48THANNUAL REPORT 2008
OF THE EUROPEAN FREE
TRADE ASSOCIATION
Annual Report of the European Free Trade Association 2008
For basic information on EFTA, please see the publication 'This is EFTA'. Further information is also
available on our website: www.efta.int/
• Editor: Elin Bjerkebo
• Cover: SCANPIX
• Printed by Drifosett, Brussels
Layout by Orangemetalic
• Printed March 2009
Cover picture: Oilrigs outside Sotra, Norway. Photo: Willy Haraldsen
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persons, services and capital
among its members, as well as
close cooperation in other
fields. The EEA has expanded
considerably over the years. It
now consists of three EFTA
States and 27 EU Member
States with a combined
population of approximately
500 million people, and
constitutes the biggest common
market in the world.
In 2008 we made good progress in the management of
the Agreement. After years of active follow-up from
the EEA EFTA States, the EU Chemicals Regulation -
REACH - was inserted into the EEA, well in time for
businesses in the EEA EFTA States to participate in the
pre-registration of substances on an equal footing with
their counterparts from the EU Member States. This
Regulation also ensures the participation of the EEA
EFTA States in the new European Chemicals Agency.
Securing the environment for future generations and
the fight against climate change are important
priorities today in European policies. In 2008 the EEA
EFTA States adopted the Decision on the Greenhouse
Gas Emissions Trading Scheme enabling their
participation in the Scheme for the period 2008-2012.
Through the EEA Agreement, the EEA EFTA States
also contribute to reducing social and economic
disparities throughout the European Economic Area.
The EEA Grants and Norway Grants are administered
from Brussels by the Financial Mechanism Office.
In 2008 the final open calls for individual projects for
the period 2004-2009 were launched and closed.
By the end of the year more than €800 million had
been committed to the beneficiary states.
Together with the two Deputy Secretaries-General,
I have worked to further improve the efficiency of the
EFTA Secretariat to the benefit of the EFTA States. We
are pleased with the results achieved and will strive to
continually increase our productivity in 2009.
KÃ¥re Bryn
Secretary-General
Dear Reader,
2008 has been a productive year for the European Free
Trade Association. Significant progress was made in
EFTA's two core activities: the European Economic
Area and the organisation's expanding network of free
trade relations. The results include securing the
participation of the EEA EFTA States in REACH (the
EU Chemical Regulation) and the signing of free trade
agreements (FTAs) with Canada and Colombia.
On 1 May 2008, EFTA's FTA with SACU (Botswana,
Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) entered
into force. It is EFTA's first agreement with another
trading block and the first time that EFTA has concluded
an agreement with sub-Saharan African countries. This
agreement reflects the different levels of development
between the parties, for example by addressing economic
cooperation and technical assistance.
The EFTA States and Colombia finalised their free
trade negotiations in 2008 and signed an FTA at the
EFTA Ministerial meeting in Geneva on 25 November.
Negotiations with Peru and the Gulf Cooperation
Council also progressed well in 2008. Agreements are
foreseen to be signed in 2009.
During 2008, EFTA explored opportunities for
developing closer free trade relations with several
other countries. Negotiations between India and the
EFTA States were initiated in 2008. India is already an
important economic partner of the EFTA States, with a
total two-way merchandise trade of 4.1 billion USD in
2008, an increase of 14% from the previous year. A
joint feasibility study between EFTA and the Russian
Federation was concluded in 2008, and the aim is to
launch negotiations in 2009. Closer economic ties
between EFTA and those two important trading
partners will surely prove mutually beneficial.
It is important that EFTA maintain an active free trade
policy to secure competitive market access conditions
for our operators. At the same time the EFTA countries
strongly support the World Trade Organization and
underline that their FTAs are complementing the
multilateral trading system.
The Agreement on the European Economic Area has now
been in force for 15 years. The Agreement is based on the
objective of providing for the free movement of goods,
FOREWORD
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD 3
EFTA COUNCIL
5
EFTA Ministerial meetings
5
The EFTA Council at
Ambassadorial Level
6
The EFTA Convention
6
FREE TRADE RELATIONS
7
Main Developments
8
Management of EFTA Free
Trade Agreements
10
Technical Assistance
11
Relations with WTO
11
THE EEA AGREEMENT 13
The EEA Council
13
The EEA Joint Committee
13
The Standing Committee
of the EFTA States
14
Legal and Institutional Matters14
Free Movement of Goods 14
Free Movement of Services
and Capital
22
Free Movement of Persons 24
Flanking and Horizontal
Policies
25
Heads of EFTA National
Statistical Institutes
31
EFTA-EU Cooperation in the
Field of Statistics
31
Technical Cooperation in
the Field of Statistics
32
THE EEA AND NORWAY
GRANTS
33
ADVISORY BODIES
35
Parliamentary Committees 35
Consultative Committees
35
INFORMATION ACTIVITIES37
ADMINISTRATION
40
APPENDICES
41
EFTA COUNCIL
EFTA Ministerial meetings
The EFTA Council met twice at Ministerial level in
2008 in Switzerland, in Lugano on 30 June and in
Geneva on 25 November. During the first half of 2008
the Council was chaired by Switzerland, and Iceland
served as chair during the second half.
At their summer meeting in June, the EFTA
Ministers met with Mr Luis Guillermo Plata,
Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism of
Colombia, to mark the recent conclusion of a free
trade agreement between Colombia and the EFTA
States. In their communiqué, the EFTA Ministers
expressed their satisfaction with the continued
expansion of EFTA's network of free trade
agreements. They welcomed the signing of the FTA
with Canada at the end of January 2008, the entry
into force of the FTA with the Southern African
Customs Union (SACU)[1]on 1 May 2008, as well as
the conclusion of negotiations with the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC).[2]The Ministers noted
the significant progress achieved with Algeria and
Peru, and the steps taken to advance relations
between EFTA and important economic partners in
Asia, such as the decision to launch negotiations
with India. They stated their readiness to resume
negotiations with Thailand, commence negotiations
with Indonesia, and deepen the dialogue with
Malaysia. Additionally, the Ministers underlined the
importance of the further expansion of EFTA's FTA
network in Europe by preparing the ground for free
trade negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, and by
continuing the processes with Serbia and Albania.
