Additional EU programmes extended to the EEA EFTA States

On 14 November 2014, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) announced that on 13 November 2014, nine legal EU acts were incorporated into the EEA Agreement. Among these were two regulations establishing the EU Health Programme and the EU Consumer Programme and a decision on enhanced cooperation between European public employment services.

The EEA Joint Committee Decisions were adopted by written procedure, mainly to secure EEA EFTA participation in the two programmes, as well as in the Copernicus and Galileo Programmes, from 2014.

The Health Programme has four overarching objectives. It seeks to:

• Promote health, prevent diseases and foster supportive environments for healthy lifestyles, taking into account the “health in all policies” principle
• Protect EU citizens from serious cross-border health threats
• Contribute to innovative, efficient and sustainable health systems
• Facilitate access to better and safer healthcare for EU citizens

The Consumer Programme will support EU consumer policy in future years. It aims to help citizens fully enjoy their consumer rights and actively participate in the Single Market, thus supporting growth and innovation and meeting the objectives of Europe 2020. The programme will focus the following areas:

• A single market of safe products for the benefit of citizens and as a component of competitive businesses and traders
• A single market where citizens are well represented by professional consumer organisations, whose capacity is built to meet the challenges of today’s economic environment
• Concrete and effective collaboration between national bodies to support the enforcement of consumer rights and provide consumers with advice

The Copernicus and Galileo Programmes were also incorporated into the EEA Agreement by written procedure. Formerly known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), Copernicus is the European programme for the establishment of a European capacity for Earth observation. It aims to achieve the uninterrupted provision of accurate and reliable data and information in six thematic areas: land, marine, atmosphere, climate change, emergency management and security.

The aim of Galileo is to establish and operate a European global positioning system (GPS) designed for civilian purposes.

Overview of the EEA Joint Committee Decisions adopted on 13 November 2014.

Texts of EEA Joint Committee Decisions adopted in 2014.