.Particular attention was given to the proposed Directiveon Critical Infrastructure Protection with a view topossible incorporation into the EEA Agreement.

The Group also followed the developments on EUlevel with regard to CBRN, i.e. chemicals, biological,radiological and nuclear threats.

Who will Lead the Lead MarketsTogether with the international news service “Science|Business”, the Working Group on Enterprise Policyorganised a conference on 12 March 2008 at the EFTA Secretariat. The theme of the conference was “WhoWill Lead the Lead Markets” and it focused on the EU Lead Markets Initiative and ways to speed up thedevelopment of emerging technologies in Europe. At this event the experts in the Working Group had theopportunity to meet and exchange views with 30 leading international representatives of researchorganizations, business and academia.


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Cultural Affairs

The key priority for the Working Group on CulturalAffairs in 2008 was the EU Culture Programme, whichwas originally set up to stimulate the mobility of artistsand art. The Culture 2007-2013 Programme not onlysets ambitious political goals for unity of diversitythrough mobility, but also contains a new methodologyof consultation and partnership, as the programmeattempts to reach out to stakeholders for help inimplementing the programme.

The EFTA Working Group on Cultural Affairs alsoprepared EFTA participation in the European Year forCreativity and Innovation 2009. EFTA activities in theEuropean Year 2009 will include cross-cutting initiativescovering areas such as education, culture, media,research, enterprise, and social policy. It includesinformation and awareness-raising campaigns,promotion of good practices, debates, meetings,conferences and the promotion of a wide variety ofprojects at regional, national and European level.

In 2008 the Working Group also followed closely theCommission initiative to link the cultural sector moreclosely to the Lisbon Strategy through objectives thatform a new “common” cultural strategy for theEuropean institutions, the EU Member States, and thecultural and creative sector. The three objectives arethe promotion of cultural diversity and interculturaldialogue; the promotion of culture as a catalyst forcreativity in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy; and

the promotion of culture as a vital element in relationswith countries outside the European Union.

The Working Group also followed developmentsregarding the EU recommendation on the digitizationand online accessibility of cultural material and digitalpreservation, which was included in the EEAagreement in 2008.

Public Health

A significant development in 2008 was theincorporation into the EEA Agreement of the EUHealth Programme 2008-2013 and the new EUProgramme on Drugs Prevention and Information2007-2013.

A key focus for the Group was the new proposal for aDirective on the application of Patients’ Rights inCross-border Healthcare, and several discussions withthe Commission were held on this issue.

Particular attention was also given to the plannedreorganisation of the EU High Level Groups onHealth and Health Services and Medical Care inorder to ensure continued EEA EFTA participation inthis regard.

The EFTA Secretariat organised an annual seminar for the Seconded National Experts on 19 September 2008.


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Budgetary Matters

The main task of the Working Group is to monitor andcoordinate the preparation of the yearly EEA EFTAbudget covering the EEA EFTA contributions to theEU budget in return for participation in EUprogrammes, actions and agencies. The principlesapplied in relation to the contributions are set out inArticle 82 and Protocol 32 of the EEA Agreement. TheWorking Group meets regularly with the EuropeanCommission to ensure the timely and correct executionof the budgetary procedures.

During 2008 the Working Group has been heavilyinvolved in the revision of Protocol 32 of the EEAAgreement, which was finally adopted by the EEAJoint Committee at the end of the year. The mainobjective of the revision was to update the text tobring it in line with current EU budgetaryprocedures. Of main importance for the EEA EFTAside was the reduction from 2 yearly calls for fundsto one single call.

The contributions to the operational costs of the jointEU activities are defined by applying the“proportionality factor” to the relevant EU budgetlines. In 2008, the proportionality factor was 2.39%compared to 2.28% in 2007. The EEA EFTA States

committed themselves to contributing €194 million tothe operational costs of the EU budget in 2008, anincrease of €29 million over the 165 million in 2007.The corresponding EEA EFTA payments in 2008 were€199 million, which constituted an increase of €62million from €137 million in 2007.

Within the EEA programme cooperation, the EEAEFTA States also contribute to the Commission'sadministrative costs. The amount of this contributionis negotiated yearly for each programme. Animportant part of this contribution is provided in-kind through the secondment of national experts, andcost-free for the Commission.

The arrangement of seconding national expertsprovides for a valuable exchange of expertise both forthe Commission and the EEA EFTA States. In 2008 itwas agreed through the budgetary procedure to second34 EEA EFTA national experts to the variousDirectorates within the European Commission dealingwith the joint EU programmes and activities.

EEA EFTA Payment to EU Programmes, Agencies and other activities (all amounts in € 000) Fig. 3

Sectors of Activity EEA EFTA Contributions (EUR)2007 2008

Research 89,003 140,293Information services 1,580 1,777Environment programmes 694 808Education, training and youth 22,490 27,587Social policy 2,267 2,501Consumer protection 592 583Enterprise, Innovation, SMEs 5,701 8,245Audio-visual sector 2,716 3,236Civil protection 540 675Culture 1,061 1,431Energy 1,966 1,994Employment 370 392Public health 2,070 2,384Telematic Interchange of Data between Administrators 757 576Statistics 1,304 1,117Technical regulations, standards, testing and certification 957 2,427Transport 2,605 3,114Total EEA EFTA Contribution (EUR) 136,673 199,140


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Heads of EFTA NationalStatistical Institutes

In 2008, the Working Group of the Heads of EFTANational Statistical Institutes (EFTA NSIs) dealt inparticular with:

• the draft Protocol 30;• the development of the 2008 EEA Annual

Statistical Programme based on an assessment ofthe EEA relevance of the EC Annual StatisticalProgramme;

• timeliness of GDP figures used for the calculationof the EFTA cost-sharing formula; and

• the European Statistical Advisory Committee andEFTA participation.

EFTA-EU Cooperation in theField of Statistics

The EFTA Statistical Office (ESO) was created in theperspective of the EEA Agreement to liaise betweenEurostat – the Statistical Office of the EuropeanCommunities – and the EFTA National StatisticalInstitutes (NSIs).

Integration of EFTA statistics in the EuropeanStatistical System

The basic legal act on Community Statistics, the so-called “Statistical Law” from 1997 will be replaced in2009 by a new, revised, modernised and extended acton European statistics. This new regulation will alsohave significant implications for the EFTA States,and ESO has promoted EFTA interests in its

participation in the decision-shaping process takingplace in the EU throughout 2008. This legal act isrelevant both for the EEA Agreement and the bilateralagreement between Switzerland and the EuropeanCommunity on statistical cooperation (CH-ECBilateral Agreement), and it will have to be includedand reflected in the agreements.

In addition to its core activities, EFTA’s visibility in 2008was ensured by the ESO and the EFTA NSIs through:• more EFTA data in Eurostat databases and

publications; • EFTA’s active involvement in EU technical

cooperation programmes in the field of statisticswith European and non-European third countries;

• significant contribution to the running anddevelopment of the European Statistical TrainingProgramme; and

• peer reviews of all four EFTA National StatisticalInstitutes according to the principles in the Code ofPractice. The reports were published on theEurostat website.

