EEA Joint Committee incorporates 88 acts into EEA Agreement in last meeting of 2024

Norway’s Ambassador to the EU, Anders H. Eide, presided over the meeting as the EFTA Chair. Nicolas von Lingen from the Secretariat-General of the European Commission co-chaired the meeting on behalf of the EU.

In the meeting, 60 Joint Committee Decisions were adopted, incorporating 88 legal acts into the EEA Agreement. Among them were several important decisions on statistics, financial services, the environment and veterinary issues. In particular, Ambassador Eide highlighted the incorporation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1010, which amends ten pieces of environmental legislation in order to streamline reporting obligations, reduce administrative costs, increase transparency and improve data for future evaluations. 

As this was the last meeting of the Joint Committee in 2024 and the last one chaired by Norway, Ambassador Eide also used the opportunity to thank the EU for a successful 30 years of the EEA Agreement: 

“The anniversary has provided a valuable opportunity to take stock of our joint achievements, and importantly, a pertinent moment to reflect on the critical times ahead of us.” 

The EEA Joint Committee is responsible for the management of the EEA Agreement, and is a forum in which views are exchanged and decisions taken by consensus to incorporate EU legislation into the EEA Agreement. The Committee comprises the Ambassadors of the EEA EFTA States and representatives of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission.  

The next Joint Committee meeting will take place on 7 February 2025.