About EFTA News

  • EFTA is an important platform for the future   03.07.2012
    EFTA's Secretary-General Kåre Bryn, speaking at the EFTA Ministerial meeting in Gstaad on 28 June 2012

    After six years at the helm of the Association, EFTA’s Secretary-General, Kåre Bryn, will step down on 31 August. Having been Norway’s Ambassador in Geneva and a Member of the EFTA Council from 1999 to 2003, Mr Bryn has a long experience in EFTA affairs. At their meeting in Gstaad on 28 June, the EFTA Ministers thanked him for his excellent service to the organisation and its members. In the following statement, the Secretary-General looked at EFTA’s recent past, the present and the future.

  • EFTA Ministerial meeting, Gstaad, Switzerland, 28 June 2012   28.06.2012
    Kåre Bryn, Secretary-General, EFTA; Össur Skarphéðinsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Iceland; Aurelia Frick, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein; Johann Schneider-Ammann (Chair), Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs of Switzerland; and Trond Giske, Minister of Trade and Industry of Norway

    On 28 June 2012, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held its summer Ministerial meeting in Gstaad, Switzerland under the Chairmanship of Mr Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs of Switzerland. Ministers of the four EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) signed a joint declaration on cooperation with Georgia, represented by Ms Vera Kobalia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.

  • EFTA and Georgia plan to sign a joint declaration on cooperation in Gstaad on 28 June   22.06.2012

    On 21 June, the EFTA Council in Geneva prepared for the summer EFTA Ministerial meeting that will take place in Gstaad on 28 June. The Ministers plan to sign a joint declaration on cooperation with Georgia. The Council decided to liberalise intra-EFTA trade in agricultural products and reviewed ongoing free trade negotiations, including a recent round with Central American countries.

  • EFTA Council discusses expanding free trade network   21.05.2012

    The EFTA Council met on 16 May for their third meeting in 2012 under the chairmanship of Switzerland. The Council discussed free trade relations with several countries outside the European Union including the ongoing negotiations with the Custom Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and recent meetings under EFTA’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with Canada and Egypt. The Council also prepared the EFTA Summer Ministerial meeting in Switzerland.

  • EFTA's Annual Report for 2011 available   27.03.2012

    In 2011, a total of 373 new legal acts were incorporated into the EEA Agreement. Important additions include the Renewable Energy Directive, the new Social Security Regulation and the inclusion of aviation activities in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Also in 2011, Hong Kong China and Montenegro joined EFTA's expanding network of free trade partners. The EFTA States now have preferential free trade relations with 60 countries in Europe and the rest of the world, as well as with each other, meaning that 80% of EFTA’s merchandise trade is covered by preferential trading arrangements.

  • The EFTA Council: Working with the EU to train statisticians   22.03.2012
    EFTA-logo

    The EFTA Council met for the second time this year on 22 March in Geneva under the Chairmanship of Switzerland. The Council adopted the EFTA-Eurostat Technical Cooperation Programme for 2012, approved amendments to the Vaduz Convention and reviewed free trade relations with a number of countries outside the EU.

  • Intense debate on certification of services   07.03.2012
    Heidi Rühle, Member of the European Parliament (Greens), Kari Winquist, Acting Managing Director at Nordic Innovation, and Håkan Jonsson (Chairperson), Senior Consultant, Hallvarsson & Halvarsson

    Can we afford to continue without cross-border recog­nition of certification of services or should we promote for example pan-European solutions? And what role should the standardisation of services play at national and European level? These topics were discussed at a workshop on the role of certification linked to standardisation that took place on 1 March 2012. The event was hosted by the EFTA Secretariat and Nordic Innovation in cooperation with the European Commission, CEN, ANEC and Normapme.

  • EFTA Council Chair outlines priorities for the first half of 2012   15.02.2012
    EFTA Council

    The EFTA Council in Geneva held its first meeting in 2012 on 15 February. Switzerland, holding the rotating Council Chair for the first six months of the year, presented its priorities. The Council also reviewed the latest negotiating round with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

  • EFTA Council reviews Ministerial meeting and discusses free trade relations   09.12.2011
    EFTA-logo

    The EFTA Council met for the last time in 2011 on 8 December, where it reviewed the winter EFTA Ministerial meeting held on 14 November in Geneva and discussed free trade relations with countries outside the European Union.

  • Ivo Kaufmann, new Deputy Secretary-General in Geneva   01.12.2011
    Ivo Kaufmann

    At their meeting on 14 November 2011, EFTA Ministers appointed Mr Ivo Kaufmann of Switzerland as Deputy Secretary-General at EFTA’s Geneva office from 1 December. Mr Kaufmann will head the Association’s Trade Relations Division which supports the four Member States in the negotiation and management of their free trade agreements with countries outside the European Union.