EEA Joint Committee incorporates 69 legal acts into the EEA Agreement

The meeting was presided over by the EU Chair, Nicolas von Lingen from the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, while Iceland’s Ambassador and EFTA Chair, Kristján Andri Stefánsson, co-chaired the meeting on behalf of the EEA EFTA States.

A total of 69 legal acts were incorporated into the EEA Agreement in the meeting through 34 Joint Committee Decisions. Highlights from the list included 37 acts in the field of financial services.

During the meeting, Ambassador Stefánsson presented the recently published EEA EFTA Comment “30 Years, 30 States: Together for a Competitive and Resilient Europe”. In light of the current geopolitical context, he stressed the important role of the Internal Market in enhancing Europe’s competitiveness and resilience. As strong proponents of the twin green and digital transition and with many leading industries, the EEA EFTA States make an important contribution to Europe’s global competitiveness. Looking ahead, Ambassador Stefánsson underlined that the strategic rethinking of the Internal Market should take into account the mutual obligations of the EEA Agreement to avoid inadvertently erecting barriers which could result in the fragmentation of the Internal Market, which would have adverse effects for both Parties to the Agreement.

This was the last meeting of 2024 with the EU as Chair of the EEA Joint Committee, and the last meeting with Iceland as Chair on the EEA EFTA side. The next meeting will be held at EFTA House and will be presided over by Norway. 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.