Production and Dissemination of EFTA Statistics

Protocol 30 of the EEA Agreement and the CH-ECBilateral Agreement provide for statistical informationfrom all EFTA States to be transmitted to Eurostat forstorage, processing and dissemination. ESO continuesto strive for the regular inclusion of EFTA data inEurostat databases and publications. This activityrequires constant monitoring of the treatment of EFTAdata in Eurostat's dissemination process, and needsregular contact between ESO and Eurostat to ensurethat data from all EFTA countries are published whenavailable. The tangible result of this joint initiativebetween ESO, the EFTA NSIs and Eurostat was thatmore EFTA data than ever before were included inEurostat databases and publications. A majorachievement has been the inclusion of regionalstatistics from the EFTA States in the Eurostat databaseand publications.

EFTA Participation in Eurostat Working Groups andCommittees

In 2008, Eurostat organised more than 150 meetings toprepare and implement new legislation, exchange anddevelop methodologies, and follow up on datacollection. The EFTA Member States participateactively in the relevant meetings. Swiss delegatesparticipated in Eurostat meetings on an equal footingwith colleagues from EEA EFTA countries.

The Heads of the EFTA National Statistical Institutes met in Vaduz 24 April 2008.


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Technical cooperation in thefield of statistics

A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ontechnical cooperation between the EFTA Secretariatand Eurostat came into force on 1 January 2008. TheMoU, which covers a three-year period (2008-2010),involves funds totalling €1.9 million. The generalobjective of the MoU is to ensure further closecooperation between the EFTA States and Eurostat ina number of programmes for technical cooperationwithin the field of statistics. EFTA’s involvement intechnical cooperation programmes within the scopeof the MoU gives priority to countries which haveconcluded declarations on cooperation or free tradeagreements with EFTA. Support is granted mainly todeveloping countries and economies in transitioncovered by the European Neighbourhood Policy(ENP), to the Western Balkans, and to Turkey. Thescope of the cooperation can also include EFTA freetrade and prospective partners in other regions of theworld.

Two EFTA national experts are seconded to Eurostat aspart of the contribution to ensure continuity of supportand EFTA visibility in the overall programming andmanagement of EFTA-EU actions.

Technical cooperation activities and projects in 2008

The main technical cooperation activities and projectsin the field of statistics were:

• Capacity building on statistics for Western Balkancountries. The purpose of this project was to sustainthe improvement of the international comparabilityof statistics in different areas such as external tradestatistics and national accounts as well as to securethe overall organisational capacity of nationalstatistical systems in the Western Balkans.

• Measuring the non-observed economy in WesternBalkan countries (WBCs). The aim of this majorproject, financed by the EFTA Secretariat, was toenable the WBCs to tackle the problem of the non-observed economy in a sustainable and systematicmanner in the production of official statistics, inparticular their national accounts.

• Reconciliation of Ukrainian economic statistics.The purpose of this project was to contribute to the

coherence of national accounts data and underlyingstatistics.

• Training course for staff members of regionalstatistical offices of TurkStat.

• Training course on advanced sampling surveys forCIS countries.

• Training course on User-friendly Dissemination ofOfficial Statistics for Mediterranean countries.

EFTA Experts at Eurostat

Statistical experts from EFTA countries work atEurostat as seconded national experts (SNEs). At theend of 2008, four experts from Norway wereseconded to Eurostat within the framework of theEEA agreement and three Swiss experts wereseconded to Eurostat under the umbrella of the CH-EC Bilateral Agreement in the field of statistics. Inaddition, one Norwegian and one Swiss expert wereseconded to Eurostat as a contribution in kind to theEFTA-EU technical cooperation programme in theWestern Balkans and Turkey and the MediterraneanArea (MEDSTAT).

European Statistical Training Programme

The EFTA Secretariat has committed itself throughan exchange of letters with Eurostat to financeannually the organisation of at least two trainingcourses. These courses are provided by EFTANational Statistical Institutes and are open to theparticipation of statisticians from EFTA and EUMember States. In return, Eurostat ensures thatEFTA statisticians have the right to participate in allESTP courses financed by Eurostat.

In 2008, two courses were organised by StatisticsNorway on business registers and on the use ofadministrative registers in production of statistics,and one by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office ondata analysis and data modelling. Close to 30 courseswere organised within the framework of the ESTP,and all courses were open to participation from theEFTA Member States.


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in the grant schemes’ implementation. The final opencalls for individual projects were launched and closed,bringing the EEA cohesion support into effect in allbeneficiary states. By year-end, the EEA EFTA Stateshad committed €808 million to a total of 766 projects,programmes and funds.

By year-end, the sectors receiving most funding underthe EEA and Norway Grants were the conservation ofEuropean cultural heritage, environment andsustainable development, and Schengen and thejudiciary. Around two thirds of the cultural heritageprojects concern renovation of historical buildings,fortresses, manor houses, religious monuments andhistorical urban areas. The majority of theenvironmental projects target energy efficiency andrenewable energy measures. Under Schengen and thejudiciary, grants have been awarded to projects relatedto border security, police cooperation and astrengthened judiciary.

Since the establishment of the European EconomicArea (EEA) in 1994, the EEA EFTA States havecontributed substantial funding in order to reduceeconomic and social disparities in Europe. The EEAand Norway Grants were established in 2004, and inthe five-year period 2004-2009 a total €1.3 billion offunding has been made available. The 15 beneficiarystates comprise the twelve new EU member statessince 2004, as well as Greece, Portugal and Spain. TheFinancial Mechanisms Office (FMO) in Brussels,which is administratively linked to the EFTASecretariat, administers the grant schemes.

Close to 800 projects inimplementation

In 2008 the EEA and Norway Grants approached theend of their five-year commitment period, making itthe most productive year to date for all parties involved

THE EEA AND NORWAYGRANTS

Fund focus: Supporting NGOs in the enlarged EUWith 19 funds for non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs) in twelvebeneficiary states, Norway – as thelargest donor – is turning into one of theprimary supporters of civil society inCentral Europe.

The most notable example among theNGO funds is the €41.5 million fund in Poland, representing aconsiderable push for civil societydevelopment. Grants are awarded toprojects within the three focus areasfor democracy and civil society,protection of the environment andsustainable development, and equalopportunities and social integration.More than 1,000 projects are expectedto be financed under this fund.

Czech NGO Fund: The youth club in Olomouc in the eastern Czech Republic is supported by the EEA andNorway Grants.


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Peak period for appraisal ofapplications

Following national selection, project proposals areforwarded for appraisal by the FMO before the EEAEFTA States make a grant decision. For the FMO,2008 saw a surge in the number of projects appraised.A total of 486 projects were submitted to the FMO forappraisal in 2008, an increase of 37 percent from theprevious year. On average, the FMO submitted 37grant recommendations to the donors per month –taking the 2008 figure to 440. The increased number ofongoing projects was reflected in a six-fold increase in

disbursements compared to the previous year as wellas increased monitoring.

Several hundred applications will be appraised by theFMO and the donors by the commitment deadline on 30April 2009, bringing the total number of approvedprojects, programmes and funds above 1100. To face theanticipated project peak at year-end 2008 and early 2009,a detailed work plan for the last nine months of thecommitment period was elaborated in 2008. Someprocedural changes undertaken in the second half of2008 were also implemented as a follow-up of theconclusions of a mid-term review of the EEA andNorway Grants published in August.