Finally, the Ministers established an ad hoc EFTA
Working Group on Trade and Environment.
At the Ministerial meeting held in Geneva on 25
November 2008 the EFTA Ministers and the
Colombian Trade Minister signed the EFTA-
Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The EFTA
Ministers looked forward to settling outstanding
issues in the negotiations with Peru, expecting an
agreement to be signed in 2009. Similarly, the
Ministers hoped that an FTA with the GCC could be
signed in the coming months. They also welcomed
the EFTA-Russia Joint Study Group Report, which
concluded that a broad-based bilateral FTA between
the EFTA States and the Russian Federation would
significantly advance the economic relationship
between the Parties, and the Ministers expressed
their wish to start preparations for the opening of
free trade negotiations in 2009. EFTA Ministers
SACU: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland.
GCC: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.
The EFTA Ministers and the Secretary-General met with Colombia at the summer Ministerial Meeting in Lugano: KÃ¥re Bryn, EFTA Secretary-General , Rita Kieber-Beck, Minister
of Foreign Affairs, Liechtenstein, Annelene Svingen, State Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Norway, Luis Guillermo Plata, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Industry,
Colombia, Doris Leuthard, Federal Councillor, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Switzerland and Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs
and External Trade of Iceland.
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welcomed the start of negotiations with India,
underlining their interest in reaching an early
conclusion, and reiterated their hope that negotiations
with Algeria would be concluded in the first quarter
of 2009. The EFTA Ministers expressed their
readiness to launch negotiations with Albania, Serbia
and Ukraine in the first half of 2009. Moreover, the
Ministers were satisfied with the ongoing process
with Malaysia and confirmed EFTA's interest in
engaging in negotiations with Indonesia. They further
decided to establish an ad hoc Working Group on
Social and Labour Standards in FTAs.
At the summer meeting in June, the EEA EFTA
Ministers welcomed the recent adoption of various
Decisions in the Agreement on the European
Economic Area (EEA). These included the Food Law
Package, which formalises EEA EFTA participation in
the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); the EU's
Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme for the
period 2008-2012; the right of citizens of the Union
and their family members to move and reside freely
within the territory of the Member States according to
the provisions of the EEA Agreement; and the EU
Chemicals Regulation - REACH - including the EEA
EFTA States' participation in the new European
Chemicals Agency. Additionally, the Ministers stressed
the importance of continuous close cooperation with
the EU on Energy and Climate Change policies. They
also underlined the importance of the close
involvement of the EEA EFTA States in the further
development of the EU's Integrated Maritime Policy
and expressed their support for the comprehensive
integrated approach. Overall, the Ministers reaffirmed
the importance of continued EEA EFTA contributions
to the decision-shaping process of EEA-relevant EU
legislation through participation in appropriate
Committees and Working Groups, and by submission
of EEA EFTA Comments. The Ministers also
welcomed the active participation of the EEA EFTA
States in the EU Programmes for the period 2007-
2013, which promotes common interests towards a
more competitive and innovative Europe.
At their meeting in June, the EFTA Ministers
reasserted their strong support for the WTO and the
multilateral trading system. They highlighted the need
for a comprehensive approach to the Doha Round
negotiations, and agreed that progress needed to be
made not only in agriculture, but also in other areas
like industrial goods, services and rules.
At their November meeting, the Ministers reiterated
their commitment to a successful conclusion of the
Doha negotiations and agreed to support all efforts to
move the talks forward. They also emphasised the
importance of reinforcing the multilateral system and
resisting protectionist tendencies in the context of the
current economic crisis.
At the summer Ministerial meeting in 2008, the EFTA
Ministers met with the two EFTA advisory bodies, the
Parliamentary Committee and the Consultative
Committee, and discussed recent developments in
EFTA's free trade relations, the EEA, and the Doha
negotiations. The Ministers expressed their
appreciation for the high-quality input and useful work
undertaken by the Committees.
At the Ministerial meeting in Geneva, the Ministers
met with the Parliamentary Committee and discussed
recent developments in EFTA's free trade policies and
EEA matters.
The Communiqués from the Ministerial meetings can
be found in the Appendices to this Report.
The EFTA Council at
Ambassadorial Level
In the first half of 2008 Switzerland served as EFTA
Council Chair, and Iceland chaired the Council in the
second half. The Council met ten times during 2008 at
the level of Heads of Permanent Delegations to EFTA
in Geneva. The Council discussed EFTA's free trade
relations with regard to potential new partners,
ongoing free trade negotiations and the management of
existing agreements. The Council approved a number
of technical cooperation projects and dealt with
administrative and budgetary matters.
The EFTA Convention
The EFTA Council is responsible for the Vaduz
Convention, which is regularly updated to reflect
legislative developments in the EEA Agreement and
the Swiss-EU agreements. In 2008, the Council
amended tables 2 and 3 of Annex D to the Convention,
listing tariff concessions on agricultural products, to
increase the concessions for cheese and curd granted
by Norway and Liechtenstein/Switzerland to all EFTA
States to a tariff-free quota of 90 tons.
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In 2008, EFTA dynamically pursued its policy of
expanding preferential trade relations and concluding
free trade agreements (FTAs) with partner countries
worldwide. By the end of the year, EFTA's formal
trade relations beyond the European Union extended to
42 countries at the following levels of engagement:
•Free Trade Agreements in force:
EFTA had fully operational FTAs with nineteen
partner countries (Chile, Croatia, Egypt, Israel,
Jordan, Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Macedonia,
Mexico, Morocco, Palestinian Authority,
Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, and the Southern
African Customs Union, comprising Botswana,
Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland).
•Signed Free Trade Agreements:
The FTA with Canada was signed in January 2008.
