• EEA seminar attracts trade audience in Geneva   17.04.2018
    Head of Communication Thorfinnur Omarsson moderated the first EEA seminar in Geneva, Switzerland.

    On 17 April 2018, for the first time in Geneva, the EFTA Secretariat organised an introductory seminar focusing on how the EEA Agreement functions and its market implications.

  • New EFTA Court Judge: ”A constant challenge is to maintain the homogeneity of European law throughout the EEA.”   13.04.2018
    Dr. jur Bernd Hammermann, who has been nominated by Liechtenstein, took the oath as a Judge of the EFTA Court on 9 April.

    The EEA EFTA States have appointed Dr. jur. Bernd Hammermann as the Judge to the EFTA Court. Hammermann, who was nominated by Liechtenstein, took the oath as Judge of the EFTA Court on 9 April 2018. He succeeds Senior Judge, and former President, Carl Baudenbacher. He spoke to the EFTA Newsletter about his new position at the EFTA Court.

  • Incorporation of the GDPR into the EEA Agreement   13.04.2018
    GDPR will go into force in the EU on 25 May 2018. A draft Joint Committee Decision (JCD) is under consideration by the EU and the EEA EFTA States with the aim of being incorporated into the EEA Agreement on 1 June.

    The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 will go into force in the EU on 25 May 2018. A draft Joint Committee Decision (JCD) is under consideration by the EU and the EEA EFTA States with the aim of being incorporated into the EEA Agreement on 1 June. The EFTA Secretariat was interviewed by the legal journal LexisNexis about how the incorporation will be implemented.

  • The EEA Joint Committee incorporates significant number of acts in financial services   23.03.2018
    Claude Maerten (Centered), European External Action Service, chaired the meeting.

    The Standing Committee and the EEA Joint Committee met in Brussels on 22 and 23 March respectively. At the Joint Committee meeting, 42 joint committee decisions (JCDs) were adopted incorporating 95 EU legal acts into the EEA Agreement. A substantial number of the acts were within the field of financial services.

  • Full house at EEA book launch   16.03.2018
    Professor Christophe Hillion, University of Leiden and Research Professor at NUPI, explaining the implications that Brexit imposes on the EEA.

    On 14 March 2018, the EFTA Secretariat and The EFTA Surveillance Authority organised a book launch on the “Agreement on the European Economic Area. A Commentary”.

  • EEA EFTA Comment on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism   16.03.2018
    On 15 March 2018, the EEA EFTA States issued an EEA EFTA Comment addressing the European Parliament and the Council's proposal to amend the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

    On 15 March 2018, the EEA EFTA States issued an EEA EFTA Comment addressing the European Parliament and the Council's proposal to amend the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

  • EEA Joint Committee incorporates directive on bank recovery   09.02.2018
    The meeting was chaired by Ms Angelina Eichhorst, Director at the European External Action Service.

    The Standing Committee and the Joint Committee held their first meetings of 2018 in Brussels on 8 and 9 February respectively. At the Joint Committee meeting, 34 joint committee decisions (JCDs) were adopted, incorporating 51 EU legal acts into the EEA Agreement, including a directive on bank recovery.

  • EEA seminar clarifies market implications of the EEA Agreement   07.02.2018
    Head of Communication Thorfinnur Omarsson, Director of Goods Division Brit Helle and Deputy Secretary-General Dag Wernø Holter answered questions from the audience.

    On 6 February 2018, the EFTA Secretariat organised an introductory seminar focusing on how the EEA Agreement works and its market implications.

  • Incoming Standing Committee Chair and EU outline priorities for 2018   15.12.2017
    The Head of the Mission of Liechtenstein to the European Union, Ambassador Sabine Monauni, chaired the last EEA Joint Committee meeting of the year.

    The Standing Committee of the EFTA States and the EEA Joint Committee met in Brussels on 14 and 15 December 2017 respectively. At its 219th meeting – the last one of the year – the EEA Joint Committee adopted 40 decisions incorporating 100 legal acts into the EEA Agreement.

  • EEA Ministers discuss Brexit and European data economy   14.11.2017
    Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland; Aurelia Frick, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein; Marit Berger Røsland, Minister of EEA and EU Affairs of Norway; and Sven Mikser, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Estonia

    At the 48th meeting of the EEA Council, held in Brussels on 14 November 2017, Ministers discussed the European data economy and possible implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.