Project focus: Waste for energy in EstoniaThe cement industry is a major contributor of greenhouse gases, and AS Kunda Nordic Tsement will in a €3.4million project cut its CO2 emissions through enabling its plant to use waste for energy production.

The Estonian company will contribute to a reduction of pollution from its plant in Kunda, by recycling waste anddecreasing the plant’s use of oil shale as a source of energy. With €0.8 million in support from the EEA Grants,waste from Kunda and the town’s surrounding region, rather than traditional fuels, will be burnt in the plant’scement kilns. According to Meelis Einstein, Purchasing Manager at Kunda Nordic Tsement, the company aims toreplace 25 percent of the present fuels with waste materials by 2011.


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Parliamentary Committees

In 2008 the Parliamentary Committee had fourmeetings and focused its work on a variety of topicssuch as: the latest developments in EFTA third countryrelations; developments in the Internal Market; freetrade and climate change; the EU’s renewed socialagenda; and the Doha Development Agenda.

Committee work

The Committee meets with the EFTA Ministers twicea year, at the summer Ministerial meetings and theinformal Ministerial meetings in late autumn. In thisyear's joint meetings the Parliamentarians receivedupdates from the Ministerial Chair on the maindevelopments in EFTA third country relations.Concerning EEA matters, the Committee membersalso inquired about specific issues. These jointmeetings constitute an increasingly important dialoguebetween the EFTA Council and the Members ofParliament of the EFTA Countries.

In addition to its regular meetings, a Committeedelegation visited New Delhi in April with the aim ofadding its weight to strengthening trade relationsbetween India and EFTA. In September a delegationattended the 2008 Parliamentary Conference on theWTO, a biannual event which is co-hosted by theInter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the EuropeanParliament. The Committee received observer status tothe Conference earlier in the year. In October, after aninvitation from the Faeroese Parliament a Committeedelegation visited the Faeroe Islands. Moreover, theChairman of the Committee attended the NordicCouncil meeting in Helsinki in October as an observer.

EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee

The EEA JPC met twice during the year, in Iceland inApril and in Brussels in November. As with previousmeetings, the EEA JPC engaged in a dialogue withthe EEA Council, the EEA Joint Committee and theEFTA Surveillance Authority on the functioning ofthe EEA and on progress regarding prior resolutionsof the JPC. At these meetings the EEA JPC discussedand adopted resolutions on the functioning of theEEA Agreement during 2007; cross-border health

policies in the EEA; research and educationprogrammes in the EEA; and future perspectives forthe EEA. The Committee had invited guests from theEuropean Commission and the European Parliamentto give presentations on various topics such as theTreaty of Lisbon and EU’s renewed social agenda.Furthermore, the Committee held an in-depthdiscussion on the financial crisis and its impact on theEEA. As has become customary, the Committeeforwarded its resolutions to the EEA Council, EUinstitutions and to national parliaments.

The President of the EEA JPC in 2008 was Ms BilyanaRaeva (ALDE, Bulgaria) and the Vice President wasMr Svein Roald Hansen.

Consultative Committees

In 2008, the EFTA Consultative Committee had fourinternal meetings and focused on topics such asEFTA’s third-country relations; the interplay betweenenergy, trade and climate; the Treaty of Lisbon and itsimplications for the EEA; developments in the InternalMarket; labour market policies; and the free movementof workers and migration.

Committee work

In addition to the internal meetings, the Committee alsomet with the Standing Committee of the EFTA States inMarch 2008, the EFTA Ministers in June and November2008, and the EFTA Parliamentary Committee in Juneand October 2008. The Committee continues to strongly

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ADVISORY BODIES

Members of the European Parliament and Parliamentarians from Iceland,Norway and Liechtenstein met in Svartsengi, Iceland, on 29 April 2008 for the 30th meeting of the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee.


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emphasise these joint meetings, which contribute toenhancing the dialogue with relevant EFTAauthorities both at governmental, parliamentary, anddiplomatic levels in the four EFTA countries. TheCommittee also presented written opinions andspecific recommendations to the EEA EFTAauthorities. In March 2008, the Committee’s opinionon the Treaty of Lisbon and the EEA was high on theagenda. In June 2008, the Committee addressed theSingle Market Review and called for an in-depthanalysis by the EEA EFTA authorities on the specificchallenges in the EU proposals for the EEA. InNovember 2008, as a follow-up to the joint EFTAParliamentary Committee and EFTA ConsultativeCommittee conference in Bergen in October 2008 (seetext box below), the Committee adopted an opinion onenergy, climate and trade, in which it explored how theglobal trade and climate agendas could be as mutuallysupportive as possible without contradicting each other.

EEA Joint Consultative Committee

At its meeting in May 2008, hosted by the EFTA side inSvalbard, Norway, the EEA Consultative Committeeheld an exchange of views with the State Secretary of theNorwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms ElisabethWalaas, on challenges and the Norwegian government’s

strategy in the High North. The Committee also engagedin dialogue with representatives of the EEA JointCommittee on the latest EEA developments, anddiscussed labour migration from third countries and theEuropean Commission’s so-called ‘Blue Card’ proposal.The Committee also discussed and adopted a resolutionon ‘An ambitious transport policy for Europe’ and aresolution on ‘Lifelong learning: A key component forgrowth and jobs’.

Osmosis

Cooperation between social partners in the EEA wasfurther reinforced in 2008 through the Osmosisprocedure, which allows representatives of the EFTAConsultative Committee to participate in the work of theEuropean Economic and Social Committee (EESC) andvice-versa. Cooperation in 2008 included, amongothers, EFTA participation in the EESC JointConsultative Committee meetings with Croatia andTurkey, the new EESC Lisbon Strategy Observatory, theEESC Single Market Observatory, and the EESCSustainable Development Observatory. In addition, theCo-chairs of the EEA CC participated in the EEA JPCmeetings in April and November of 2008. This reflectsthe continued cooperation between the social partnersand the parliamentarians in the EEA.

Conference on trade and climateOn 13 October 2008 the EFTA Parliamentary Committee and theEFTA Consultative Committee presented a joint conference onenergy and climate outside Bergen, Norway, called ‘From Bali toCopenhagen: Developing the right toolbox to fight climate change ina globalised economy’. Drawing on the expertise of speakers such asMEP Chris Davies and Professor Thomas L. Brewer, climate andtrade specialist at Georgetown University, the goal of the conferencewas to address how the EU and the EFTA countries together can takethe lead in the post-Bali negotiations and contribute to an ambitiousglobal climate agreement in Copenhagen in 2009.

The conference consisted of three sessions: one on trade and climate, looking at the rapidly expanding climate-trade agenda in the post-Bali period and the relationship between the WTO and UNFCCC agendas; a second onthe EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), looking at the workings of the scheme, its expansion, and the extentto which it is likely to become a global instrument for emission reductions; and finally, a session on ‘the extendedtoolbox’, debating different tools available to fight climate change such as renewable energy, biofuels, carboncapture and storage (CCS), and nuclear energy. The conference was followed by an excursion to Mongstad, whereStatoil is developing a carbon capture and storage (CCS) test facility.