Negotiations with Colombia were successfully
concluded in June, and the agreement was formally
FREE TRADE RELATIONS
Joint Declarations and Free Trade Agreements between EFTA
and Third Countries
Fig. 1
Partner
Joint DeclarationFree Trade Agreement
Signature
Signature
Entry into force
Albania
10 December 1992
Algeria
12 December 2002
Canada
26 January 2008
Chile
26 June 2003
1 December 2004
Colombia
17 May 2006
25 November 2008
Croatia
19 June 2000
21 June 2001
1 April 2002
Egypt
8 December 1995
27 January 2007
1 August 2007
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)[1] 23 May 2000
Israel
17 September 1992
1 January 1993
Jordan
19 June 1997
21 June 2001
1 September 2002
Korea, Republic of
15 December 2005
1 September 2006
Lebanon
19 June 1997
24 June 2004
1 January 2007
Macedonia
29 March 1996
19 June 2000
1 May 2002
Mexico
27 November 2000
1 July 2001
Southern Common Market
(MERCOSUR)[2]
12 December 2000
Mongolia
28 July 2007
Montenegro
12 December 2000
Morocco
8 December 1995
19 June 1997
1 December 1999
Palestinian Authority
16 December 1996
30 November 1998
1 July 1999
Peru
24 April 2006
Southern African Customs Union
(SACU)[3]
26 June 2006
1 May 2008
Serbia
12 December 2000
Singapore
26 June 2002
1 January 2003
Tunisia
8 December 1995
17 December 2004
1 June 2005
Turkey
10 December 1991
1 April 1992
Ukraine
19 June 2000
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Quatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland.
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signed in November. Both FTAs are in the process
of being ratified by the Parties.
•Free Trade Negotiations:
EFTA was in FTA negotiations with ten countries
(Algeria, India, Peru, Thailand, and the Gulf
Cooperation Council comprising Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates).
•Joint Feasibility Studies:
Reports by Joint Study Groups on closer trade
relations were finalised with Indonesia and the
Russian Federation.
•Joint Declarations:
Joint Declarations on Cooperation existed with nine
countries with which EFTA has not yet entered into
free trade negotiations (Albania, Mongolia,
Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and the
MERCOSUR States comprising Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay).
Main Developments
Southern African Customs Union
(SACU)
On 1 May 2008, the FTA between the EFTA States and
the five SACU member countries (Botswana, Lesotho,
Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) entered into
force. It represents the four EFTA States' first free
trade agreement with another trading bloc, their first
with partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and the first with
a Least Developed Country (Lesotho).
The EFTA-SACU agreement focuses on the
liberalisation of trade in goods. The dismantling of
customs duties is being carried out in an asymmetrical
way: while EFTA is granting duty-free market access on
most products as of the entry into force of the FTA, the
SACU States will remove tariffs gradually until 2014 or
after a joint review by the Parties, depending on the
products concerned. The different levels of development
of the Parties are also taken into account by the
possibility of special treatment for Botswana, Lesotho,
Namibia and Swaziland, and by setting out principles of
economic cooperation and technical assistance.
Bilateral arrangements between SACU and the
individual EFTA States cover basic agricultural
products and form part of the instruments establishing
the free trade area. Furthermore, the agreement
contains provisions on the protection of intellectual
property rights and on anti-competitive practices.
Within five years after the FTA enters into force, the
Joint Committee established thereunder will examine
an extension of the scope to trade in services,
investment and government procurement.
In 2007, the EFTA States exported goods worth 850
million USD to the SACU countries, with
pharmaceutical products and machinery constituting
the leading items. EFTA's imports from SACU
amounted to 1.6 billion USD, with precious stones and
metals being the main product categories.
Colombia
On 25 November 2008 the EFTA States and Colombia
signed a free trade agreement in Geneva. The
negotiations leading to this FTA lasted one year and
were concluded in June 2008, after five rounds. Up
until the fourth round, in what was a novel process for
EFTA, talks with Colombia and with Peru were
conducted jointly, before concluding separate FTAs
with the two countries.
The FTA with Colombia is EFTA's third in Latin
America, alongside Mexico and Chile. Its
comprehensive coverage ranges from trade in
industrial and agricultural goods to trade in services,
investment, government procurement, competition and
intellectual property rights. Basic agricultural products
are covered by bilateral arrangements between
Colombia and the respective EFTA States. Two-way
merchandise trade between EFTA and Colombia
reached 720 million USD in 2007.
EFTA Ministers signing the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia on 25
November 2008.
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India
With total two-way merchandise trade of 3.6 billion
USD in 2007, as well as substantial levels of bilateral
trade in services and direct investments, India is
already an important economic partner of the EFTA
States. As shown in the joint EFTA-India study
undertaken in 2007, the relationship holds significant
potential, and a broad-based free trade agreement
would create an effective basis for strengthened trade
and investment linkages between both sides.
In January 2008, Ministers from the EFTA States and
India endorsed the report of the Joint Study Group and
agreed to prepare for the start of free trade
negotiations. The first full round of negotiations took
place in October 2008 in New Delhi, followed by a
second round in December in Geneva. The Parties are
committed to continuing, and if possible finalising, the
negotiating process during 2009.
Other Partners
In 2008 EFTA conducted a joint feasibility study with
the Russian Federation, examining the potential for
closer trade and investment relations. Completed in
November, the report by the Joint EFTA-Russia Study
Group concluded that a comprehensive free trade
agreement would significantly advance the economic
relationship for both sides. EFTA Ministers endorsed
the report on 25 November 2008 and expressed their
willingness to start preparing for free trade
negotiations in 2009.
At their meeting in November 2008, the EFTA
Ministers also reviewed economic relations with other
European countries and declared their interest and
readiness to commence free trade negotiations with
Albania, Serbia and Ukraine. The basis for enhanced
economic partnerships with all three States was
established by earlier Joint Declarations on
Cooperation.
In the Mediterranean region, EFTA pursued its free
trade negotiations with Algeria, with a view to
completing its FTA network in the area. Three full
rounds of negotiations were held in 2008, and the
Parties aim at finalising the negotiating process in
early 2009.
In the Middle East, the negotiations with the six
member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council were
substantively concluded in April 2008, after five
rounds. The legal review of the negotiated texts and
clarifications of other issues continued throughout the
second half of the year. EFTA expects the FTA with the
GCC States to be signed in the course of 2009.
In Southeast Asia, EFTA continued its respective
dialogues on closer economic relations with Indonesia
and Malaysia. In November 2008, EFTA Ministers
reiterated their readiness to engage in negotiations with
Indonesia on the basis of the recommendations by the
Joint Study Group of 2006, and expressed their hope
that the suspended negotiations with Thailand could
resume at the earliest possible opportunity.
In a further important development, the FTA with
Canada was signed in January 2008 in Davos,
Switzerland. After the EU, the United States, China
and Japan, Canada is EFTA's fifth largest trading
partner. Total two-way trade merchandise trade
amounted to 10.9 billion USD in 2007. The agreement
is foreseen to enter into force in mid-2009.
In Latin America, in addition to the signing of the free
trade agreement with Colombia, a final round of
negotiations with Peru took place in October 2008 in
Lima. Following a legal review and settlement of the
last outstanding issues, EFTA hopes that the Parties
will be able to sign the agreement in 2009.
The EFTA States and Peru completed the last round of FTA negotiations
on 31 October 2008. The spokespersons for the two sides were Ambassador
Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, Switzerland, and Vice-Minister Eduardo
Ferreyros, Peru.
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Management of EFTA Free
Trade Agreements
In 2008, the EFTA States held Joint Committee
meetings with seven free trade partners (Chile, Egypt,
Israel, Republic of Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, and the
Palestinian Authority). On these occasions, EFTA and
its partner countries reviewed the functioning of the
respective agreements. They also assessed the need for
adjustments and extensions of commitments in light of
recent developments. As a result, several decisions to
update the legal texts of FTAs were taken, and
substantive follow-up work was agreed on, in
particular with Israel (FTA partner since 1993) and
Mexico (partner since 2001). Furthermore, work on
possible future amendments to existing FTAs was also
pursued with other partners, such as Singapore.
Joint Committee Meetings in 2008
Fig. 2
Free Trade Partner
Venue and date of meeting
Joint EFTA-Palestinian Authority Committee (2nd)
Geneva, 13 March 2008
Joint EFTA-Chile Committee (2nd)
Santiago de Chile, 8 April 2008
Joint EFTA-Korea Committee (1st)
Seoul, 28 May 2008
Joint EFTA-Israel Committee (6th)
Crans-Montana, 12 June 2008
Joint EFTA-Mexico Committee (4th)
Geneva, 23 September 2008
Joint EFTA-Egypt Committee (1st)
Geneva, 4 November 2008
Joint EFTA-Macedonia Committee (2nd)
Geneva, 28 November 2008
The second Joint EFTA-Macedonia Committee was co-chaired by Ambassador
Norbert Frick from Liechtenstein and Macedonian Deputy Minister of Economy
Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov.
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Technical Assistance
In the framework of EFTA's technical assistance
activities, projects undertaken in 2008 included:
•seminars in Chile, Indonesia and the Palestinian
territories on how to export to the EFTA Sates;
•a seminar in Indonesia on fisheries;
•a seminar in Lebanon on sanitary and phytosanitary
measures;
•a seminar with the Palestinian Authority on rules of
origin and verification procedures; and
•scholarships at the World Trade Institute in Bern,
Switzerland for officials from Tunisia.
The budget allocated to these activities amounted to
500 000 Swiss francs. However, this figure does not
include bilateral programmes and initiatives
undertaken by individual EFTA Member States
alongside EFTA activities.
Relations with WTO
Under the WTO's transparency mechanism for
bilateral and regional trade agreements (see box on
page 12), EFTA submitted an early notification
regarding the start of negotiations with India in 2008.
EFTA also filed a notification for the signing of the
agreement with Canada and the entry into force of
the FTA with the SACU States. Moreover, the EFTA-
Egypt and EFTA-Tunisia agreements were examined
by the WTO's Committee on Regional Trade
Agreements in November.
EFTA's Technical Assistance
EFTA's economic cooperation and technical assistance
activities cover a range of projects and programmes
funded through the organisation's budget. The main
objective of these activities is to prepare prospective
partners for free trade relations with EFTA and to assist
existing FTA partners in the implementation of their free
trade agreements. The programmes and projects are
primarily directed at developing countries and economies
in transition.
EFTA arranges training, seminars, workshops and study
visits adapted to the particular needs of the partner
countries. Areas where EFTA provides assistance include
trade facilitation and trade promotion, customs and origin
matters, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, services, and
statistics. Moreover, EFTA participates in EU technical assistance programmes and in projects aimed at third
countries, especially with regard to customs matters, standardisation and statistics.
Technical assistance activities are organized by the EFTA Secretariat. Experts from EFTA Member States, the
Secretariat and partner countries implement the projects.
In March 2008 EFTA co-organised a Technical Assistance seminar in Indonesia.
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WTO's Monitoring of Free Trade Agreements
Most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment is a key principle underlying the multilateral trading system. In particular,
MFN treatment means that a lower customs duty offered by one Member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
to another country must be extended to all other Members of the WTO. However, a country may enter into a free
trade agreement or customs union granting more favourable treatment to the participating States than to the other
WTO Members if it observes certain conditions stipulated in the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreements, to
ensure the complementarity of the FTA with the WTO system (notably Article XXIV of the GATT, for trade in
goods, and Article V of the GATS, for trade in services).
By the end of 2008, the WTO had been notified of a total of 421 free trade agreements (or "bilateral/regional trade
agreements"). The WTO General Council established a new transparency mechanism for such agreements in
2006. This mechanism provides for the early announcement and notification to the WTO of any agreement, as
well as for consideration by the WTO membership of such agreements on the basis of a "Factual Presentation"
prepared by the WTO Secretariat. The factual presentations provide an overview of the main provisions of the
FTA as well as information on the overall liberalisation undertaken by the Parties within the agreement. In
addition, the WTO is to receive notification with regard to any changes affecting the implementation or the
operation of an FTA.
The current transparency mechanism is being implemented on a provisional basis - a permanent one is to be
adopted as part of the overall results of the ongoing Doha round of negotiations. The EFTA Member States are
committed to the rules and the implementation of this mechanism, in line with their overall priority given to the
multilateral trading system. Since the introduction of the 2006 transparency mechanism, and alongside numerous
notifications, three free trade agreements have been considered by the WTO Committee on Regional Trade
Agreements (CRTA), namely EFTA-Chile, EFTA-Egypt and EFTA-Tunisia.
FTA Network - Across Europe and beyond
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THE EEA AGREEMENT
The EEA Council
The EEA Council was chaired by the EU side during the
first half of the year, and by EFTA in the latter half. In
2008 the EEA Council met on 27 May and 13
November. The EEA Council reviewed the ongoing
work in EEA cooperation and noted the progress reports
from the EEA Joint Committee. The Ministers
confirmed the positive overall functioning and
development of the EEA Agreement and appreciated the
fact that new acts were being quickly incorporated into
the Agreement. They also discussed the current financial
crisis and the EEA Financial Mechanisms; an
orientation debate also took place on the European
Commission's Communication on "the European Union
and the Arctic Region". The Conclusions from these
meetings are found in the appendices to this Report.
The EEA Joint Committee
During the year, the Joint Committee discussed the
appropriate level of participation for the EEA EFTA
States in the European Institute of Gender Equality, as
well as access for EEA EFTA citizens to work in the
European Commission Executive Agencies. On 28
November 2008 the Icelandic Government presented a
Notification of protective measures under Article 43 of
the EEA Agreement.
Among the decisions adopted by the Joint Committee
were: the Decision providing for EEA EFTA
participation in REACH; the Decision on the European
Institute of Innovation and Technology; and the
Directive on the right of citizens of the European Union
and their family members to move and reside freely
within the territory of the Member States. In
conjunction with the latter a General Declaration was
adopted stating that immigration policy is not a part of
the EEA Agreement.
The Joint Committee met 8 times in 2008, and
adopted 130 decisions incorporating 218 legal acts.
Meeting of the Standing Committee of the EFTA States and the EEA Joint Committee in Brussels on 4 July 2008.
The Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) brings together the 27 EU
Members and three of the EFTA countries - Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway -
in a single internal market.
The Standing Committee of
the EFTA States
In the first half of the year, Norway chaired the
Standing Committee and Liechtenstein served as chair
in the second half. The agendas and conclusions of the
Standing Committee meetings are available on the
EFTA website.
Legal and Institutional
Matters
Subcommittee V met 6 times in 2008. The Committee
devoted considerable efforts to analysing the Lisbon
Treaty and its potential implications for the EEA
Agreement.
Also, Subcommittee V addressed numerous other
issues in 2008. The Committee started work on an
analysis of authorisation procedures for placing
products on the market and will continue with this in
2009. Work was completed on the analysis of the
Competition rules in the coal and steel sectors and
the streamlining of the procedures regarding
Declarations and Statements to Decisions of the
EEA Joint Committee. In addition, a comprehensive
note containing a case study of the EEA two-pillar
system was finalised.
Moreover, the Subcommittee revisited the issue of
the publication procedures for the EEA Supplement
and the implementation of the Decision of the
Standing Committee of the EFTA States on public
access to documents.
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Last but not least, the EEA EFTA States continued to
monitor other horizontal policy developments in the
EU in light of how they may affect the EEA
Agreement. To this end, in 2008 the Secretariat
prepared papers on the Single Market Review and the
Better Regulation Initiative.
Free Movement of Goods
A substantial part of EU legislation concerns the free
movement of goods, a principle which is applied
throughout the Internal Market. This does not mean that
all products can circulate freely. They must conform to
requirements set for the protection of legitimate
interests, such as health, safety and the environment. In
addition, in order to ensure a fair and efficient market,
a wide range of legislative measures have been
established in the fields of competition, state aid and
public procurement.
Subcommittee I prepares for the integration into the
EEA Agreement of legislation that relates to all aspects
of the free movement of goods, competition, state aid,
public procurement, intellectual property rights and
energy matters. The work of Subcommittee I is assisted
by 14 Working Groups and 26 Expert Groups.
Under the EFTA Council two committees work on issues
related to goods, the Committee on Technical Barriers to
Trade and the Origin and Customs Experts Committee.
They met several times in 2008 and were involved,
among other things, in revisions of parts of the EFTA
Vaduz Convention, standardisation and conformity
assessment issues, requests for funding of joint EU-EFTA
quality infrastructure projects geared towards third
countries, and coordination of relevant customs matters.
The Lugano Convention
In order to revise and update the Lugano Convention (Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of
judgments in civil and commercial matters), the Council of the European Union in 2002 authorised the
Commission to open negotiations with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The negotiations were opened with an
exchange of views in September 2003 and were suspended until 2006. Negotiations on the formal revision of the
Lugano Convention re-opened at the diplomatic session in Lugano from 9 to 12 October 2006. On 30 October
2007, the revised Lugano Convention was signed in Lugano.
The EFTA Secretariat continued to follow the work under the Lugano Convention and participated as an observer
institution in the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Lugano Convention.
Number
of meetings
Number
of acts
in 2008
incorporated
in 2008
The
Joint
Committee
8
218
The
Standing
Committee
8
218
SUBCOMMITTEE
I
8
100
Working
Groups
Competition
Policy
2
-
Customs
Matters
3
-
Efficient
Trade
Procedures
2
-
Energy
Matters
5
3
Feedingstuffs
2
13
Fisheries
-
-
Intellectual
Property
Rights
3
-
Plant
Health
-
4
Processed
Agricultural
Products
1
-
Product
Liability
-
-
Public
Procurement
1
2
State
Aid
-
1
Veterinary
Matters
1
21
T
e
chnical
Barriers
to Trade
(
T
BT
)
5
56
Expert
Groups
under
TBT
Motor
Vehicles
-
7
Agricultural
and
Forestry
Tractors
-
1
Machinery
-
-
Appliances
Burning
Liquid
or Gaseous
Fuels
-
-
Construction
-
8
Pressure
Equipment
-
-
Measuring
Instruments
-
1
Electrical
Equipment
-
-
Foodstuffs
1
18
Organic
Production
-
2
MRLs
-
4
Medicinal
Products
1
-
Chemicals
-
13
Fertilisers
-
-
Good
Laboratory
Practice
-
-
Cosmetics
-
2
T
e
lecommunicatio
ns Equipment
-
-
Medical
Devices
-
-
Personal
Protective
Equipment
-
-
Consumer
Product
Safety
and
T
o
ys
-
-
Wine
and
Spirit
Drinks
-
-
Number
of meetings
Number
of acts
in 2008
incorporated
in 2008
Explosives
-
-
Recreational
Crafts
-
-
Marine
Equipment
-
-
A
T
EX
(equipment
for
use
in explosive
atmospheres)
-
-
Precious
Metals
-
-
Cableway
Installations
-
-
Other
-
-
SUBCOMMITTEE
II
85
2
Working
Groups
Ad Hoc
Working
Group
on Services
3
-
Financial
Services
3
16
Economic
Committee
ECFIN
(with
SG's
Office)
3
-
Company
Law
1
2
Information
and
T
e
lecommunicatio
n Services
3
11
- Audiovisual
Services
Subgroup
2-
- Data
Protection
Expert
Group
1-
Postal
services
1
-
Transport
6
23
SUBCOMMITTEE
III
86
Working
Groups
Free
Movement
of Workers
and
Employment
-
-
Social
Security
5
4
Recognition
of Professional
Qualifications
2
2
SUBCOMMITTEE
IV
86
1
Working
Groups
Research
and
Development
2
1
Environment
4
17
Education,
Training
and
Y
o
uth
2
2
Gender
Equality
and
Family
Policy
2
1
Disabled,
the
Elderly
and
Social
Exclusion
-
-
Health
and
Safety
at Work
and
Labour
Law
2
1
Consumer
Affairs
2
2
EFT
A
Consumers'
Consultative
Committee
1
-
Enterprise
Policy
2
-
Civil
Protection
3
1
Cultural
Affairs
3
1
Public
Health
2
3
Budgetary
Matters
4
-
Heads
of National
Statistical
Institutes
1
31
Subcommittee
II and
IV
1*
* Protocol
31 on
cooperation
in specific
fields
outside
the
four
freedoms:
Implementation
of the
Internal
Market
Information
Sy
stem
(IMI)
as regards
the
protection
of personal
data.
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Veterinary, Food and Agricultural
Issues
The veterinary and food legislation in the EEA
Agreement applies only to Iceland and Norway.
Since 2007, Liechtenstein has been subject to the
Swiss-EU Agricultural Agreement as regards
legislation in these areas.
Veterinary Issues
In 2008, the EEA Joint Committee incorporated the
implementation rules regarding control and
surveillance of the animal disease 'bluetongue' and
several amendments of the Transmissible Spongiform
Encephalopaties (TSE) Regulation, as well as a
number of other acts concerning animal diseases and
animal products.
The Food Law Package, including key legislation on
general food law and on the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA), a regulatory framework for animal
by-products, hygiene issues and official food and feed
control, was incorporated into the EEA Agreement in
2007. An extension of certain veterinary legislation to
Iceland was also part of the Package. Parliamentary
procedures were finalised in Norway in June 2008 and
in Iceland they are still ongoing. The Package is
expected to enter into force in 2009.
During 2008, approximately 60 veterinary acts under
simplified procedures were identified.
Animal Feed
The Working Group on Feedingstuffs met twice in
2008, and discussed, among other things, legislation
which had recently been adopted in the EU. This
includes implementing rules for the authorisation of
feed additives, the revision of the maximum limit for
undesirable substances, and methods of sampling and
analysis. The Working Group also prepared EEA
EFTA comments to a new proposal for a regulation on
the placing on the market and the use of feed, which
were taken into account by the Council of the
European Union. All acts incorporated during 2008
were related to authorisations for additives under the
legal framework for additives in animal feed.
Food
The two most important regulations in the food area that
were incorporated into the EEA Agreement in 2008 dealt
with nutrition and health claims made on foods and with
the addition of vitamins and minerals to food. These
regulations are not yet in force in the EEA EFTA Member
States, as parliamentary procedures must first be
finalised. Several legal acts concerning food contact
materials were also incorporated into the EEA Agreement
in 2008, as well as a directive concerning infant formulae.
Meeting of Subcommittee I on the Free Movement of Goods, 16 September 2008, at the EFTA Secretariat in Brussels.
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The EFSA Food Law Regulation, which is the new
general legal basis in the food area, is still awaiting entry
into force (see page 16 under Veterinary Issues).
During 2008, discussions continued between the EEA
EFTA Member States and the Commission on the
integration of the Novel Foods Regulation of 1997, the
Regulations of 2003 on genetically modified food and
feed, and the traceability and labelling of genetically
modified organisms (GMOs).
The Commission adopted two important legislative
proposals on novel foods and food information to the
consumers in 2008. The Expert Group on Foodstuffs
prepared EEA EFTA comments to these two proposals.
The Expert Group on Organic Production continued
preparations for the incorporation into the EEA
Agreement of the new framework legislation regarding
organic production, which entered into force in the EU
on 1 January 2009.
Trade in Agricultural Products
Throughout 2008, Norway met several times with the
European Commission to discuss extended
concessions on trade in agricultural products, based on
Article 19 of the EEA Agreement. Negotiations will
continue in 2009. Meanwhile, Iceland continued its
negotiations with the Commission with regard to
processed agricultural products. The outcome of these
negotiations, which are expected to be completed soon,
is foreseen to be implemented in Protocol 3 of the EEA
Agreement as a bilateral regime.
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
EFTA deals with the removal of technical barriers to
trade in two fora: the EFTA Committee on Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT), which reports to the EFTA
Council (i.e. including Switzerland), and the Working
Group on Technical Barriers to Trade, which
coordinates the assessment of EEA relevance and
acceptability of new EU legislation to the three EEA
EFTA Member States. Switzerland is an observer
within this Working Group. The TBT Committee and
the Working Group each met five times in 2008.
The main issues in 2008 were the EFTA study on
certification and marks, and the New Legislative
Framework (NLF) for the marketing of products adopted
in the EU in July 2008. Other topics of interest were
standardisation policy issues, technical assistance projects
to third countries in the field of quality infrastructure and
a mutual recognition agreement with Turkey.
EFTA study on Certification and Marks in Europe
The report from the EFTA study on "Certification and Marks in Europe" was
published on 21 April 2008. The main objective of the study was to create a better
understanding of crucial parts of the market for marks in Europe with a view to
improving the functioning of the Internal Market. Multiple certification, with or
without marks, can amount to a barrier to trade for SMEs.
