Busy week for EFTA advisory bodies

On 22 November the two Committees had a joint session in Brussels on the Internal Market with a presentation by the European Commission on the new draft Single Market Act, followed by their annual meeting with the EEA EFTA Ministers. The foreign ministers of Norway and Iceland, Mr Jonas Gahr Støre and Mr Össur Skarphéðinsson, briefed the Committees on the outcome of the EEA Council earlier the same morning before taking questions and comments from members. The ensuing discussions covered a wide range of interesting substance topics of key relevance to the EEA, including Europe 2020, energy policy, developments in the Arctic, the European External Action Service, the economic and financial crisis, and EU/EEA enlargement.

Moving on to Geneva, on 23 November the two Committees had meetings with Mr Bernhard Kuiten, Head of External Relations at the World Trade Organization, and Professor Cédric Dupont, Geneva Graduate Institute, on the role of WTO in the global recovery and on the relationship between trade and labour standards in free trade agreements. This followed up on discussions between the two Committees in June 2010 and prepared for meetings with EFTA Ministers later the same day. The Parliamentary Committee met with all four EFTA Ministers while the Consultative Committee met with the EFTA Ministerial Chair, the new Swiss Minister Mr Schneider-Ammann.

The two Committees also held separate internal meetings focusing on their individual work programmes for 2011.