The conference had approximately 100 participants, representing parliaments and social partners all over Europe,as well as other relevant stakeholders in the energy and climate field.


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One of EFTA’s obligations is to inform its stakeholdersand the general public of its activities in an open andtransparent manner. Within the area of publiccommunication, 2008 was an active year:

• A number of seminars and workshops were held inthe EFTA Member States, at the EFTA Secretariat’slocations in Brussels and Geneva, and elsewhere inEurope;

• Websites were launched and continuously updatedthroughout the year;

• A public Register of EFTA documents wasintroduced; and

• Presentations were given to visiting groups. InBrussels alone, around 120 groups (2 300 persons)visited the Secretariat during 2008.

Register of EFTA DocumentsIn line with the rules on public access to EFTA’sdocuments that were laid down in 2007, EFTAintroduced a web-based document register on 1 April2008. The Register is updated daily. The registereddocuments are either directly available for downloadon the site or can be requested by contacting theEFTA Secretariat.

WebsitesIn February 2008 EFTA launched a new public websitewith an improved design, to make information moreeasily accessible to the general public. In addition, anupdated Extranet for the use of EFTA committees,working groups and other stakeholders was madeavailable in June 2008.

The Financial Mechanism Office set up a newwebsite for the EEA and Norway Grants inSeptember 2008. The site focuses on news andproject results, and aims to provide information to abroader audience, while keeping technicalinformation and documents available for grantsapplicants in the 15 beneficiary states.

Seminars

In 2008, EFTA held several seminars and workshops,of which the most notable were the following:

• A successful EEA decision-shaping seminar wasarranged in Brussels on 9 December 2008. Theseminar shed light on how the decision-makingprocedures of the European Union have changedover the past 15 years and how these changes affectthe involvement of the EEA EFTA States.

• On 13 October, 2008 the EFTA ParliamentaryCommittee and the EFTA Consultative Committeeheld a joint conference on energy and climate inBergen, Norway, called “From Bali to Copenhagen:Developing the right toolbox to fight climatechange in a globalised economy”.

• EFTA's two-day EEA Seminar was held on 12 and13 June in Brussels. Around 100 professionalsattended the seminar, which provided a thoroughoverview of the EEA Agreement. The second day ofthe seminar highlighted current policy developmentsthat have an impact on the future of Europe, inparticular climate change and energy policies.

• On 11 June, in cooperation with the EuropeanCommission and the European Parliament, EFTAheld a workshop entitled “Certification and markingfor Europe”, attended by 100 representatives ofimportant stakeholders. The workshop was a

INFORMATION ACTIVITIES


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follow-up to the EFTA Study on Certification andMarks in Europe, and its aim was to make acontribution to the free movement of safe productsin Europe.

• EFTA and the international news serviceScience|Business organised a roundtable on the theme“New Perspectives in Intellectual Property” was heldin Brussels on 29 May. The key challenge discussedwas the fragmentation of the current IntellectualProperty system and how this can be harmonised atEuropean level, especially for the benefit of SMEs.

• On 14 May the EFTA Working group onEducation, Training and Youth held a conferenceon the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) andLifelong Learning at the EFTA Secretariat inBrussels. OMC is known for its soft lawmechanisms; it has developed into an importanttool for EU policymaking and constitutes acentral part of the renewed Lisbon Strategy. Theconference brought together both practitionersand academics.

PublicationsThe latest versions of all EFTA publications areavailable online on EFTA's website, where papercopies can also be ordered free of charge (subject toavailability). The following publications were releasedin 2008:

• ‘This is EFTA 2008’: This is an annualpublication, which provides an easy overview ofEFTA and its activities, together with useful tradeand economic statistics;

• ‘EFTA Study on Certification and Marks in Europe– Executive Summary of the final report’: The mainobjective of the study was to create a betterunderstanding of crucial parts of the market formarks in Europe. It attempts to shed light oncertification leading to the affixing of marks inselected sectors, with special emphasis on what ishappening at national level. Schemes operating atEuropean level were also covered.

The EFTA Workshop on Certification and marking for Europe was held in the European Parliament in Brussels. Among the participants were: Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, EFTADeputy Secretary-General, Vincent Merken, Chairman, Heinz Zourek, Secretary-General DG Enterprise, Tore Nyvold Thomassen, Project Manager & Chris Evans,Consultant for the Study.


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In addition to the new publications, EFTA publishedthe fact sheet ‘EFTA at a Glance’, which gives a briefintroduction to EFTA and its activities.

EEA Supplement

The EEA Supplement to the Official Journal of theEuropean Union is a translation into Icelandic andNorwegian of EEA-relevant texts. The EEASupplement contains material from:

• the EEA Joint Committee;• the Standing Committee of the EFTA States;• The EFTA Surveillance Authority;• the EFTA Court;• the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee;• the EEA Consultative Committee; and• the European Commission.

The EEA Supplement is published on the EFTAwebsite once a week. Additional issues which includeEEA Joint Committee Decisions and EC Acts are alsoprinted on paper and distributed to subscribers.

In 2008, the EFTA Secretariat published 80 issues ofthe EEA Supplement.

The publication of acts incorporated in the EEAAgreement continued to increase in 2008 compared toprevious years.

Since July 2008, the Icelandic and Norwegian versionsof the EEA Supplement are no longer synchronised asto content. By the end of 2008, all 2006 EC acts inIcelandic had been published; in other words, all ECacts from 2005 and 2006 in Icelandic were publishedin 2008. At the same time, the last EC acts published inNorwegian date from January 2006.

Publication in the EEA Supplement 2008 Fig. 4

Number of pagesIcelandic Norwegian

EEA Joint Committee Joint Committee decisions 385 385

EC acts 6 112 3 714

EFTA Standing Committee 48 48

EFTA Surveillance Authority 350 350

EFTA Court 25 25

EU institutions 1 100 1 100

Total 8 020 5 622


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At the end of 2008 there were 24 fixed-term and short-term staff based in Geneva, and 63 in Brussels andLuxembourg. The Financial Mechanism Officeemployed 43 staff in Brussels. All figures are on a full-time equivalent basis and include trainees.

The Secretariat’s budget is prepared according to theframework budgeting principle established in publicadministrations in the Member States. This approachaims to increase awareness of budgetary spending atall levels. The budget is accompanied by aperformance plan where the Secretariat’s activities aredivided into projects. The plan and the ensuingreporting raises the Member States’ awareness of thecosts and outcomes of the Secretariat’s variousactivities. EFTA’s budget is prepared in two currencies:Swiss francs and euros. The total budget for 2008 wasequivalent to 25 328 000 Swiss francs.

The EFTA Board of Auditors

The EFTA Board of Auditors (EBOA) is a permanentCommittee established in May 1992. The Board is thesupreme audit authority of EFTA and performs a yearlyaudit of the three EFTA institutions, the EFTASecretariat, the EFTA Surveillance Authority and theEFTA Court in cooperation with external auditors. Formatters related to the Secretariat, the Board meets “atfour” (one representative of each EFTA Member State)and reports directly to the EFTA Council. For mattersrelated to the EEA Agreement (the EFTA SurveillanceAuthority and the EFTA Court), the Board meets “atthree” (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, whereSwitzerland is an observer) and reports to theESA/Court Committee. The Board also works incooperation with the European Court of Auditors. In2008, the EBOA met four times.

