An EFTA state can apply for a reservation on specific EU legislation. As this happens, the EEA agreement requires all parties to work in good faith towards an agreement. If they do not reach an agreement, the matter will be referred to the joint committee. If it is not resolved within six months, the corresponding quota for the disputed legislation is suspended. This may result in the state being excluded from the EEA for this sector. The first objective of EFTA was the liberalisation of trade between its Member States. In 1972, each EFTA state concluded bilateral free trade agreements with the EEC. Currently, 29 free trade agreements are in force in EFTA countries or are awaiting ratification for 40 partner countries around the world (outside Europe). Any state that becomes a member of EFTA is required to apply for membership of the existing EFTA free trade agreements, in accordance with Article 56 of the EFTA Convention. The accession of a new Member State to our free trade agreements can only be negotiated with the agreement of the other party or the contracting parties to the agreement.
All of our free trade agreements contain provisions governing the accession to the free trade agreement in question which stipulate that the terms must be agreed by the member and by all the contracting parties to the existing free trade agreement. On November 20, 2013, it was announced that an extension agreement had been reached. The text was signed on 20 December 2013 and, after its signing in April 2014, the agreement will be applied provisionally until it is ratified by Croatia, all EEA states and the European Union. [13] [22] [43] Since September 2020, the convention has been ratified by 19 out of 32 parties. [4] The government has expressed a desire to accede to the Convention, but this requires the agreement of all existing signatories: the EU, Denmark (which has an opt-out in this area and is itself a signatory), Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Switzerland has initiated several dialogues with the United Kingdom: (1) a so-called continuity dialogue, which deals with horizontal issues and monitors progress in each area, and (2) specific dialogues in areas currently under agreements between Switzerland and the EU. In mid-2005, representatives of the Faroe Islands indicated that their territory could join EFTA. [48] However, the absorption capacity of fairies is uncertain, given that, under Article 56 of the EFTA Convention, only States can become members of the association. [49] The ferocious members of the Danish Empire are not sovereign states and, according to a report prepared for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sons, “because the fairies are not a state, they cannot become parties to the EEA agreement under their constitutional status.” [50] However, the report indicated that it was possible that the “Kingdom of Denmark would be able to join EFTA with regard to wires”.” [50] The Danish government has stated that cases cannot become independent members of the EEA, given that Denmark is already a party to the EEA agreement.
[50] The Fedes have already concluded a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement with Iceland, known as the Hoyvék Agreement.