• EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee adopts resolution on TTIP   22.04.2015

    It is important to increase the dialogue between the EU and the EEA EFTA States on developments in the TTIP negotiations in order to ensure homogeneity of the EEA, state Members of the European Parliament and parliamentarians from the EEA EFTA States in a resolution adopted by the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee (EEA JPC) in March 2015.

  • Improved access to Icelandic and Norwegian translations of EU legal acts   08.04.2015

    The EEA-Lex look-up tool on EFTA's website has been expanded to include links to Icelandic and Norwegian translations of EU legal acts published in the EEA Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union. EEA-Lex offers information about the status of EU acts that have been incorporated into the EEA Agreement or are under consideration for future incorporation.

  • Lively discussions on the Independent Review of the European Standardisation System   31.03.2015

    On 26 March 2015, a meeting on the independent review of the European Standardisation System arranged by the European Commission, was hosted by the EFTA Secretariat. 112 participants had registered for the meeting and represented EU and EFTA States, industry, European and national standards organisations, Annex III organisations and other stakeholders.

  • EFTA discusses report by European Environment Agency   25.03.2015
    Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director, European Environment Agency, Kjartan Ingvarsson, Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources, Iceland and Dag W. Holter, Deputy Secretary-General, EFTA Secretariat

    On 24 March 2015, the EFTA Working Group on the Environment met to discuss the processing of environmental acquis and relevant policy developments. The meeting started with a presentation by Dr Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, on the Agency’s State of the Environment Report (SOER), which was published this month.

  • ERIC Regulation incorporated into EEA Agreement   20.03.2015

    On 20 March 2015, the EEA Joint Committee adopted 40 decisions incorporating 61 legal acts into the EEA Agreement. Among them were the Regulation on the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) and the Decision on Serious Cross-border Threats to Health.

  • EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee discusses TTIP and Industrial Policy   17.03.2015

    On 17 March 2015, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and parliamentarians from the EEA EFTA States – Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland – met in Fredrikstad to discuss developments in the EEA and other topical issues in the EU of relevance to the EEA EFTA States.

  • 49 legal acts incorporated into EEA Agreement   25.02.2015
    From Gianluca Grippa (Head of division, Western Europe Unit) and Florin Nita, European External Action Service.

    On 25 February 2015, the EEA Joint Committee adopted 33 decisions by written procedure, incorporating 49 legal acts into the EEA Agreement. Among these acts was the directive on certain permitted uses of orphan works.

  • EFTA Seminar attracts great interest from the EU side   04.02.2015

    On 4 February 2015, 70 participants from both the public and private sectors met at the EFTA Secretariat in Brussels for an introductory seminar on the European Economic Area (EEA). Representatives of the EFTA Secretariat, Financial Mechanism Office (FMO), EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and EFTA Court gave presentations on the day-to-day operation and management of the EEA Agreement, including recent developments and challenges.

  • EU briefs EEA EFTA States on TTIP   12.12.2014
    Ms Renita Bhaskar, Trade Affairs Manager and Co-ordinator for bilateral trade relations with the United States in DG Trade at the European Commission

    At the EEA Joint Committee meeting on 12 December 2014, the European Union gave the EEA EFTA States a briefing on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). During the same meeting, 67 legal acts were incorporated into the EEA Agreement, including the Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

  • EEA Council discusses EEA EFTA participation in European Financial Supervisory Authorities   19.11.2014

    At the 42nd meeting of the EEA Council, held in Brussels on 19 November 2014, Ministers discussed EEA EFTA participation in the European Supervisory Authorities for financial markets, the incorporation of legal acts into the EEA Agreement and the continuation of the EEA financial mechanism for another term.