EEA Joint Committee incorporates 102 legal acts into the EEA Agreement

The EEA Joint Committee met for the sixth time in 2023 on 22 September at EFTA House in Brussels. The meeting was presided over by Liechtenstein’s Ambassador and EFTA Chair Pascal Schafhauser. Nicolas von Lingen of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission co-chaired the meeting on behalf of the EU.

In the meeting, 56 Joint Committee decisions were adopted, incorporating 102 legal acts into the EEA Agreement. Among them were several important decisions including a 2018 Regulation on a framework for the free flow of non-personal data (Regulation (EU) 2018/1807). This regulation removes obstacles to the free movement of non-personal data between different EU countries and IT systems in Europe, allowing companies and public administrations to store and process non-personal data anywhere in the EU. By incorporating this regulation into the EEA Agreement, the free flow of non-personal data will be possible also in the EEA EFTA States.

Ambassador Schafhauser highlighted the recent EEA EFTA Comment on the proposal for a Critical Raw Material Act. In the Comment, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway make several specific remarks to further strengthen the proposed act.

“The EEA EFTA States face the same challenges as the European Union with regard to potential disruptions in supply chains,” said Ambassador Schafhauser. “Demand for critical raw materials has increased and excessive reliance on single suppliers is not sustainable. The three EEA EFTA States support the Act’s overall objective of strengthening European green and digital industrial transformation.”

The EEA Joint Committee is responsible for the management of the EEA Agreement and is a forum in which views are exchanged and decisions are taken by consensus to incorporate EU legislation into the EEA Agreement. The committee is comprised of the ambassadors of the EEA EFTA States and representatives of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission.