On 8th of June, Norwegian ambassador Cecilie Landsverk and Swiss ambassador Raimund Kunz hosted a celebration of the 50th anniversary of European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Dr. Ulf Sverdrup from the University of Oslo made a presentation on Norway’s and Switzerland’s relation to the EU. This was followed by an interesting discussion, which also focused on the challenges of Turkey.
Represented from Turkish authorities were the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, the under secretariat of Foreign Trade, and the under secretariat of Customs. Also attending were ambassadors from former EFTA-countries, and from countries that have a free trade agreement with EFTA.
The outsiders’ club
Like Turkey, Norway and Switzerland are not members of the European Union. But through their membership of the EFTA, they are still integrated with the EU to quite a large extent.
The European Free Trade Association was established on 3rd of May 1960, as an alternative for countries outside the EU. In the beginning EFTA had seven member countries, but as several of them entered the EU, the association today only consists of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Closely linked to EFTA, is the European Economic Area (EEA), of which Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are part. The EEA-countries enjoy free trade with the EU. For more information on the EEA, visit their webpage.