The yearly audit report the EBOA issues on theEFTA Secretariat will be available on theSecretariat’s website.

ADMINISTRATION

EFTA Budget 2008 (in CHF) Fig. 5

Budget posts Budget 2008Trade relations 2 761 000Managing the EEA Agreement 5 916 000EFTA/EU Statistical cooperation 547 000Secretary/General Services 1 313 000EU-EFTA and EFTA cooperation programmes 3 480 000Internal activities 11 311 000Total EFTA Secretariat 25 328 000

Contributions to the EFTA Budget 2008 Fig. 6

Member State Contributions (in CHF) Share (in %)

Iceland 1 163 000 4.59Liechtenstein 246 000 0.97Norway 13 590 000 53.00Switzerland 10 329 000 41.44Total 25 328 000 100.00


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APPENDICESEFTA Parliamentary Committee Members

Iceland

Ms Katrín Júlíusdóttir Social Democratic Alliance

Mr Bjarni Benediktsson Independence Party

Mr Árni Thór Sigurdsson Left-Green Movement

Mr Illugi Gunnarsson Independence Party

Ms Arnbjörg Sveinsdóttir Independence Party

Liechtenstein

Ms Renate Wohlwend Progressive Citizen’s Party

Mr Henrik Caduff Patriotic Union

Norway

Mr Svein Roald Hansen (CMP/MPS Chairman) Labour Party

Ms Laila Dåvøy Christian Democratic Party

Ms Marianne Aasen Labour Party

Mr Gjermund Hagesæter Progress Party

Mr Bent Høie Conservative Party

Ms Øystein Djupedal Socialist Left Party

Switzerland

Ms Brigitta M. Gadient Civic Democratic Party of Switzerland

Mr Didier Burkhalter Liberal Democratic Party

Mr Hans Kaufmann Swiss People's Party

Mr Eugen David Christian-Democratic Party

Mr Hans Widmer Social-Democratic Party


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EFTA Consultative Committee Members

Iceland

Mr Guðlaugur Stefánsson (Vice-Chair) Confederation of Icelandic Employers

Mr Haraldur Ingi Birgisson Iceland Chamber of Commerce

Mr Halldór Grönvold Icelandic Confederation of Labour

Mr Páll H. Hannesson Federation of State and Municipal Employees

Mr Bjarni Már Gylfason Federation of Icelandic Industries (replaced Jón Steindór Valdimarsson)

Liechtenstein

Mr Josef Beck (Vice-Chair from Nov. 08) Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Mr Sigi Langenbahn Federation of Liechtenstein Employees

Norway

Ms Wenche Paulsrud (Chair) Norwegian Confederation of Vocational UnionsMr Thomas Angell Federation of Norwegian Commercial and Service

Enterprises

Ms Liz Helgesen Norwegian Confederation of Unions for Professionals

Mr André Nerheim Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions

Ms Bente Stenberg-Nilsen Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities

Mr Espen Søilen Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise

Switzerland

Mr Vital G. Stutz Swiss Federation of Employees (Vice-Chair until Nov. 08)

Ms Ruth Derrer Balladore Swiss Union of Employers

Mr Gregor Kündig economiesuisse

Mr Marco Taddei Swiss Union of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Mr Hans-Peter Tinguely Swiss Workers’ Federation

Mr Pierre Weiss Fédération des Entreprises Romandes Genève


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EFTA Ministerial Meeting, Lugano, 30 June 2008

Communiqué

The EFTA Ministers underlined the importance ofexpanding EFTA's network of free tradeagreements. They welcomed the signing earlier thisyear of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) withCanada as well as the entry into force of the FTAwith the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)on 1 May 2008. They furthermore expressed theirsatisfaction with the recent finalization of free tradenegotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) and Colombia. They noted with satisfactionthe launch of negotiations with India and stressedthe importance of engaging in a swift process ofnegotiations. Ministers also welcomed theIntermediary Report of the Joint Study Group oncloser trade and investment cooperation betweenEFTA and Russia. Ministers also welcomedparticipation of the EFTA EEA States in the EU’sGreenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme for theperiod 2008-2012. They emphasised the importanceof continuous close co-operation with the EU onEnergy and Climate Change policies. Moreover,Ministers expressed satisfaction with the timelyinsertion of the EU Chemicals Regulation –REACH – into the EEA Agreement and theparticipation of the EEA EFTA States in the newEuropean Chemicals Agency. Finally theywelcomed the active participation of the EEA EFTAStates in EU Programmes for the period 2007-2013,thereby promoting a more competitive andinnovative Europe.

On 30 June 2008, the European Free Trade Association(EFTA) held its Summer Ministerial meeting inLugano, Switzerland, under the Chairmanship ofFederal Councillor Doris Leuthard, Head of theFederal Department of Economic Affairs ofSwitzerland. The EFTA Ministers met with Mr LuisGuillermo Plata, Minister of Trade, Industry andTourism of Colombia, welcoming the recentconclusion of a free trade agreement with that country.

Preferential trade relations

EFTA Ministers expressed their satisfaction with thecontinued expansion of EFTA’s network of free tradeagreements globally. Ministers confirmed that theyconstitute an important tool, complementary to the

WTO, to intensify trade and investment relations withtrading partners worldwide. Ministers also noted thegood functioning of the EFTA Convention.

Ministers welcomed the signing of the Free TradeAgreement with Canada at the end of January 2008 inDavos and the entry into force of the EFTA-SACU(Southern African Customs Union)[1] Free TradeAgreement on 1 May 2008.

The entry into force of this Agreement broadens thebasis to promote economic relations and co-operationwith partners in the region.

Ministers also welcomed the conclusion of the freetrade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC)[2] and Colombia and look forward to signingthese agreements in the coming months. Theagreements are expected to further strengthen tradeand investment relations with the Middle East andSouth America.

Ministers noted the significant progress achieved inongoing negotiations with Algeria and Peru andexpressed the hope that these might be concluded bythe end of the year.

Ministers stressed the importance of recent steps takento advance relations between EFTA and importanteconomic partners in Asia. In this respect, Ministerswelcomed the launch of negotiations with India on acomprehensive trade and investment agreement andexpressed their willingness to contribute to a swiftprocess of negotiations. In addition, Ministers statedtheir readiness to resume negotiations with Thailandand to start negotiations with Indonesia. Theyfurthermore confirmed their interest in deepening thedialogue aimed at intensifying trade and investmentrelations with Malaysia.

Ministers exchanged views about bilateral ongoingprocesses of different EFTA States with China andwith Japan.

Ministers also underlined the importance of thefurther expansion of EFTA’s FTA network in Europe,by preparing the ground for free trade negotiations

[1] SACU: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.[2] Gulf Cooperation Council: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Quatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.


