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On 22 April 2015, EFTA announced that in order to ensure homogeneity of the EEA, state Members of the European Parliament and parliamentarians from the EEA EFTA States in a resolution adopted by the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee (EEA JPC) in March 2015 stated that it is important to increase the dialogue between the EU and the EEA EFTA States on developments in the TTIP negotiations. The announcement stated:
TTIP is a comprehensive free trade and investment agreement currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States. By reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade and strengthening regulatory cooperation, TTIP is expected to make it easier for firms on both sides of the Atlantic to do business together and possibly increase overall trading activity.
The EEA JPC resolution “TTIP and its possible implications for the EEA EFTA States” welcomes the negotiations and acknowledges the potential positive effects that TTIP could have on the EEA through increased demand for goods and services. Since the EEA EFTA States are closely integrated in the EU’s Single Market through the EEA Agreement and therefore apply the same Single Market rules, any impact that TTIP may have on the Single Market is likely to affect the EEA EFTA States.
The EEA JPC therefore urges the European Commission to increase the dialogue with the EEA EFTA States’ governments and parliaments with regard to important developments in the negotiations, in particular keeping in mind the need to ensure the homogeneity of the EEA.
The full resolution text and the report adopted by the EEA JPC can be found here.
To access the report, click here.
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