Joint EU and EFTA Organs

Figure 3. The two-pillar EEA structure

Note: This diagram illustrates the management of the EEA Agreement. The left pillar shows the EFTA states and their institutions, while the right pillar shows the EU side. The joint EEA bodies are in the middle.

Source: EFTA Secretariat.

3.2.4 Joint EU and EFTA Organs 3.2.4.1 The EEA Council

The legal foundations of the EEA Council can be found in Arts 89 to 91 of the EEA Agreement. It is the highest political organ of the EEA, but not really comparable with the European Council of the European Union. The EEA Council has no ‘summits’ (e.g. with prime ministers) and usually operates at the Council of Ministers level. In actual practice, however, the EU Council of Ministers is represented by the Presidency, whether the foreign minister or e.g. the minister for European affairs. But formally, it consists of the members of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, one member of the government of each EFTA-EEA state and members of

the European Commission. Since the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission is replaced by the EEAS. The EEA Council meets twice a year, apart from urgent meetings, with an alternating presidency between a member of the Council and one of the EFTA-EEA states of six months. The EFTA Surveillance Authority and the European Investment Bank enjoy observer status in the EEA Council’s meetings.

Figure 4. EEA Council meeting in Brussels, November 2011

Source: http://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu.

In the EEA Council, decisions are taken by agreement of the EU, represented by the Council and the EEAS, on one side, and the EEA EFTA states, speaking with one voice, on the other side. This decision-making procedure therefore requires a ‘double-consensus’. In a first stage, the EFTA-EEA states have to reach a consensus amongst each other and in a second stage, agreement with the EU has to be reached. This requires a high degree of compatibility between the EEA-3 countries; indeed, for practical purposes, the EFTA-EEA states operate as one bloc. This procedure is based on ‘one state-one vote’ principle, implying that even (very) small countries have ‘veto-power’.

In the EEA Council this decision-making modus does not have practical consequences, as it gives general political impetus (without voting) and meets only twice a year. However, this procedure is also applied in the EEA Joint Committee, which is more important for regular decision-making on legislation.

3.2.4.2 The EEA Joint Committee

The EEA Joint Committee (EEA JC) is the most important organ in the EEA decision-making process as it is responsible for the daily management of the EEA. It serves the contracting parties as a forum for the exchange of

views and information, but its most critical role is incorporating new EEA-relevant EU acquis into the annexes to the EEA. Its meetings take place approximately 8 times a year and are not public. According to Art. 93 of the EEA Agreement and its rules of procedure,⁸³ the EEA JC consists of the representatives of the contracting parties. Their ambassadors represent the EEA EFTA countries and the European External Action Service (EEAS) as well as representatives of the EU member states represent the EU side.

However, the EU member states are almost never present. The European Central Bank and the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) enjoy observer status, but interviews revealed that the ECB is usually absent. As is the case with the EEA Council, the representative of the EU, i.e. the EEAS, holds the chair for six months followed by a representative of an EEA EFTA state for the subsequent six months.

In its rules of procedure, the EEA JC may establish subcommittees to assist its work. At the moment the EEA JC is assisted by five permanent subcommittees. These subcommittees are responsible for the following subject matter:

• free movement of goods, competition, state aid, state monopolies of a commercial character, intellectual property and procurement;

• free movement of capital and services;

• free movement of persons;

• flanking and horizontal policies such as research and development, social policy, environment, statistics, education, consumer protection, small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, audiovisual sector and civil protection; and

• legal and institutional matters.

In actual practice, the first four subcommittees often meet jointly.

Furthermore, under each subcommittee a working group can be established to deal with individual tasks. These working groups report to the subcommittee under which they have been established. Recently,

83 Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 1/94 of 8 February 1994 Adopting the Rules of Procedure of the EEA Joint Committee (OJ L 85, 30.3.1994, p. 60; EEA Supplement No. 1, 30 March 1994, p. 1) as amended by: Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 24/2005 of 4 February 2005 amending the Rules of Procedure of the EEA Joint Committee (OJ No L 161, 23.6.2005, p. 54 and EEA Supplement No. 32, 23.6.2005, p. 32), e.i.f. 8.2.2005.

informal meetings have been held with the EEAS to address e.g. the backlog in implementation (see further) and the preparation of EU (hence, EEA) membership of Croatia.

3.2.4.3 The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee

The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee consists of 24 parliamentarians, 12 from the European Parliament and 12 from the EFTA countries’

parliaments. It meets twice a year, once in an EFTA state and once in the European Parliament.

The EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee is an advisory body and contributes to the better understanding between the EEA EFTA countries and the European Union by debate and discussion. It has no procedural powers in the EEA decision-making procedures. The Committee may express its views in the form of report and resolutions. The president, who is elected by the plenum of the Committee and alternatively comes from the European Parliament and the EFTA countries each year, has the right to be heard by the EEA JC, but this has not happened for years.

3.2.4.4 The EEA Consultative Committee

As the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee, the EEA Consultative Committee is an advisory body, composed of members of the EFTA Consultative Committee and the European and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The Committee meets once a year to deepen the ties between the social partners of the EFTA and EU sides, given the deep market integration between all EEA countries. The Committee expresses its view in reports and resolutions.

3.2.5 The Organs of the EFTA Pillar