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with Russia and Ukraine, and by continuing theprocess with Serbia and Albania. The Ministersexpressed their satisfaction with the IntermediaryReport of the Joint Study Group on closer trade andinvestment cooperation between EFTA and Russiaand look forward to the finalisation of the report byNovember this year.

Relations with the European Union

Ministers welcomed the recent adoption of thefollowing Decisions into the EEA Agreement:

• The Food Law Package, formalising EEA EFTAparticipation in the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA) and expanding the scope of the EEAveterinary legislation to Iceland;

• The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Schemeenabling participation of the EEA EFTA States inthe Scheme for the period 2008-2012;

• The right of citizens of the Union and their familymembers to move and reside freely within theterritory of the Member States, according to theprovisions of the EEA Agreement; and

• The EU Chemicals Regulation, REACH, includingthe participation of the EEA EFTA States in the newEuropean Chemical Agency.

On Energy and Climate Change, Ministers stressed theimportance of continuous close cooperation with theEU, inter alia, in promoting energy technology,increased use of renewable energy resources such asgeothermal energy and carbon capture and storage(CCS) alongside other technologies.

Furthermore, the Ministers noted proposals from theEU on the introduction of new sectors into theEmission Trading Scheme and underlined the need totake into account the special circumstances of the EEAEFTA States.

Ministers underlined the importance of the closeinvolvement of the EEA EFTA States in furtherdevelopments of EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy andexpressed their support for the comprehensiveintegrated approach.

Ministers welcomed the active participation of theEEA EFTA States in EEA-relevant EU Programmesfor the period 2007-2013, thus promoting commoninterests towards a more competitive and innovativeEurope. This cooperation promotes the commonpolitical and economic goals of the EEA Agreement.

Ministers reaffirmed the importance attached tocontinued EEA EFTA contributions to the decision-shaping process of EEA-relevant EU legislationthrough participation in appropriate Committees andWorking Groups, and by submission of EEA EFTAComments. In this context, Ministers also noted theimportance of assessing the implications of the LisbonTreaty on this process.

The Ministers expressed their satisfaction with theprogress made in the implementation of the EEAFinancial Mechanism and the Norwegian FinancialMechanism. Around €934 million have been madeavailable for individual projects and €145 million togroups such as NGOs, students and researchersthrough specific block grants. A total €140 million willbe made available to Bulgaria and Romania until April2009, and specific funds for students and NGOs areunder preparation.

WTO

Ministers reasserted their strong support for the WTOand the multilateral trading system. They highlightedthe need for a comprehensive approach to thenegotiations and shared the view that progress needs tobe made not only in Agriculture but also in other areaslike Industrial Goods (NAMA), Services and Rules.Furthermore, they expressed their commitment toensuring a successful conclusion of the Round in thenear future.

Advisory Bodies

Ministers held meetings with EFTA’s two advisorybodies, the Parliamentary Committee and theConsultative Committee, and had a fruitful exchangeof views with Committee members on a range of issuesincluding the most recent developments in EFTA thirdcountry relations, the state of play in the WTO Dohanegotiations, latest developments in the EEA and thefuture of the EEA. Ministers appreciated the high-quality input and welcomed the useful work


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undertaken by the Committees both in terms of EFTAthird country policies and developments in the EEA.The two Committees take an active interest in EFTA’swork and continue to enjoy the fruitful co-operationwith their counterparts in the EU and other EFTApartner countries.

Ministers attending:

Switzerland: Ms Doris Leuthard, FederalCouncillor, Head of the FederalDepartment of Economic Affairs(Chair)

Iceland: Ms Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir,Minister for Foreign Affairs andExternal Trade

Liechtenstein: Ms Rita Kieber-Beck, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Norway: Ms Annelene Svingen, StateSecretary, Ministry of Trade andIndustry

EFTA Ministerial Meeting, Geneva, 25 November 2008

Communiqué

EFTA Ministers were joined by Mr Luis GuillermoPlata, Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism ofColombia, for the signing of the EFTA-ColombiaFree Trade Agreement.

The EFTA Ministers welcomed the commencementof negotiations with India and look forward to thesettling of the last outstanding issues in thenegotiations with Peru. They endorsed the EFTA-Russia Joint Study Group Report and expressedtheir wish to start preparations for the opening offree trade negotiations in 2009. Ministers furtherexpressed their readiness to launch negotiationswith Albania, Serbia and Ukraine.

On 25 November 2008, the European Free TradeAssociation (EFTA) held a Ministerial Meeting inGeneva under the Chairmanship of Mr Björgvin G.Sigurdsson, Minister of Business Affairs of Iceland.

Ministers from the four EFTA Member States,together with the Minister of Trade, Industry andTourism of Colombia, signed the EFTA-ColombiaFree Trade Agreement. Ministers welcomed thestrengthening of trade and economic relations withColombia and are confident that the new tradeopportunities would contribute to economic growthand development.

Ministers look forward to the settling of the lastoutstanding issues in the negotiations with Peru andexpect the Agreement to be signed in the course of2009. They also expressed their hope that a free tradeagreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council besigned in the coming months.

The EFTA Ministers welcomed and endorsed theEFTA-Russia Joint Study Group Report, whichconcluded that a broad-based bilateral Free TradeAgreement between the EFTA States and the RussianFederation would significantly advance the economicrelationship between the Parties. They expressed theirwish to start preparations for the opening of free tradenegotiations in 2009.

Ministers welcomed the commencement ofnegotiations with India. They underlined their interestin developing a stronger trade and economicrelationship with India by reaching an early conclusionof the free trade negotiations.

Progress in ongoing negotiations with Algeria wasnoted with satisfaction and Ministers expressed hopefor a conclusion of the negotiations in the first quarterof 2009. They also reiterated their wish to seenegotiations with Thailand resume at the earliestpossible opportunity.

Ministers discussed the further expansion of EFTA’sfree trade network and expressed their readiness to


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start negotiations with Albania, Serbia and Ukraine inthe first half of 2009.

They noted with satisfaction the ongoing process withMalaysia on the development of closer trade andeconomic relations, and reiterated their readiness toengage in negotiations with Indonesia on the basis ofrecommendations by the Joint Study Group.

Ministers discussed the ongoing negotiations onthe WTO Doha Development Agenda. Theystressed their commitment to a successfulconclusion of these negotiations and extended theirstrong backing to all efforts to move the talksforward. Ministers emphasised the importance ofreinforcing the multilateral system and resistingprotectionist tendencies in the context of thecurrent financial crisis.

Ministers welcomed the interim report from the ad hocEFTA Working Group on Trade and Environment andlooked forward to receiving the final report at their

next meeting. Ministers furthermore decided toestablish an ad hoc Working Group on social andlabour standards in Free Trade Agreements.

Ministers also met with EFTA’s ParliamentaryCommittee and had a fruitful exchange of views onrecent developments in EFTA’s third country policiesand on EEA matters.

