The meeting was chaired by Oda Sletnes, Norway's Ambassador to the EU (right), with minister councellor Knut Hermansen (left).
The most recent comment was made on the Commission proposal for work-life balance (WLB) for parents and carers, which aims at modernising the existing legal framework in order to take a broader approach towards women’s underrepresentation in the labour market. It also aims at enabling parents and other people with caring responsibilities to better balance their work and family lives and to encourage a better sharing of caring responsibilities between women and men.
The EEA EFTA States share the goals and objectives of this legislative proposal, and fully agree that the underrepresentation of women in the labour market is a serious concern. However, the EEA EFTA States also believe that the proposal should leave room for States to decide which measures work best in their political and societal context.
The second comment was made on the Commission proposal on marketing and use of explosives precursors. Explosive precursors are chemical substances that can be used to manufacture homemade explosives. Hence, the EEA EFTA countries voiced their general support for the proposal as it should further restrict the misuse of dangerous chemical substances. However, they also stressed the importance of avoiding unnecessary ambiguity in the wording of some of the proposed definitions, which could potentially reduce effectiveness of the proposal.
These comments made in the EEA Joint Committee are examples of how the EEA EFTA Member States take part in decision shaping through the EEA Agreement. Find all EEA EFTA comments here.
The EEA EFTA Chair, Ambassador Oda Helen Sletnes also took the opportunity to introduce and welcome the new senior management at EFTA to their first EEA Joint Committee Meeting.
Priovisional texts of Joint Committee Decisions in 2018.
High resolution photos from the meetings.
From left: Henri Gétaz, Secretary-General, Hege Marie Hoff, Deputy Secretary-General, Andri Lúthersson, Deputy Secretary-General.
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