Resolution of the EEA Consultative Committee of 26 June 2002 on enlargement and the future of the EEA
Date: 2002-06-26
Institutions: European Economic Area
Subjects: EEA Joint Consultative Committee, European Economic Area, agreement (EU), enlargement of the Union

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Official Journal of the European Union

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EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA

EEA CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

RESOLUTION OF THE EEA CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

of 26 June 2002

on enlargement and the future of the EEA

(2003/C 67/04)

1. Background

1.1.
The Consultative Committee of the European Economic
the key
Area (EEA-CC)
is composed of representatives of
socioeconomic interest groups in the 18 EEA Member States.
The Committee acts as a voice for workers, employers and
other actors of organised civil society in these countries and
forms part of the EEA institutional set-up.

the EEA Agreement performs

ultimate goal of creating an internal market with a homo-
geneous legal framework throughout the European Economic
Area,
satisfactorily. Equal
conditions of competition and common rules in other areas
related to the Internal Market ensure that enterprises and
economic actors are given the same treatment
throughout
the EEA.

1.2.
The following resolution on Enlargement and the future of
the EEA was adopted at the 10th meeting of the EEA-CC in
Egilsstadir, Iceland, on 26 June 2002. The rapporteurs were Mr
Jon Ivar Nålsund from the EFTA Consultative Committee (CSC),
and Mr Filip Hamro-Drotz from the European Economic and
Social Committee (EESC).

2. Introduction

2.1.
The EEA Consultative Committee (EEA-CC) has given
priority to the forthcoming enlargement of the EU and the
EEA, as manifested in the resolutions on Priorities and challenges
in preparations of the enlargement of the European Union (1) of
March 1999 and on the Free movement of workers
in the
context of enlargement (2) of November 2001.

2.2.
As EU enlargement negotiations are reaching their final
stage and the settlement of the tools and procedures for EEA
enlargement is imminent, this resolution focuses less on the
substance of these negotiations than on the procedures for EEA
enlargement and ways of ensuring that it takes place for the
mutual benefit of citizens and businesses throughout the EEA.
The resolution will also take stock of the state of play in EEA
cooperation at this defining moment in the history of the
European Economic Area and look towards the future of an
enlarged EEA.

3. The status of the EEA Agreement

3.1.
Ten years have passed since the EEA Agreement was
signed on 2 May 1992 in Oporto. In terms of fulfilling its

3.2.
However, at the same time as the EEA has lived up to
the objective, which was devised at the outset, the context in
which the Agreement operates has changed considerably.

First,

the political weight of

the EEA/EFTA States
3.3.
decreased significantly with the accession of Austria, Finland
and Sweden to the EU, and the EFTA part of the EEA market is
now considerably smaller, both in geographical and economic
terms (3). With EU enlargement, the relative weight of the EFTA
side in EEA cooperation will further diminish. An enlarged and
more heterogeneous European Union also means that the risk
of one State in the EU Council objecting to additions to the
EEA Agreement increases,
if qualified majority voting is not
extended to relations with non-EU States.

3.4.
Secondly, within the EU cooperation between Member
States has intensified considerably in a number of fields which
have consequences for how the internal market
functions.
While the EEA Agreement was negotiated on the basis of the
Treaty of Rome, the subsequent Maastricht and Amsterdam
Treaties have altered the European architecture both in
is well underway; a
substance and structure. Enlargement
new common currency,
the euro, has emerged; and coop-
eration on justice and home affairs has been strengthened.
Furthermore,
laws, peer
the Lisbon Strategy with its soft
review and benchmarking, has provided the EU with new
methods of cooperation. Catching up with some of the key
developments
in the EU since the EEA Agreement was
negotiated represents a major challenge for safeguarding the
future sustainability of the Agreement.

(1) C/20/R/003 — CES 1477/98 (rapporteurs: Hamro-Drotz/Skúlason/

Brunhart).

(2) C/20/R/008 — DI 53/2001 (rapporteurs: Jaschick/Gudmundsdóttir/

Taddei).

(3) The EEA Agreement was negotiated between the European
Community of 12 Member States and the seven members of
EFTA, accounting for almost 25 % of the EC's total external trade.
Today, the three EEA/EFTA States combined account for less than
5 % of the EU's external trade.