Ministers attending:

Iceland: Mr Björgvin G. Sigurdsson,Minister of Business Affairs(Chair)

Liechtenstein: Ms Rita Kieber-Beck, Minister ofForeign Affairs

Norway: Ms Rikke Lind, Deputy Ministerof Trade and Industry

Switzerland: Ms Annelene Svingen, State MsDoris Leuthard, FederalCouncillor, Head of the FederalDepartment of Economic Affairs

1. The twenty-ninth meeting of the EEA Counciltook place in Brussels on 27 May 2008 under thePresidency of Mr. Matjaž Šinkovec, StateSecretary at the Office of the Prime Minister ofSlovenia. The meeting was attended by Ms.Elisabeth Walaas, State Secretary, Ministry ofForeign Affairs, Norway, by Ms. Rita Kieber-Beck, Minister for Foreign Affairs ofLiechtenstein, by Mr. Grétar Már Sigurðsson,Permanent Secretary of State, Ministry ofForeign Affairs of Iceland, by Members of theCouncil of the European Union and by aRepresentative of the European Commission.

2. The EEA Council noted that within theframework of the Political Dialogue, theMinisters discussed Kosovo, Middle East andAfghanistan.

3. The EEA Council noted that the Lisbon Strategyfor Growth and Jobs has entered into a morefocused phase with integrated guidelines forgrowth and jobs, recognising that the renewedStrategy has already yielded results. The EEACouncil welcomed the new cycle of the Strategystarting in 2008, following its endorsement at theSpring European Council.

4. The Ministers stressed the importance of theproposals in the Third Energy Market Packagesubmitted on 19 September 2007 for effective,fully-functioning and interconnected EuropeanElectricity and Gas Markets. The Ministers agreedthat the further legislative processes in this Packageare now approaching a decisive phase andunderlined the necessity and feasibility of findingappropriate solutions to the issues at stake.

5. The Ministers welcomed the comprehensiveapproach of the Energy and Climate ChangePackage launched on 23 January and endorsed atthe Spring European Council. The Package iscurrently under consideration within the EEAEFTA States. The Ministers stressed theimportance of continuous close co-operationbetween the EU and the EEA EFTA States, interalia, in promoting energy technology, increaseduse of renewable energy resources (e.g.geothermal energy), and carbon capture andstorage (CCS) alongside other technologies.They underlined the importance of supportingearly and environmentally safe demonstration ofCCS, and expressed interest for EEA EFTAStates’ CCS projects to participate in the EUproject network for early movers. They

Conclusions of the 29th meeting of the EEA Council Brussels, 27 May 2008


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recognised the need to address the concernrepresented by the risk of carbon leakage incertain sectors such as energy intensive industryparticularly exposed to international competition.

6. Furthermore, the Ministers noted proposals onthe introduction of new sectors into the EmissionTrading Scheme and took note of the need to takeinto account the special circumstances of theEEA EFTA States.

7. The Ministers expressed their appreciation forthe continued progress concerning the EEAFinancial Mechanism and the NorwegianFinancial Mechanism, with a current portfolio ofalmost 500 committed projects and block grantssupported across Central and Southern Europe,and for the direct co-operation between bodies inthe beneficiary States and in the EEA EFTAStates through partnership projects. The EEACouncil expressed its satisfaction with the factthat calls for individual project proposals havebeen held in all beneficiary States. In addition tothe €887 million made available to individualprojects by 1 April 2008, more than 40 blockgrants have been established within thebeneficiary States to channel over €145 millionin grants to groups such as non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs), students and researchers.By 1 April 2008, the EEA EFTA States hadapproved applications totalling €569 million. The EEA Council also noted the further positiveeffects to be gained from the dedicated efforts ofboth the donor and the beneficiary States for thesuccessful and timely implementation of theselected projects.

8. The EEA Council noted the Progress Report ofthe EEA Joint Committee and in particular:

• Welcomed the participation of the EEA EFTAStates in EEA-relevant EU Programmes for theperiod 2007-2013. This participation is co-financed by the EEA EFTA States. It alsowelcomed the EEA EFTA States’ activeparticipation in the new generation ofProgrammes, thus promoting commoninterests, towards a more competitive andinnovative Europe;

• Welcomed the ongoing trade negotiationsbetween the European Community and Icelandin processed agricultural products within the

framework of Protocol 3 to the EEAAgreement and the possible inclusion ofArticle 19 products into these negotiations. Itequally welcomed the continued negotiationsbetween the European Community andNorway on further liberalisation of trade inagricultural products on the basis of Article 19of the EEA Agreement and noted the reviewprocess between the European Community andNorway within the framework of Protocol 3 tothe EEA Agreement;

• Welcomed the incorporation of the EUChemicals Regulation – REACH – into theEEA Agreement, including the participation ofthe EEA–EFTA States in the new EuropeanChemicals Agency. The Ministers agreed that agood foundation for further co-operation inthis important area had thus been established.

• Welcomed the follow-up of the new EUInnovation Strategy, in particular the emphasison the Lead Markets Initiative and theestablishment of the European Institute ofInnovation and Technology;

• Welcomed the follow-up of the IntegratedMaritime Policy and underlined theimportance of the close involvement of theEEA EFTA States in further developments;

• Underlined the importance of EEA-EFTAcontribution to the follow-up of the SingleMarket Review;

• Welcomed the second review of the BetterRegulation Initiative and underlined itsrelevance for the whole of the EEA;

• Acknowledged the EEA-EFTA stake in theefforts to establish an improved generalframework for services in the Internal Market;

• Welcomed the EEA-EFTA contributions to thedecision-shaping process of EEA-relevant EClegislation and programmes, for examplethrough participation in relevant Committeesand Expert Groups, and by submitting EEA-EFTA Comments.

9. The EEA Council held an orientation debate onMaritime Policy.


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10. The Ministers underlined the importance for theContracting Parties to ascertain that relevantactors throughout the European Economic Arearemain well informed about the EEA Agreement.

11. The EEA Council recognised the importance ofinviting EEA-EFTA Ministers to attend relevantinformal EU Ministerial Meetings andMinisterial Conferences on the basis of EEA-EFTA participation in the Internal Market. TheEEA Council also recalled the practice of invitingthe EEA-EFTA States – at the level of officials –to political dialogue meetings with relevantCouncil Working Parties in troika format and

expressed its appreciation to the incoming FrenchPresidency for the continuation of this practice.

12. The EEA Council noted the Resolutions of theEEA Joint Parliamentary Committee adopted atits 30th meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland on 29-30April 2008 on The Annual Report on theFunctioning of the EEA Agreement in 2007 andon Health services in the EEA.

The EEA Council also noted the Resolutions of theEEA Consultative Committee adopted at its 16thmeeting in Svalbard, Norway on 14-16 May 2008 onTransport and Life-long Learning.

1. The thirtieth meeting of the EEA Council tookplace in Brussels on 13 November 2008 under thePresidency of Ms Rita Kieber-Beck, Minister forForeign Affairs of Liechtenstein. The meetingwas attended by Ms Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir,Minister for the Environment of Iceland and MrJonas Gahr Støre, Minister for Foreign Affairs ofNorway from the EEA EFTA side, as well as byMr Jean-Pierre Jouyet, representing the FrenchPresidency of the Council of the EuropeanUnion, by Members of the Council of theEuropean Union and by the Representative of theEuropean Commission responsible for EEACouncil matters, from the EU side.

2. The EEA Council noted that within theframework of the Political Dialogue, theMinisters discussed the situation in Afghanistan,Russia and Zimbabwe.

