• Standing and Joint Committee meetings - 9 and 10 November 2010   10.11.2010

    The EFTA Standing Committee and the EEA Joint Committee met on 9 and 10 November 2010 respectively. In the Standing Committee the EEA EFTA States prepared for the Joint Committee and the Icelandic delegate provided an interesting overview of recent developments with regard to the accession of Iceland to the European Union.

  • Innovation at the top of the EU’s agenda and a highlight in the Subcommittees I-IV meeting   13.10.2010

    Less than a week after its adoption, the Commission presented the “Innovation Union” in the meeting of Subcommittees I-IV on 12 October 2010. As one of the seven flagship initiatives in the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Chair announced that the EEA EFTA States would follow the "Innovation Union" with great interest.

  • Innovation central to European economic growth   13.10.2010

    Innovation was once again the topic when EFTA hosted a roundtable meeting on Wednesday 13 October organised by Science-Business. Marion Dewar from Commissioner Máire Geohegan-Quinn's Cabinet for Research, Innovation and Science explained how the newly adopted "Innovation Union" will work. "Innovation is central to European economic growth and a core part of Europe's economic policy" said Dewar.

  • EEA EFTA States present their views on consumer rights to European Parliament   07.10.2010

    Europe needs a minimum harmonisation approach when it comes to consumer rights, but the question of harmonisation should be considered on a case-by-case basis. This was one of several recommendations put forward by the EEA EFTA States in a comment submitted to the European Parliament.

  • CE Marking   06.10.2010

    We often see the CE marking on some of the products we buy, but what does it really mean? Under the slogan "CE marking makes Europe's market yours!" the European Commission and EFTA have launched an information campaign on the CE marking.

  • Standing and Joint Committee meetings - 30 September and 1 October 2010   01.10.2010

    The Standing and Joint Committees met on 30 September and 1 October 2010 respectively. The Chair welcomed the new members of the Standing Committee: Kurt Jaeger, Ambassador for Liechtenstein; Niels Engelschiøn, Norwegian Deputy Head of Mission; and Sabine Monauni-Tömördy, College member of the EFTA Surveillance Authority.

  • Vivid Discussions at EFTA's Copyright Seminar   30.09.2010

    More than 100 European stakeholders met in the EFTA building in Brussels on 30 September 2010 to discuss copyright issues related to web access to digitalised culture heritage works. The seminar was organised by EFTA together with the Institute for Private Law and the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law, University of Oslo, and the main focus was the so-called Nordic Model - the Extended Collective Agreement.

  • New Agreement on EEA and Norway Grants signed   30.07.2010

    On 28 July 2010, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and the European Union signed the agreements for the EEA and Norway Grants 2009-14 , following the EU Member States' agreement on the final distribution for the beneficiary countries. EUR 1.79 billion will be made available to projects that contribute to social and economic development in 15 EU Member States in Central and Southern Europe.

  • Workshop on Standardisation and Environmental Policies - 29 June 2010   02.07.2010

    On 29 June, the EFTA Secretariat hosted a workshop on the role of standardisation as a tool for environmental policies and objectives, organised together with the European Environmental Citizens Organisation for Standardisation (ECOS). The workshop was a contribution to the follow up discussions on the EXPRESS Report which raised the question of how standards can deliver an effective and coordinated response to environmental challenges.

  • Standing and Joint Committee meetings – 1 July 2010   02.07.2010

    The Standing and Joint Committees met on 1 July 2010.