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In order to ensure the legal homogeneity of the internal
3.5.
market, the EEA-CC calls on the parties to the EEA Agreement
to update the Agreement, so as to incorporate those changes to
the EC Treaty introduced by the Maastricht and Amsterdam
Treaties, which are of relevance to the EEA.

4. EU and EEA enlargement

4.1.
The forthcoming EU enlargement will also involve the
enlargement of the EEA. When the EU candidate countries
become members of the EU they must, according to Article
128 of the EEA Agreement, also apply to become a party to
the EEA Agreement (1).

4.2.
The enlargement of the EU and of the EEA has the
support of the EEA-CC, as it will benefit citizens, consumers
and economic operators alike — both in the current EEA
countries and in the acceding Member States. The EEA-CC
appreciates the considerable progress made in the enlargement
negotiations on the EU side and calls on the European
Commission and the EU Member States to keep up the
momentum and conclude the negotiations with the most
advanced EU candidates before the end of 2002.

5. Opportunities in an enlarged EU/EEA

represents

5.1.
The enlargement of the EU will benefit Europe as a
whole. Therefore, the success of the enlargement process is
just as important for the EFTA countries as for the EU and
other European countries. EU enlargement
the
peaceful
after years of painful
reunification of Europe
division and conflict, which marked the twentieth century.
The lesson learnt from the past is that integration is the only
instrument to overcome the past and to build up a peaceful,
stable and prosperous future in Europe. Enlargement will not
only extend to a wider group of countries stability and security,
but it will also consolidate the political and economic tran-
sition that has taken place in central and eastern Europe in
the last decade.

An enlarged internal market will create an array of new
5.2.
the European
opportunities. With half a billion people,
Economic Area will become the world's
internal
market with an open border-free area where goods, services,
capital and persons can circulate freely. The enlarged internal
market will not only be larger in physical terms, but it will also
be enriched and strengthened by its new diversity.

largest

The expansion of

5.3.
the EEA into central and eastern
Europe will mean intensified competition for businesses and

(1) Article 128.1 of the EEA Agreement stipulates the requirements for

EEA enlargement:

‘1.
Any European State becoming a member of the Community
shall, and the Swiss Confederation or any European State becoming
a member of EFTA may, apply to become a party to this
Agreement. It shall address its application to the EEA Council.’

in general benefit

industry throughout the EEA and new opportunities will be
provided by an enlarged internal market. Economic actors
from a more secure and stable
will
business environment
in the central and eastern European
countries and economic growth in the area. Moreover, the
market
services — an area not covered by
current free trade agreements — will grow.

in financial

6. Enlargement: Challenges faced by the EEA/EFTA States

6.1. EU/EEA enlargement beneficial to all parties involved

The

EEA-CC's

EU/EEA
overall
6.1.1.
enlargement is that it will be highly beneficial to all parties
involved. Enlargement does, however, present the EEA/EFTA
States with certain specific
challenges which should be
addressed.

assessment

of

At the most general level, EU enlargement represents
6.1.2.
the imbalance
a challenge to the EEA/EFTA States in that
between the EU and the EFTA pillars
in the EEA will
increase further. As for the more technical aspects of EEA
enlargement,
to be
clarified, which gives cause for some concern. However, a
important specific challenge faced by the EEA/EFTA
most
States
is how enlargement will affect EEA/EFTA fisheries
exports to the new members in central and eastern Europe.

the procedures and timing have yet

6.1.3.
All in all, however, the EEA-CC is of the view that the
balance of arguments remains strongly in favour of EU/EEA
enlargement.

6.2. Increased imbalance between the EFTA and EU pillars in

EEA cooperation

6.2.1.
The growing imbalance between the EFTA and the EU
pillars in EEA cooperation will increase with EU enlargement,
possibly resulting in further marginalisation of the EEA/EFTA
countries in Europe. Gaining understanding for EFTA views in
an EU of nearly 30 countries will represent a major challenge
for the EEA/EFTA States.

6.2.2. Moreover, with more and more countries knocking
on the door of the European Union, it has been necessary for
the European Commission to make clearer distinctions between
members and non-members. As far as EEA/EFTA participation
in EC committees is concerned, this distinction does not always
benefit the EEA/EFTA States.

6.2.3.
Bearing all this in mind, the EEA-CC calls on the
EEA/EFTA States to put more efforts into forging closer
relations with the candidate countries, to ensure a better under-
standing between the two sides.

