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Free trade among its members was one of the EU's founding principles, and it is committed to opening up world trade as well. From 1999 to 2010, EU foreign trade doubled and now accounts for over 30% of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP).
- The EU - what it is and what it does - EU Publications
The EU champions free trade. 35 million EU jobs are,...
- The EU - what it is and what it does - EU Publications
May 6, 2016 · What exactly are free trade areas? The OECD defines a free trade area as a group of “countries within which tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers between the members are generally abolished but with no common trade policy toward non-members”.
The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs) [1] and other agreements with a trade component with many countries worldwide and is negotiating with many others. [2] The European Union negotiates free trade deals on behalf of all of its member states, as the member states have granted the EU has an "exclusive competence" to ...
The EU champions free trade. 35 million EU jobs are, directly or indirectly, supported by trade with countries outside the EU. The EU fights for open, rules-based markets, a level playing field and the highest international standards across the world.
- Introduction
- Structures
- History – EFTA
- History – EEA
- Functioning of EFTA
- Functioning of EEA
- Quotes
- Technical Terms
The European Free Trade Area (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA) are two international trading and economic organisations, separate from, but working in close conjunction with the European Union. EFTA is made up of Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland. It provides a framework for free trade between member states, and for Free Trad...
The EU and the EFTA are ‘linked’ by the EEA; the EEA unites three of the EFTA nations (Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland) with the 28 EU member states in aninternal market, where the economies of all the states are governed by the same basic rules. Being a member of the EEA allows states to participate in the EU’s single market without having to be...
EFTA was established in 1960 as a free trading alternative to the EU. Its founding members were Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. From 1967, the EFTA states established free trade in industrial products. EFTA membership has fluctuated over the decades. Iceland joined in 1970, and Finland became a full member in 198...
The EEA is a single market. Negotiations to establish the EEA began in 1989, and it was established as a single market in 1994. EEA membership has expanded with the expansion of the EU because the EEA Agreement asserts that any nation applying to join the EU must also join the EEA. Today, its membership includes the 28 EU member states plus Norway,...
EFTA is an intergovernmental organisation that acts as a free trading bloc. It is governed by the EFTA Secretariat, which has offices in Geneva (Switzerland) and Brussels (Belgium). Its activities are regulated by the ETFA Surveillance Authority (equivalent to the EU Commission), and the EFTA court (equivalent to the European Court of Justice). As ...
The EEA is governed by a joint committee consisting of the EEA-EFTA states plus the EU Commission, which represents EU states. EEA activity is based in Brussels. An EEA Council meets twice per year to govern the overall relationship between the EEA members. As mentioned above, the EEA’s activity is regulated by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and t...
“EFTA received little attention either during or since its heyday.” – John Gillingham, 2003. “EFTA has contributed significantly to the economic development of its member states and to the promotion of free trade.” – Kare Bryn, EFTA Secretary-General, 2010.
Free trade: international trade when there is no restriction on the import or export of goods. Single market: trading area governed by the same basic rules, enabling the free movement of goods. Intergovernmental: national governments cooperating together but not bound by any supranational authority.
The value of EU trade covered by the vast network of 42 agreements with 74 partners in place in 2023 was more than €2.3 trillion, having risen by over 30% over the past five years, according to the Annual Report on the implementation and enforcement of EU trade policy published today.
The EU-New Zealand free trade agreement was approved by European Parliament on 22 November 2023.
