The Agreement on the European Economic Area, which entered into force on 1 January 1994, brings together the EU Member States and the three EEA EFTA States — Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — in a single market, referred to as the "Internal Market".
The EEA Agreement guarantees equal rights and obligations within the Internal Market for individuals and economic operators in the EEA. It provides for the inclusion of EU legislation covering the four freedoms — the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital — throughout the 30 EEA States. In addition, the Agreement covers cooperation in other important areas such as research and development, education, social policy, the environment, consumer protection, tourism and culture, collectively known as “flanking and horizontal” policies. The Agreement guarantees equal rights and obligations within the Internal Market for citizens and economic operators in the EEA.
The EEA Agreement also states that when a country becomes a member of the European Union, it shall also apply to become party to the EEA Agreement (Article 128), thus leading to an enlargement of the EEA.
What is the European Economic Area (EEA)?
The Agreement on the European Economic Area, which entered into force on 1 January 1994, brings together the EU Member States and the three EEA EFTA States — Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — in a single market, referred to as the "Internal Market".
The decision-making process in the EEA Agreement is characterised by its two-pillar structure. Common bodies such as the EEA Council and the EEA Joint Committee administer the EEA Agreement. There are also two common advisory bodies: the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee and the EEA Consultative Committee.
This section contains an overview of EFTA' s policy areas, sorted by the four freedoms, with links to more detailed explanations. The policy areas covered by the EEA Agreement are free movement of Goods, Services, Capital and Persons. Also covered by the Agreement are the so called Flanking and Horizontal Policies.
How the EEA works
An interactive web tool showing visually how EU law becomes EEA law, by going through the steps taken to incorporate new legal acts into the EEA Agreement. The tool is fully developed in four languages: English, Icelandic, German and Norwegian.
Here you can find the main text of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as updated versions of all Annexes and Protocols. You will also find other legal documents, such as all adopted Joint Committee Decisions and the EEA status of EU legal acts.
Decision shaping is the phase of preparatory work undertaken by the European Commission to draw up new legislative proposals. The EEA Agreement contains provisions for input from the EEA EFTA side at various stages before new legislation is adopted.
The EEA Agreement ensures participation by the three EEA EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) in a number of EU programmes. The participation of the EEA EFTA States in EU programmes is a vital part of their integration in the Internal Market and a key instrument for cooperation between the Members States in a wide range of areas.
There are approximately 1 000 national experts seconded to the European Commission from the 27 EU Member States, the EFTA States and other countries. See the full list and contact details of the EEA EFTA national experts in this section.
A number of specialised EU agencies have been established to support the EU Member States and their citizens. The EEA EFTA States participate in the agencies below through decisions of the EEA Joint Committee. In addition, bilateral agreements with the EU ensure the participation of individual EFTA States in several other EU agencies.
Activity
One of the ways in which the EEA EFTA States participate in shaping the EC legislation, i.e. when the Commission is drawing up legislative proposals, is by submitting comments on important policy issues.
EFTA organises two types of seminars on the EEA: Introductory Seminars in September and February each year, and Policy Seminars on an ad hoc basis.
What is the EEA Not?
The EEA Agreement does not cover the following EU policies:
- Common Agriculture and Fisheries Policies (although the Agreement contains provisions on various aspects of trade in agricultural and fish products);
- Customs Union;
- Common Trade Policy;
- Common Foreign and Security Policy;
- Justice and Home Affairs (even though the EFTA countries are part of the Schengen area); or
- Monetary Union (EMU).
Switzerland is not part of the EEA Agreement, but has a set of bilateral agreements with the EU. You can read more about these agreements on the European Commission website, and on the Swiss Federal Administration website.