EFTA Parliamentary Committee discusses Norwegian EEA Review

The meeting began with a briefing by Mr Torgrim Moseby, Mission of Norway to the EU, on cooperation between the EFTA States and the EU in freedom, security and justice. The Treaty of Lisbon gives the European Parliament and the national parliaments of the EU Member States the mandate to control two agencies in this area: Europol and Eurojust. Against this background and bearing in mind the EFTA States’ participation in Europol (with the exception of Liechtenstein), Eurojust and Frontext, the Parliamentary Committee discussed supervision of these agencies.

Dr Richard Corbett, Member of the Cabinet of Herman Van Rompuy, was then invited to give a briefing on recent developments in the area of European economic governance. The presentation was followed by a lively and long discussion. The European economic crisis continues to dominate the political agenda in Europe and the EFTA Parliamentary Committee follow the economic developments in the EU closely as they have a direct impact on the EFTA countries’ economies.

A review of the EEA Agreement was launched in Norway in January 2010 and the Review Committee’s final report was published on 17 January2012. The Committee had invited Dr Ulf Sverdrup, then Head of the Secretariat of the EEA Review Committee and now Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, to present the main findings of the report. Mr Gianluca Grippa, Head of Division in the European External Action Service responsible for the EEA, also gave his initial reflections on the review and relations with the EFTA States.

The last point on the programme was a briefing on the current status of EU-Indonesian free trade negotiations by Mr Raffaele Quarto from the Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission. This particular subject was of interest due to the fact that the Committee is visiting Indonesia in support of the ongoing negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between EFTA and Indonesia. The EFTA States conducted three rounds of negotiations with Indonesia in 2011, and further rounds are expected in 2012.