The study sheds light on certification leading to the affixing of marks in selected
sectors, with special emphasis on what is happening at national level. Schemes
operating at European level were also covered. The study shows that there is a need
for a shift in policy focus, from marks to certification (and marks). The study also
identifies several success factors for European marking schemes such as the
withdrawal of equivalent national schemes and strong support from manufacturers,
scheme operators and public authorities.
On 11 June 2008, in cooperation with the European Commission and the European Parliament, EFTA held a workshop
entitled "Certification and marking for Europe." The workshop was attended by 100 representatives of important
stakeholders. The political aim of the Workshop was to make a contribution to the free movement of safe products in
Europe, where a balance is to be struck between free movement and the level of certification required.
The executive summary and the full report, as well as the presentations from the workshop, can be downloaded
from the EFTA website: www.efta.int/publications
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Motor Vehicles
In February 2008 a regulation concerning type approval
of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light
passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6)
and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance
information was incorporated into the EEA agreement.
In 2008, the Commission followed up the adoption of
Directive 2007/46/EC (framework directive) with a
regulation replacing several annexes in the Directive.
The adopted system establishes a framework for the
approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of
systems, components and separate technical units
intended for such vehicles. The framework directive still
awaits incorporation into the EEA agreement. In total
seven acts concerning vehicles were incorporated into
the EEA Agreement in 2008.
Medicinal Products
On 2 October 2008, the EFTA Secretary-General
participated in the 3rd and final meeting of the
Pharmaceutical Forum on behalf of the EFTA
countries. The Forum was established in 2005 by the
Commission to examine the competitiveness of the
European-based pharmaceutical industry and related
public health issues. Among the more than 40
presentations during the meeting, prepared remarks by
the Secretary-General on an issue related to access of
medicines in small markets was well-received by the
audience. The attendance at this final meeting of the
Forum was particularly high, with all 27 EU Member
States represented.
In November 2008, after several rounds of discussions
and requests for clarification triggered by the
adaptations proposed by the EEA EFTA Member
States, the Secretariat officially sent the 2004
Pharmaceutical Package to the Commission. The
Package consists of a set of EU legal acts, essentially
updating rules on the authorisation and supervision of
medicinal products. The incorporation of this long-
pending Package into the EEA Agreement, scheduled
for early 2009, will allow for the parallel incorporation
of several other key pharmaceutical acts dealing
among other things with paediatric issues.
Technical Cooperation in the Field of Quality Infrastructure
The four EFTA States have a long-standing policy of contributing financially and participating actively in EU
technical cooperation programmes in the field of quality infrastructure. Quality infrastructure refers to all aspects
of metrology, standardisation, accreditation, market surveillance, testing, quality management, inspection and
certification that have a bearing on conformity assessment.
The overall objective of these jointly financed EU/EFTA programmes consists of facilitating intra-regional trade
and overall free movement of goods, with a view to improving the competitiveness of the economy in the targeted
region and preparing the beneficiaries for future EU/EEA accession negotiations.
In September 2008 EFTA and the Commission successfully completed a 16-month regional project running under the
Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development
and Stabilisation (CARDS) framework, which aims to
further strengthen cooperation between quality
infrastructure institutions in the Western Balkans. The
beneficiaries of this project were Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. In view of
the project's positive outcome, the EFTA Council decided
to support a follow-up initiative running under the new
EU Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Instrument
framework. This new €2 million regional project,
scheduled to start in early 2009, will also include Turkey
in addition to the Western Balkans. EFTA will have a seat
on the Steering Committee of this project.
July 2008: Final Steering Committee meeting in Koper (Slovenia) of the CARDS
2006-2008 Quality Infrastructure project co-financed by EFTA.
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Chemicals
The main issue in 2008 was the incorporation of the
REACH Regulation. This regulation requires
producers and importers of chemicals to register
substances and to provide a set of safety testing results
before the products are placed on the market. The most
hazardous substances will require authorisation in
order to be legally placed on the market. The EFTA
Secretariat worked throughout the year to secure
access to all the relevant committees set up under the
European Chemical Agency (ECHA) for the EEA
EFTA Member States.
The EEA EFTA States adopted the REACH Regulation
in March 2008 in the EEA Joint Committee and the
national parliaments finalised their procedures in June.
This ensured that companies located in these countries
could pre-register their chemicals in the same way as
businesses in the EU Member States. The deadline for
such pre-registrations was set at 1 December 2008, and
companies that pre-registered their products by then
will benefit from transitional periods ranging from 3.5
to 11 years. Companies that did not meet this deadline
will have to submit a full registration file before being
able to place their products on the market.
In total 13 acts on chemicals were incorporated into the
agreement in 2008.
Mutual Recognition Agreements
Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) are
instruments that facilitate market access to third
countries by reducing the costs and time associated with
obtaining product certifications. Protocol 12 of the EEA
Agreement ensures the smooth functioning and the
homogeneity of the EEA market with regard to MRAs.
In April 2008 the EEA EFTA Member States and Canada
completed the revision of parts of their MRA, in
particular the chapters on Telecommunications Terminal
Equipment and Electromagnetic Compatibility. The
implementation of the agreed changes is scheduled to be
completed in 2009. The EFTA TBT Committee also held
an additional round of negotiations with Turkey on a
protocol to the EFTA-Turkey Free Trade Agreement on
Mutual Recognition of Conformity Assessment in 2008.
Market Surveillance and Consumer Product Safety
A key issue in the New Legislative Framework for the
marketing of products is the obligation of the EFTA
states to get ready for the implementation of improved
market surveillance instruments. Through the TBT
Committee, initiatives such as the sharing of
experiences and the development of common positions
are discussed and agreed. EFTA States have further
been active in meetings conducted by the Senior
Officials Group for Standardisation and Conformity
Assessment policy (SOGS). They also joined the
recently formed SOGS Market Surveillance Group.
