EEA Joint Committee incorporates 79 acts into EEA Agreement and discusses Commission Work Programme 2025

Key priorities in the Commission’s 2025 Work Programme include competitiveness, sustainability and strengthening of the Internal Market, along with simplifying and streamlining EU legislation through the Omnibus packages and enhancing Europe's defence industry and security. Many of these policy initiatives are highly relevant to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and will be crucial for maintaining close EEA cooperation and a strong partnership between the EEA EFTA States and the European Union. 

In the meeting, the EEA EFTA States also presented a position paper recently submitted to the EU, highlighting the importance of improved investment screening mechanisms across the European Economic Area. In the joint EEA EFTA Comment, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway caution that adopting the revised Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation as it stands could result in trade barriers, as well as creating loopholes for malign foreign investors operating in the Internal Market. They therefore propose a joint expert meeting with the Commission to assess how best to ensure close cooperation in the area of investment screening. 

Since the last meeting in February, the Joint Committee had incorporated three decisions on financial services into the EEA Agreement via written procedure. One of these was the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which aims to strengthen the IT security of financial entities like banks, insurance companies and investment firms, enhancing the European financial sector’s resilience in the event of severe operational disruptions.  

The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was also incorporated by written procedure, aiming to bring legal certainty to the crypto-asset ecosystem and support innovation while safeguarding consumer protection, market integrity and financial stability. 

EU Chair Nicolas von Lingen from the Secretariat-General of the European Commission presided over the meeting, and Liechtenstein’s Ambassador and EFTA Chair, Pascal Schafhauser, co-chaired the meeting. 

The next EEA Joint Committee meeting will take place on 8 May 2025. 

EU Chair Nicolas von Lingen from the Secretariat-General of the European Commission speaking.