EFTA Council meets for second time in 2025

The Council began the session by welcoming Hans Kristian Lange, the new Director of Administration, and received a briefing on EFTA’s data protection policy, which would be adopted by the Secretary-General later that week.  

Regarding EFTA–EU relations, the Secretariat shared that the next joint meeting of the EFTA Consultative Committee and EFTA Standing Committee would take place on 1 April in Brussels, as well as a joint meeting with the European Economic and Social Committee on 2 April. Topics would range from transatlantic trade relations and the role of the EEA Agreement to the EU’s competitiveness strategy and cross-sectoral EU initiatives. These discussions align with recent developments on the EU side, including the adoption of its work programme for 2025 and the release of the Competitiveness Compass. The Secretariat also briefed the Council on the recent meetings of the EFTA Standing Committee and EEA Joint Committee on 13 and 14 March, as well as on preparations for the EEA Council on 21 May. 

Proceeding with third-country issues, the Secretariat briefed the Council on recent progress in organising the signing of the modernised agreement with Ukraine. Member States then discussed ongoing negotiations with Malaysia, Mercosur and Singapore. The Secretariat shared that the 17th round of negotiations with Vietnam would take place in Geneva in May.  

The Secretariat also provided an overview of its work on horizontal issues such as preference utilisation, and reported on its progress towards the publication of the fourth edition of the EFTA FTA Monitor.  

Lastly, Member States exchanged insights from EFTA-relevant high-level meetings.  

The next EFTA Council meeting is scheduled for 29 April.