EEA seminar attracts professionals from EFTA and EU Member States

Representatives of the EFTA Secretariat, the Financial Mechanism Office, the EFTA Surveillance Authority, the EFTA Court and the European External Action Service gave presentations on the day-to-day operation and management of the EEA Agreement. Topics discussed included the reasoning behind the Agreement, the legal framework, recent developments in the EEA and potential future challenges. A recurrent question in the debate concerned Brexit and future relations between the UK and the EFTA Member States.

 

The seminar attracted a number of officials from the European Commission, Permanent Representations of the EU Member States, national authorities of the EFTA Member States, and individuals from European businesses and think tanks.

 

This biannual seminar is intended primarily for those who work on EEA-related matters in national administrations, EU and EFTA institutions, permanent representations and missions to the EU, or other organisations. As the seminar attracted more participants than ever before, EFTA had to close registrations early. For those who could not attend for this reason, it is worth highlighting that the next seminar will take place on 12 September 2017. Find the registration form here.

 

EFTA would like to thank all the speakers and participants for making the seminar a success.

 

Find high resolution photos from the seminar here.

 

The presentations:

Introduction to the EEA Agreement - Dag Wernø Holter, Deputy Secretary-General, EFTA Secretariat

How the EEA Agreement works - Thorfinnur Omarsson, Head of Communication, EFTA Secretariat

How EU law becomes EEA law - Elisabeth Haugsdal, Legal Officer, EFTA Secretariat

Procedures on the EU side in incorporation of the EEA legislation - Václav Navrátil - EEA coordination, European External Action Service 

How EEA and Norway Grants reduce disparities and strengthen cooperation in Europe - Eva Thóra Karlsdóttir, Communication Officer, EEA Grants and Norway Grants 

How EEA law is enforced - Catherine Howdle, Deputy Director of Legal & Executive Affairs, EFTA Surveillance Authority

How EEA law is interpreted - Gunnar Selvik, Registrar, EFTA Court

 

 

Dag Wernø Holter, EFTA's Deputy Secretary-General, and Thorfinnur Omarsson, Head of Communication, during engaging discussions on the EEA and developments in Europe.