Relations between the European Union and the EFTA Member States
(European Free Trade Association - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
and Switzerland) consist of bilateral relations between the EU
and EEA (European Economic Area) and between the EU and Switzerland.
The Agreement on the EEA, which came into effect in 1994, extends
the EU internal market (with the exception of agriculture and
fishing) to the EFTA Member States, with the exception of Switzerland
which didn’t ratify the Agreement.
The benefits brought to the EU by the EEA Agreement are well
known; for example, despite Norway’s non-entry into the
European Union, the free circulation of goods, persons, services
and capitals between Norway and the Union tend to be of an equivalent
degree to that reached among the EU Member States themselves.
The enlargement of the EU to the new Member States has necessitated
a parallel extension of the EEA, ensuring a nearly continental
dimension to the internal market.
As far as Switzerland is concerned, the intensity of its relations
with the EU is attested by the unmatched number of sectorial Agreements
signed by the two sides starting in 1956. These agreements establish
bilateral bonds which are growing stronger with time, and more
similar to those among the EU partners. They make up a packet,
especially regarding economic cooperation, which includes seven
Agreements which came into effect on June 1, 2002 in the following
fields: free circulation of persons; air transport; ground transport;
agriculture; scientific and technological cooperation; public
contracts; and mutual recognition of conformity evaluations. This
first group was completed with the signature, on October 26, 2004,
of nine new Agreements on cooperation in the matter of Justice
and Internal Affairs, particularly regarding Schengen; Dublin;
judicial and administrative cooperation against fraud; taxation
of savings; trade in processed agricultural products; participation
in the European Environment Agency; avoidance of double taxation
of retired EU officials; statistical cooperation; and the media.
On February 8, 2006, the wished-for agreement was finally reached
in the Community concerning the procedure of distribution of Swiss
contributions destined to the reduction of economic and social
inequality in the enlarged Union. The agreed upon mechanism will
leave Switzerland broad freedom of decision about which projects
to finance with the billion Francs allocated in the space of five
years.