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6.3. Procedures for EEA enlargement

6.4. Trade in fish and other marine products

6.3.1.
Although it would be politically unthinkable that the
new EU Member States would not join the EEA, the Agreement
contains somewhat unclear provisions for the enlargement of
the EEA (1).
from the EEA
provisions when the States acceding to the EU should apply
to become part of the EEA, what kind of negotiations are
envisaged or when accession to the EEA should take place.

instance, not clear

for

is,

It

6.3.2. With possible conclusion of the first EU accession
negotiations this year, not much time is left for reaching an
agreement on EEA enlargement if the goal of simultaneous
enlargement is to be achieved. The EEA-CC therefore regrets
that discussions between the EU and the EEA EFTA States on
the modalities for EEA enlargement were initiated only in
2001. It is however reassuring that rapid progress has been
made over the last few months and that a common under-
standing has been reached between the EU and the EFTA
States on the need for simultaneous enlargement of the EU
and the EEA. The EEA Consultative Committee calls on both
sides to ensure that an agreement on the tools for EEA
enlargement will be established without delay.

6.3.3.
Unlike the EU Member States, which participate in
the accession negotiations, the EEA/EFTA States do not do so
and therefore need adequate and regular information on the
enlargement process in order
to be able to prepare for
substantive changes to the acquis. Given the practical need to
conduct the ratification procedures for EEA and EU accession
in parallel, in order to guarantee the homogeneity of the EEA,
the information flow to the EFTA side on the enlargement
process is all the more important. Uncertainty and lack of
information about possible transitional periods is a concern.
Efforts must be made to ensure that any transitional periods
do not distort competition in the EEA.

likely, not

The EEA-CC understands that EEA enlargement will,
6.3.4.
most
require extensive additional negotiations.
However, the Committee regrets that the EEA social partners
have not been informed or consulted to a satisfactory degree,
either on the procedure or on the substance of discussions. As
the
enlargement will affect citizens and businesses alike,
EEA-CC reiterates
In
situation.
the shared responsibility to
parallel,
the EEA-CC accepts
the EEA Agreement among
disseminate information about
social partners in the candidate countries.

the need to remedy this

6.4.1.
A most important — and for the moment the best
documented — challenge faced by the EEA/EFTA States with
enlargement is the issue of fisheries exports to the new EU/EEA
members in central and eastern Europe.

6.4.2.
The EFTA States have free trade agreements (FTAs)
with all the EU candidate countries except Cyprus and Malta.
The agreements give duty free access for all industrial goods
and seafood, with a few minor exemptions. With the candidate
countries' accession to the EU, these agreements will lapse and
Protocol 9 to the EEA Agreement on trade in fish and other
marine products will govern the terms of trade with the new
Member States. Considering that the terms of Protocol 9 EEA
are less favourable than the current FTAs, the consequence will
be that trade in seafood between the EEA/EFTA States and the
potential member
from enlargement.
suffer
Furthermore,
the duties that competitors in the EU today
face when exporting to Central and Eastern Europe will be
removed with enlargement, thus placing EEA/EFTA exporters
at a double disadvantage.

States will

for

6.4.3. When Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU,
Norway
lost
and Iceland negotiated compensations
market access in seafood. They received a fixed, duty-free
quota for the species affected, calculated on the basis of
to these countries. Applying the same
previous exports
method for
the Central and Eastern European countries
would be far from satisfactory because it would in effect
fish exporters
prevent
from
for fish products in
profiting from the expanding market
central and eastern Europe. Whereas Austria, Finland and
Sweden were all well-established markets,
for
seafood in the central and eastern European countries is
destined to grow substantially in the coming years.
In the
EEA-CC's view, any arrangements for fish products must be
forward looking, rather than a simple calculation of the trade
that has taken place in the last few years.

and Norwegian

the market

Icelandic

6.4.4.
Considering that
trade in fish and other marine
products
represents a major exception from the general
expected from
positive
impact on EEA/EFTA businesses
enlargement, the EEA-CC calls on all parties to redouble their
efforts to reach a suitable solution for EEA enlargement in this
field.

