About EFTA

In this section you can find information on the European Free Trade Association  (EFTA), EFTA's history, current and previous Secretary-Generals, background information on the Association, Member States, budget, resources for the press, current job opportunities and EFTA staff.

Overview

The European Free Trade Association

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is the intergovernmental organisation of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It was set up in 1960 by its then seven Member States for the promotion of free trade and economic integration between its members.

The EFTA States

The EFTA Member States are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The four EFTA States are competitive in several sectors vital to the global economy and score among the highest in the world in competitiveness, wealth creation per inhabitant, life expectancy and quality of life.

Advisory Bodies

The EFTA Parliamentary Committee (PC) and the EFTA Consultative Committee (CC) are two important advisory bodies to the EFTA Council. The PC is a forum for parliamentarians in the four member states while the CC is comprised with representatives from trade unions and employers’ organisations.

Organisation

The EFTA Council

The EFTA Council is the highest governing body of EFTA. The Council usually meets eight times a year at the ambassadorial level (heads of permanent delegations to EFTA) and twice a year at Ministerial level.

The EFTA Secretariat

The Headquarters in Geneva deals with the management and negotiation of free trade agreements with non-EU countries, and provide support to the EFTA Council. In Brussels, the Secretariat provides support for the management of the EEA Agreement.

Chairmanship

The Chairmanship rotates every six months. For the EFTA Council, the chairmanship rotates between Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. For the EFTA Standing Committee, the Chairmnaship rotates between the three EEA EFTA States, namely Iceland Liechtenstein and Norway.

Activity

Job opportunities

With office in Brussels, Geneva and Luxembourg, the Secretariat of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) offers opportunities for highly specialised and qualified staff aiming at promoting free trade and economic cooperation between its members, within Europe and globally. The EFTA Secretariat provides services to the EFTA Member States.

Press Room

In EFTA's press room you can find useful resources for the press, print and publications. This section contains press communiques, photographs, EFTA logos for downloading and the EFTA news archive.

Visit the EFTA Secretariat

The EFTA Secretariat welcomes requests for presentations on EEA and trade related matters from groups of government officials, politicians, organisations and students visiting Brussels or Geneva. Visits are not allowed during Covid-19 restrictions.

Financial Information

EFTA's 2017 budget amounts to CHF 21 869 000 . Contributions by Member States to EFTA’s budget are primarily based on 3-year moving average GDP, adjusted for certain set multipliers that reflects the Member State's participation in the activities of EFTA and/or the EEA.

Director
Secretary-General's Office
Head of Information and Communication
Secretary-General's Office

+32 498 11 0541

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