3. The EEA Council underlined that, in the currenttroubled situation in the financial sector, thepriority remains to maintain confidence andstability. The EEA Council affirms its commitmentthat in all circumstances the necessary measureswill be taken to preserve the stability of thefinancial system, to support the major financialinstitutions, to avoid bankruptcies and to protectsavers' deposits. To this effect, it reiterated the needfor rigorous implementation by financialinstitutions of recommendations on thetransparency of their commitments and risks. In amore structural prospect, given the closeintegration of the EFTA and the EU markets, it is ofthe utmost importance to enhance substantially the

cooperation and transparency between EFTA andEU supervisory and regulatory authorities. In thecurrent exceptional circumstances, EEA rules mustcontinue to be implemented in a way that meets theneed for speedy and flexible action. The EEACouncil supports the implementation by the EFTASurveillance Authority, in this spirit, of the rules oncompetition policy, particularly State aids, whilecontinuing to apply the principles of the singlemarket and the system of State aids.

4. The EEA Council is determined to takecoordinated and thorough action to restore thesmooth running of the financial system, thusensuring the normal and effective financing ofthe economy and returning to the path of growthand employment. The EU and EEA EFTAcountries stressed the accountability on the partof all those involved in the financial system andthe need for a genuine, all-encompassing reformof the international financial system based on theprinciples of transparency, sound banking,responsibility, integrity and world governance.They committed to quickly take appropriateinitiatives in this respect, in consultation withtheir main partners and the relevant internationalfinancial institutions (including the IMF and theFinancial Stability Forum).

5. The Ministers underlined the importance of thesecond cycle of the Lisbon Strategy and lookedforward to the annual report in December 2008.The EEA EFTA States are closely following theimplementation of the new Community LisbonProgramme.

Conclusions of the 30th meeting of the EEA Council Brussels, 30 November 2008


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6. The Ministers reiterated the importance of theproposals in the Third Energy Market Packagesubmitted on 19 September 2007 for effective,fully-functioning and interconnected EuropeanElectricity and Gas Markets. The Ministersunderlined the importance of concluding the ThirdLiberalisation Package in early spring 2009.

7. The Ministers recalled their discussions fromprevious EEA Councils on the Energy and ClimateChange Package launched on 23 January. ThePackage is under consideration within the EEAEFTA States. The Ministers underlined theimportance of the Package for the future globalclimate change policy, as well as for the EU andthe EEA EFTA States. The Ministers expressedsatisfaction with the ongoing constructivedialogue regarding the Package, both at politicaland expert level. Furthermore, the Ministersstressed the importance of concluding theEnergy and Climate Change Package in time forthe Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.They underlined the importance of continuousclose co-operation between the EU and the EEAEFTA States in the area of energy and climatechange, for instance, in promoting energytechnologies and energy efficiency, increaseduse of renewable energy resources (e.g.geothermal energy), and carbon capture andstorage (CCS) alongside other technologies.

8. Furthermore, the Ministers noted the introductionof the aviation sector into the Emission TradingScheme and took note of the need to take intoaccount the special circumstances of the EEAEFTA States.

9. The Ministers expressed their appreciation forthe continued progress concerning the EEAFinancial Mechanism and the NorwegianFinancial Mechanism, with a current portfolioof more than 700 approved projects and funds.More than 130 of these projects involve direct co-operation between actors in thebeneficiary states and the EEA EFTA States.The EEA EFTA States have approved 50 fundstotalling close to €170 million in assistance togroups such as non-governmental organisations(NGOs), students and researchers. TheMinisters also noted the positive outcome of theefforts made by the donor and the beneficiarystates for the successful and timelyimplementation of the selected projects.

10. The Ministers noted the launch of the negotiationson the future of financial contributions by the EEAEFTA States for the reduction of economic andsocial disparities and underlined the importance offinalising these negotiations in a timely manner.

11. The Ministers noted that the EuropeanCommission has agreed with Iceland andNorway bilaterally that the quota levels forcertain fish and fishery products shall bereviewed by the end of April 2009, as laid downin the Additional Protocols to the EEAEnlargement Agreements.

12. The EEA Council noted the Progress Report ofthe EEA Joint Committee and in particular:

• Welcomed the participation of the EEA EFTAStates in EEA-relevant EU Programmes Theseprogrammes are co-financed by the EEA EFTAStates and promote common interests towardsa more competitive and innovative Europe;

• Stressed the importance of EEA EFTAparticipation in the European Institute ofGender Equality;

• Welcomed the good progress made in the tradenegotiations between the European Communityand Iceland in processed agricultural productswithin the framework of Protocol 3 to the EEAAgreement. It equally noted the continuednegotiations between the European Communityand Norway on further liberalisation of trade inagricultural products on the basis of Article 19 ofthe EEA Agreement and looked forward to asuccessful outcome. It further encouraged theEuropean Community and Norway to engageconstructively in a review within the frameworkof Article 2(2) of Protocol 3 to the EEAAgreement;

• Welcomed the follow-up of the IntegratedMaritime Policy and underlined theimportance of the close involvement of theEEA EFTA States in further developments;

• Underlined the importance of involving theEEA EFTA States in EEA-relevant measureswithin the Single Market Review;

• Ministers noted the renewed social agenda, itscross-cutting and multi-dimensional nature,


covering a wide range of areas, notably in thefields of employment, health, migration, socialaffairs, education and equality. The EEA EFTAside expressed its commitment to adequatelyfollow-up, within the scope of the EEAAgreement, to the proposed directives andother policy initiatives;

• Ministers underlined that the response to socialchallenges in the age of globalisation should bemet by stimulating growth and jobs in a soundmacroeconomic climate, by promoting genderequality, fighting discrimination, fosteringsocial partnership, improving workingconditions and ensuring social cohesion.Ministers remained committed to empoweringand enabling individuals to realise theirpotential while at the same time helping thosewho are unable to do so; and

• Welcomed the EEA EFTA contributions to thedecision-shaping process of EEA-relevant EClegislation and programmes through inter aliatheir participation in relevant committees,expert groups and agencies and by submittingEEA EFTA Comments.

13. The EEA Council held an orientation debate onthe Arctic Policy.

14. The Ministers underlined the importance for theContracting Parties to ascertain that relevantactors throughout the European Economic Arearemain well informed about the EEA Agreement.

15. The EEA Council reiterated the importance ofinviting EEA EFTA Ministers to attend relevantinformal EU Ministerial Meetings andMinisterial Conferences on the basis of EEAEFTA participation in the Internal Market. TheEEA Council also recalled the practice of invitingthe EEA EFTA States — at the level of officials— to political dialogue meetings with relevantCouncil Working Parties in troika format andexpressed its appreciation to the incoming CzechPresidency for the continuation of this practice.

16. The EEA Council noted the Resolutions of theEEA Joint Parliamentary Committee adopted atits 31st meeting in Brussels on 4 November 2008on Research and Education Programmes: TheEEA and the EFTA States and on FuturePerspectives for the European Economic Area.


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EUROPEAN FREE TRADE ASSOCIATION - EFTA


48th annual report of the european free trade association 2008

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