The EFTA countries participate in the work of
PROSAFE, the product safety enforcement forum of
Europe, which consists of an informal network of
market surveillance enforcement authorities. This
organisation was successful in its application for EU
financing for an extensive three-year project entitled
EMARS - enhancing market surveillance through best
practices - which commenced in 2006 and was due to
be completed at the end of 2008. The secretariat for
this project is located in the EFTA Secretariat building
in Brussels. A two-day PROSAFE meeting on the
EMARS project was held in the EFTA premises on 28-
29 October and addressed practical proposals for joint
actions in 2009-2011. The EFTA States are actively
involved in this process and they also participated in
Following the incorporation of the REACH Regulation, companies in the EEA EFTA
States were free to participate in the pre-registration of chemicals.
© European commission - DG enterprise and Industry - R4
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the International Product Safety Week, organised by
DG SANCO on 17-21 November 2008. Both the
PROSAFE meeting and the International Product
Safety Week meetings were attended by the EFTA
Secretariat and reports were given to the EFTA
countries via the TBT Committee.
Another key issue in the New Legislative Framework
(NLF) is the strengthening of accreditation at national
and European level. As a consequence of the NLF, the
EFTA Secretariat is preparing for the signing of
Guidelines of Co-operation between the European Cooperation
for Accreditation (EA), the European
Commission and EFTA. This agreement will be followed
by an annual operating grant agreement between the EA
and the Commission and between the EA and EFTA.
European Standardisation
The EFTA countries and the European Commission give
financial support to the work carried out by the European
Standardisation Organisations (ESOs) - CEN (European
Committee for Standardisation) , CENELEC (European
Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation) and
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standardisation
Institute). Like the Commission, EFTA has the formal
status of Counsellor to CEN and ETSI, and is entitled to
participate in the Administrative Boards of these
organisations, as well as the General Assemblies of the
three ESOs. In their respective General Assemblies,
CEN and CENELEC decided to enhance cooperation
and agreed to have a common Director General in 2009.
In 2008, the Working Group on TBT continued to be
involved in the preparation of mandates for the ESOs
for new standardisation activities to facilitate the
functioning of the Internal Market. The mandates that
were approved in 2008 mainly concerned consumer
product safety, telecommunications, ICT, bio-based
products and environmental issues. The EFTA TBT
Committee decided to support the prolongation of a
European seconded standardisation expert in China,
for 3 new years from July 2009, and also gave its
support to the placement of a similar expert in India in
2009. The Committee also follows the development of
a project aiming at establishing an EU-China internet
information-sharing platform for standardisation.
In parallel with the Commission, EFTA also signed
Annual Operating Grants with the three ESOs to
contribute to the operational costs of the Central
Secretariats of the organisations. EFTA's 5% financial
commitment to standardisation activities amounted to
almost one million euros in 2008. EFTA continued its
financial support to ANEC, the European Association
for the Coordination of Consumer Representation in
Standardisation, and ECOS, the European
Environmental Citizens Organisation for
Standardisation, which represent consumers and
environmental interests in standardisation. It also
continued to provide financial support to EOTA, the
European Organisation for Technical Approvals
(relating to the construction sector). At the end of 2008
the Commission adopted the final proposal for new
Framework Partnership Agreements for future
standardisation activities, and the EFTA Secretariat has
been preparing the parallel agreements for approval by
the EFTA countries as early as possible in 2009.
Energy
The EEA EFTA Member States closely followed the
3rd liberalisation package, launched by the
Commission in September 2007, the Climate and
Energy Package presented in January 2008, and the
Second Strategic Energy Review which the
Commission published on 13 November 2008.
Three acts in the field of energy were incorporated into
the EEA Agreement during 2008: a Commission
Decision 2006/770/EC concerning congestion
management of the infrastructure, a Commission
Decision on the methodology to be applied for the
collection of gas and electricity prices charged to
industrial end-users, and a Regulation concerning
access to the natural gas transmission networks.
Senior Officer Tore N. Thomassen represents EFTA at the CEN General Assembly in
Bucharest, Tuesday 24 June 2008.
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One additional act, a Directive on security of
electricity supply and infrastructure investment,
entered into force during 2008. This Directive was
incorporated into the EEA Agreement in 2007 and
entered into force in November 2008.
Renewables and energy efficiency were high on the
agenda for the Working Group on Energy Matters. In
April 2008 the Group held a separate meeting with the
Commission on the proposal for a modification of the
Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from
renewable sources. The Working Group also examined
the Decision on harmonisation of efficiency standards
and the Directive on energy end-use efficiency and
energy services. The EEA EFTA Member States
followed up on developments for the Eco-design
Directive by participating in the Eco-design
Consultative Forum. The Working Group worked
towards incorporating the Energy Star Regulation into
the EEA Agreement and also made efforts to enter into
an exchange of letters with the Environment Protection
Agency in the United States on this matter. The
Regulation and the agreement with the US EPA
concern a voluntary labelling system that aims at
identifying certain standards regarding energy
efficiency in office equipment.
Competition Policy
The Working Group on Competition Policy developed
a draft agreement amending Protocol 4 to the
Surveillance and Court Agreement on the functions
and powers of the EFTA Surveillance Authority in the
field of competition. This work was delayed due to the
need to wait for a revision of the merger
implementation regulation, which was published in
October 2008. The Working Group also prepared for
the incorporation into the EEA Agreement of an act
concerning settlement procedures in cartel cases, and
one act concerning competition in the markets in
telecommunications terminal equipment. The Working
Group observed closely several initiatives by the EU,
in particular the White Paper on damages actions for
breach of the EC antitrust rules. Finally, the start of the
reviews of the merger regulation, the modernisation
regulation and the block exemptions were monitored
by the Working Group.
State Aid
The EEA EFTA Member States continued to closely
follow the State Aid Action Plan which was launched
by the Commission in 2005 and is in effect until 2009.
Within the framework of the State Aid Action Plan, the
General Block Exemption 2008/800/EC was
incorporated into the EEA Agreement and entered into
force in November 2008.
The EEA EFTA Member States participated actively in
multilateral state aid meetings in 2008, concerning the
Draft Communication from the Commission on the
application of State aid rules to public service
broadcasting, State aid concerning new temporary
measures in the context of financial crises, and on the
Enforcement Notice. The EEA EFTA Member States
participated in the Commission State Aid seminar on
21 November 2008.
Public Procurement
The Working Group on Public Procurement monitored
progress on the Commission's proposal for a directive on
defence and sensitive security procurement. Meanwhile,
th