EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee meets in Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Under the Presidency of Mr Svein Roald Hansen (MP, Labour Party, Norway), President of the EEA JPC and the Vice-President Mr Pat the Cope Gallagher (MEP, ALDE, Ireland), the Joint Parliamentary Committee adopted unanimously two resolutions, namely The Annual Report on the Functioning of the EEA in 2010 and The High North: Opportunities and Policy Challenges. Moreover, the Committee discussed a working paper titled "The Review of the EEA", in which the co-rapporteurs explore calls for reviewing the EEA Agreement in light of the fundamental changes to the institutional framework of the European Union and the effects on the functioning of the European Economic Area. The paper stimulated a rich debate among Committee members who decided to revisit the main issues raised in future EEA JPC meetings.

The Committee also received briefings and statements on the functioning and developments in the EEA Agreement from representatives of the decision-making bodies of the EEA, the EEA Council and the EEA Joint Committee.

Members of the Swiss Parliament attended the meeting as observers.

The next EEA JPC meeting is scheduled to take place in Strasbourg from 26 to 27 October this year.

Press Statement 13 April 2011

Click on the picture below to open a photo gallery with more pictures from the visit to Oslo and Svalbard.