EEA Joint Committee

The EEA Joint Committee (EEA JC) is responsible for the management of the EEA Agreement and typically meets eight times a year. It is a forum in which views are exchanged and decisions are taken by consensus to incorporate EU legislation into the EEA Agreement. 

The EEA JC is comprised by the ambassadors of the EEA EFTA States and representatives of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission. The Presidency of the EEA JC is alternatively held, for six months, by the EU side and an EEA EFTA State. 

Four subcommittees assist the Joint Committee (on the free movement of goods; the free movement of capital and services including company law; the free movement of persons; and horizontal and flanking policies). Numerous expert and working groups report to these subcommittees.

The EEA Joint Committee presents an Annual Report on the functioning of the EEA Agreement:

 

Joint Committee Meeting Schedule

 

Rules of Procedure of the EEA Joint Committee are laid down in Decision No 1/94 of the EEA Joint Committee, as amended by Decision No 24/2005 of the EEA Joint Committee. Click here for the consolidated version of the  Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee.

 

EEA Joint Committee Decisions

Whenever an EEA-relevant legal act is amended or a new one adopted by the EU, a corresponding amendment needs to be made to the relevant Annex of the EEA Agreement. This is essential to maintain the principle of homogeneity of the EEA. The amendment to the EEA Agreement should be taken as closely as possible to the adopted legislation on the EU side, with a view to permitting simultaneous application in the Community and in the EEA EFTA States.

The preparatory work for EEA Joint Decisions is the responsibility of the EFTA subcommittees and working groups in which representatives of the EEA EFTA States are present. The EEA Joint Committee makes the decision to incorporate Joint Decisions into the EEA Agreement. The EEA Joint Committee therefore plays a key role in the EEA decision-making procedure.

Overview of EEA Joint Committee Decisions:

List of adopted Joint Committee Decisions (JCDs)

Adopted Joint Committee Decisions

You can access these and other legal documents in the EFTA Legal Texts section of the website.

EEA Joint Committee agendas can be found in the EFTA Public Journal.

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