'EEA plus' says Norwegian Foreign Minister in European Parliament

7.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 10th Oct 2006

The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs held a joint meeting with Mr Jonas Gahr Støre, Foreign Minister of Norway, Mrs Rita Kieber-Beck, Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein and Mr Grétar Már Sigurdsson, Permanent Secretary of State, Iceland in the European Parliament on 10th October.

Mr Støre, Mrs Kieber-Beck, and Mr Sigurdsson all commended the functioning of the EEA agreement and underlined that it was a mutually beneficial contract that served both parties well. Mr Støre noted that despite the present-day imbalance in terms of members between the two groupings, the agreement had proved both robust and efficient. Mrs Kieber-Beck and Mr Sigurdsson emphasized that while the EEA-EFTA countries gained access to the EU's internal market, they also contributed to the work of the Union in many areas.

As President of the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee, Diana Wallis MEP, questioned the Foreign Ministers as regards the appropriateness of the EEA agreement as a potential model for the EU's relations with its other neighbours, a model which has been dubbed 'EEA Plus'.

Mr Støre and Mr Sigurdsson pointed out that the EEA agreement implied full implementation of the internal market by the EEA-EFTA countries; the EEA-EFTA countries thus had to be just as good as the EU members at applying and incorporating the acquis relevant for the EEA. Consequently, they were hesitant to consider the EEA agreement as an appropriate model for the EU's relationship with other neighbouring countries, since most of these countries did not have the administrative and institutional capacity to participate in the Single Market.

(Photo shows President of the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee, Diana Wallis MEP with Mr Jonas Gahr Støre, Foreign Minister of Norway, in the European Parliament)