• Special Joint Committee meeting - 14 January 2011   14.01.2011

    A special meeting of the EEA Joint Committee was held on 14 January 2011 on the disagreement over the management of a fish stock of common interest (mackerel). In the meeting the European Commission made a statement indicating that the EU was considering banning the landings of mackerel by Icelandic vessels in EU ports, in accordance with the provisions in Article 5 of Protocol 9 of the EEA Agreement.

  • EEA Seminar: The Single Market Towards 2020   17.12.2010

    Participants from both the public and private sectors met at the Secretariat in Brussels 16 and 17 December 2010 for the biannual EFTA Seminar on the EEA.

  • New rules for maritime safety in the EEA   10.12.2010

    New rules to enhance and improve the safety performance of ships were incorporated into the EEA Agreement at the EEA Joint Committee meeting on 10 December 2010.

  • Standing and Joint Committee meetings - 9 and 10 December 2010   10.12.2010
    Swiss Ambassador Jacques de Watteville

    The EFTA Standing Committee and the EEA Joint Committee met on 9 and 10 December 2010, respectively. In the Standing Committee the EEA EFTA States prepared for the Joint Committee, the Icelandic Chair Work Programme final report of the second half of 2010 was presented and the Norwegian Chair Work Programme for the first half of 2011 was introduced. Swiss Ambassador de Watteville gave a briefing on current developments in Swiss-EU relations.

  • New Publication: EFTA Bulletin on EU Programmes   07.12.2010

    An EFTA Bulletin was published this month with a full overview of all EU programmes with the participation of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and for some, also Switzerland. The publication is an update of the 2007 edition, which soon ran out of stock due to its popularity.

  • Draft Single Market Act – the focus of Subcommittees I-IV meeting   01.12.2010

    The recently adopted draft Single Market Act was at the top of the agenda when Subcommittees I-IV met on 30 November for their last meeting of this year.

  • 34th meeting of the EEA Council   22.11.2010

    On 22 November 2010, the EEA Council met in Brussels for its 34th meeting. The Council discussed the overall functioning of the EEA Agreement. Special attention was given to the strengthening of the financial system. The Council welcomed the possibility for the EEA EFTA States to participate in the work of the new supervisory authorities in the areas of banking, insurance and securities, and looked forward to the new structure being operational as of January 2011.

  • Health hazard products still off the market   10.11.2010

    Furniture and footwear previously available on the market in several European countries have been identified as the cause of damage to the health, such as allergic reactions, of consumers in France, Poland, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

  • Strengthening financial stability   10.11.2010

    Excessive risk taking in the financial sector, especially in banks and financial companies, has contributed to bringing down these financial companies and created systemic problems at a national and global level. These problems have spread to the rest of the economy with high costs for society.

  • Lighters need to be child-resistant   10.11.2010

    Lighters that are not child-resistant are banned from the markets in the 30 EEA Member States. Imitations or novelty lighters are also prohibited from the market. At the EEA Joint Committee meeting on 10 November 2010, Commission decisions prolonging the ban in the EU were incorporated into the EEA Agreement.