(1) Article 128.2 of

the EEA Agreement stipulates the terms and

7. Assistance to the EU/EEA candidate countries

conditions for EEA enlargement:

‘2.
The terms and conditions for such participation shall be the
subject of an agreement between the Contracting Parties and the
applicant State. That agreement shall be submitted for ratification or
approval by all Contracting Parties
in accordance with their
procedures.’

creating

Concerned with

the enlarged EEA,

field
7.1.
throughout
its
previous opinion that the acquis should be applied strictly in
to contribute to an
the new Member States,
conditions.
social
improvement

the EEA-CC reiterates

in order
and

environmental

playing

level

of

a

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Sustainable development and a functioning welfare system are
indeed prerequisites for strong long-term economic growth.
The EEA-CC therefore welcomes the increased focus by the
EU on the actual application of the acquis in the candidate
countries. The readiness of the EEA/EFTA States to participate
in peer reviews of candidate countries is also a very positive
example of how to get involved in the EU enlargement process.
It will accelerate the catching up of the future Member States,
at all administrative levels, and provide valuable experience to
the EEA/EFTA States about conditions in these countries.

7.2.
On the other hand, the candidate countries will need
assistance in order to be able to apply the acquis without
placing unmanageable demands on their public finances.
Hence, it is to be expected that the EEA/EFTA States, like the
EU-15 Member States, will be asked to make funds available to
the new Member States. As such funding must be part of a
broader picture,
the EEA-CC urges the EEA/EFTA States to
make concrete proposals in this field, taking active account
of their own priorities. The experience from the management
of
the EEA Financial Mechanism and the EEA Financial
Instrument will be useful in this respect. By making concrete
proposals well in advance of the likely demand for them to
the cost of
make further
EU-EEA enlargement, the EEA/EFTA States can increase the
scope for channelling these funds in a way which will also
benefit EEA/EFTA interests in an enlarged EU.

financial contributions

towards

8. Summary of conclusions and recommendations

8.1.
10 years after it was signed, the EEA Agreement still
performs satisfactorily in that it fulfils the objective formulated
at the outset. However, the context in which the Agreement
operates has changed considerably with wide-ranging changes
to the EC Treaty introduced at Maastricht and Amsterdam, in
addition to other EU developments, which affect the func-
Internal Market. The EEA Consultative
tioning of
in
Committee calls for an update of
order to ensure the legal homogeneity of the Internal Market.

the EEA Agreement

the

8.2.
The enlargement of the EU and of the EEA has the EEA
Consultative Committee's support, as it will benefit Europe as a
whole and create an array of new opportunities for citizens,
consumers and economic operators alike. The Committee calls
on the EU to keep up the momentum and conclude the
negotiations with the most advanced EU candidates before
the end of 2002.

Enlargement does, however, present

the EEA/EFTA
8.3.
States with certain specific challenges. At the most general
level, the imbalance between the EU and the EFTA pillars in
increase further. To alleviate this problem, the
the EEA will
relations
advocates
EEA Consultative Committee
between the candidate countries and the EEA /EFTA States to
ensure a better understanding between the two sides.

closer

As for the more technical aspects of EEA enlargement,
8.4.
the procedures and timing have yet to be clarified, which gives
cause for some concern. With possible conclusion of the first
EU accession negotiations this year, not much time is left for
reaching an agreement on EEA enlargement if the goal of
achieved. The EEA
simultaneous
Consultative Committee calls on both sides to ensure that an
agreement on the tools for EEA enlargement will be established
without delay.

enlargement

to be

is

A most important challenge faced by the EEA/EFTA
8.5.
States with enlargement
is how it will affect EEA/EFTA
fisheries exports to the new EU/EEA members in Central and
Eastern Europe when the current free trade agreements with
these countries lapse. Calling on all parties to focus efforts on
reaching a suitable solution for EEA enlargement in this field,
the EEA Consultative Committee is of
the view that any
arrangements
fish products must be forward-looking,
rather than a simple calculation of the trade that has taken
place in the last few years.

for

8.6.
All in all, however, the EEA Consultative Committee is
of the view that the balance of arguments remains strongly in
favour of EU/EEA enlargement.

level

a
the

enlarged

creating
EEA,

in the new Member States. At

Concerned with
the

field
playing
8.7.
throughout
EEA Consultative
Committee emphasises the need for strict application of the
the
acquis
Committee notes that it is to be expected that all EEA/EFTA
States will be asked to make funds available to the new
Member States. The Committee urges the EEA/EFTA States to
make concrete proposals on ways to channel such possible
funds in a manner which will also benefit EEA/EFTA interests
in an enlarged EU.

the same time,