Published 07-02-2018
Head of Communication Thorfinnur Omarsson, Director of Goods Division Brit Helle and Deputy Secretary-General Dag Wernø Holter answered questions from the audience.
On 6 February 2018, the EFTA Secretariat organised an introductory seminar focusing on how the EEA Agreement works and its market implications.
These implications were addressed during the four specific break-out sessions focusing on European Financial Supervision, the EU Energy Union, free movement of Goods and food safety and animal health. The biannual seminar, which takes place at the EFTA Secretariat in Brussels, was attended by approximately 130 participants from both the public and private sectors across Europe.
The seminar provided professionals, from both inside and outside the European Union, with a thorough understanding of the Agreement on the European Economic Area and how it extends participation in the EU’s Internal Market to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Representatives of the EFTA Secretariat, the Financial Mechanism Office (FMO), the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and the EFTA Court gave presentations on the day-to-day operation and management of the EEA Agreement, including recent developments and challenges. Whilst the European External Action Service (EEAS) explained the process behind the procedures on the EU side on incorporation of legislation into the EEA Agreement.
The second half of the seminar was devoted to the four sector specific break-out sessions. These illustrated the market implications of the EEA Agreement by addressing challenges connected to European Financial Supervision and how the EU Energy Union extends to the EEA. Why agriculture is not a part of the EEA Agreement but food safety and animal health are and the process of free movement of goods in the EEA were also explained. The presentations were followed by fruitful and dynamic discussions involving speakers and participants.
EFTA would like to thank all the speakers and participants for making the seminar a success.
Please find links to the various presentations below.
Introduction to the EEA Agreement - Dag Wernø Holter, Deputy Secretary-General, EFTA Secretariat
How the EEA Agreement works - Brit Helle, Director of Goods Division, EFTA Secretariat
How EU law becomes EEA law - Kyrre Isaksen, Head of EEA Legal Coordination, 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 - Tom Tjomsland, Head of Compliance and Administration Department, 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
Break-out sessions
European Financial Supervision – the biggest EEA challenge so far? By Valdimar Hjartarson, EFTA Secretariat and Per Christian Bæroe, EFTA Surveillance Authority.
Free movement of Goods in the EEA. How does it work? By Anna Constable, Per-Arvid Sjøgård and Guðrún Rögnvaldardóttir, EFTA Secretariat
How does the EU Energy Union extend to the EEA? By Niels Bekkhus, EFTA Secretariat
Food safety and animal health is in the EEA Agreement, while agriculture is not. How does that work? By Margrét Sigurðardóttir, EFTA Secretariat
Find high resolution photos here.
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