EFTA publishes its annual report

On 28 April 2016, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), whose Member States are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, announced that The 
55th Annual Report of the European Free Trade Association
has been published. The report contains an overview of the functions and activities of EFTA throughout 2015 in the areas of managing the European Economic Area (EEA)  Agreement, EFTA’s worldwide network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the EFTA Convention.

Among the highlights of EFTA’s work was the political agreement reached between the EEA EFTA States and the European Union on renewed financial contributions to reduce social and economic disparities and to promote cooperation in Europe for the period 2014 to 2021. The EEA Joint Committee adopted 320 decisions incorporating 483 legal acts in 2015.

EFTA continued its ambitious pursuit of a worldwide network of FTAs in 2015, with EFTA Ministers signing a Joint Declaration on Cooperation with Ecuador and a protocol on the accession of Guatemala to the FTA between the EFTA States and Central American States. In addition, free trade negotiations were launched with Georgia and the Philippines.