17.04.2020
Latest News
The EFTA Consultative Committee meets weekly online to address the impact of the pandemic
03.04.2020
EEA Joint Committee adopts Decisions related to COVID-19
On 3 April, the EEA Joint Committee adopted by written procedure* two Decisions related to COVID-19. The two Decisions concern official controls on the agri-food chain and suspension of the airline slot requirements. The adopted Decisions entered into force immediately as there were no constitutional requirements to be fulfilled.
20.03.2020
Exports of equipment to fight COVID-19 authorised from the EU to the EFTA States
The European Commission has decided that new export restrictions on personal protective equipment, essential in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, will not apply to the EFTA States. This means that exports of the above equipment to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland will continue to move freely.
20.03.2020
EEA Joint Committee continues to ensure functioning of the EEA Agreement despite unusual circumstances
The EFTA Standing Committee and the EEA Joint Committee convened on 19 and 20 March respectively. During the Joint Committee meeting, 17 decisions were adopted, incorporating 25 legal acts into the EEA Agreement.
11.03.2020
EFTA Council discusses developments in free trade negotiations
The Swiss chaired the second meeting of the Council in 2020 which took place in Geneva on Tuesday 10 March.
06.03.2020
EFTA attends the fifty-first session of the United Nations Statistical Commission
Volker Täube, Director of ESO, represented EFTA at the fifty-first session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) in New York from the 3rd to 6th of March 2020.
28.02.2020
EFTA and Malaysia resume free trade negotiations
Delegations from the EFTA States and Malaysia convened from 25 to 28 February 2020 in Kuala Lumpur for the ninth round of negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement. Ms Sumathi Balakrishnan, Senior Director at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, headed the Malaysian delegation while Ambassador Markus Schlagenhof from Switzerland acted as the EFTA spokesperson.
26.02.2020
Andorran Minister visits the EFTA Secretariat
On Monday 24 February, the Andorran Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maria Ubach Font, visited the EFTA Secretariat in Geneva and met with Deputy Secretary-General Pascal Schafhauser.
17.02.2020
EFTA holds successful and increasingly popular seminar on the European Economic Area
On 13 February, around 150 participants from both the public and private sector gathered at the EFTA Secretariat in Brussels for the biannual seminar on the European Economic Area (EEA).
14.02.2020