About EFTA News

  • EFTA Council approves budget for 2016   07.12.2015
    Ambassador Harald Neple (Chair), Mission of Norway to EFTA and the WTO (right), and Adalsteinn Leifsson, Director, EFTA Secretariat.

    On 7 December, at its last meeting in 2015, the EFTA Council approved the budget for 2016 and reviewed the winter Ministerial meeting held on 23 November in Geneva.

  • EFTA Parliamentary Committee meet with EFTA Ministers   23.11.2015
    Mr Vidar Helgesen, Minister of EEA and EU Affairs at the Office of the Prime Minister of Norway, and Ms Kathy Riklin, Christian Democratic Party, Switzerland

    On 23 November, the EFTA Parliamentary Committee met with the EFTA Ministers in connection with the EFTA Ministerial meeting in Geneva.

  • EFTA Ministerial meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 23 November 2015   23.11.2015
    Mr Vidar Helgesen (Chair), Minister of EEA and EU Affairs of Norway

    On 23 November 2015, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held its biannual Ministerial Meeting in Geneva. The meeting was chaired by Mr Vidar Helgesen, Minister of EEA and EU Affairs of Norway. The Ministers met with Ambassador Michael Punke, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, to pursue the trade policy dialogue with the U.S. and to discuss developments in the TTIP negotiations between the U.S. and the European Union.

  • Visit of the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein   16.11.2015
    Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Secretary-General of EFTA Kristinn F. Árnasonn

    In a meeting with EFTA’s Secretary-General Kristinn F. Arnason on 16 November, Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein discussed the status for on-going negotiations on free trade agreements with third countries, as well as the developments in the financial services sector with relevance to the EEA Agreement.

  • EFTA and EU Ministers of Finance and Economy discuss economic growth   10.11.2015
    Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research in Switzerland and Adrian Hasler, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Liechtenstein

    The annual meeting of EFTA and EU Ministers of Finance and Economy (the “EFTA ECOFIN”) took place on 10 November 2015 in Brussels. The main topics of discussion were economic growth and structural reforms.

  • Norway takes over chair of the EFTA Council   14.07.2015

    The EFTA Council met in Geneva on 14 July 2015. Norway, holding the rotating Council chair for the second half of the year, presented its priorities. The Council also reviewed the results of the Ministerial meeting in Schaan, Liechtenstein, held on 22 June 2015.

  • EFTA Ministerial meeting, Schaan, Liechtenstein, 22 June 2015   22.06.2015

    On 22 June 2015, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held its summer Ministerial meeting in Schaan, Liechtenstein. The meeting was chaired by Ms Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein.

  • EFTA Council prepares for Ministerial Meeting in Schaan   09.06.2015
    From left: Secretary-General Kristinn F. Árnason, Director Aðalsteinn Leifsson, Secretary to the Council and Ambassador Peter Matt of Liechtenstein, Chair of the EFTA Council.

    The upcoming EFTA Ministerial meeting in Schaan, Liechtenstein, on 22 June figured high on the agenda of the meeting of the EFTA Council in Geneva today.

  • Framework partnership agreements on standardisation approved by the EFTA Council   26.03.2015
    Ambassador Peter Matt of Liechtenstein, Chair of the EFTA Council

    At the second meeting under the Liechtenstein Chair on 26 March 2015, the EFTA Council approved framework partnership agreements with the European Association for the Coordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation (ANEC) and with the European Environmental Citizens’ Organisation for Standardisation (ECOS).

  • Charles Müller (1922-2015)   11.03.2015

    Charles Müller, who served as Assistant Secretary-General (1960 to 1965), Deputy Secretary-General (1965 to 1966) and Secretary-General (1976 to 1981), passed away on 3 March 2015. We remember our former Secretary-General and colleague with gratitude and express our sincere condolences to his family.