25 July 2005
PRIORITIES FOR THE NORWEGIAN CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE EFTA-COUNCIL AUTUMN 2005
The Norwegian Chair bases its priorities for the second half of 2005 on the main conclusions reached at the EFTA Council meeting at Ministerial level in Vaduz on 27 July 2004.
1. Third-country relations
In light of the increasing level of third country activities, the Chair’ will explore ways and means to improve efficiency, for instance, by using technical devices such as videoconferencing.
1.1 Existing free trade agreements
The Chair’s objective is to hold Joint Committee meetings under existing free trade agreements with the following partner countries:
Croatia, the PLO/PA and Macedonia.
1.2 Ongoing negotiations
The Chair’s objectives are to:
Initial the free trade agreement concluded with South Korea on 8 July with a view to signing it at the next Ministerial Meeting;
Finalise negotiations with SACU as soon as possible in order to be able to sign the FTA at the next Ministerial meeting in December or earlier;
Arrange a stocktaking session with the Canadian chief negotiator as soon as convenient;
Regarding Egypt, continue interaction at the political level in order to identify solutions that would allow for the resumption of negotiations;
Hold a first round of negotiations with Thailand in Thailand.
1.3. Declaration on Co-operation partners
The Chair’s objectives are to:
Hold a meeting with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) with a view to prepare for the start of free trade negotiations;
Hold a Joint Committee meeting with Algeria with a view to explore the possibility of opening free trade negotiations;
Hold Joint Committee meetings with Albania and Serbia-Montenegro to review trade relations and explore further steps including possible technical co-operation projects;
Hold a Joint Committee meeting with Ukraine to review trade relations and further steeps including possible technical co-operation projects.
1.4 Other partners
The Chair’s objectives are to:
Take action at various levels to engage Japan in a process towards opening negotiations on free trade relations;
Finalise a Memorandum of Understanding or similar instrument with China in order to launch a joint feasibility study on a free trade agreement;
Hand over the agreed aide-mèmoire to the Russian Federation in order to intensify trade relations;
Clarify the feasibility of concluding a declaration of cooperation with the US and, if necessary, arrange a second meeting of senior officials;
Follow up the contacts in the area of possible trade relations with Indonesia by holding a meeting of senior officials;
Identify any possible further steps on the road to closer trade ties with Syria;
Implement the agreed action items with Mercosur;
Conclude a Declaration of Co-operation with Peru;
Monitor developments in India’s trade policy that are of interest to EFTA;
Continue to follow developments under the European Neighbourhood Policy and assess possible implications for EFTA’s third-country activities, including in the area of technical assistance.
2. Internal EFTA affairs
For the good functioning of the cooperation within the EFTA-family the Norwegian Chair will focus on:
Reaching agreement on a new remuneration system for the EFTA institutions;
Updating the decision regarding public access to documents;
Depending on the timing and results of the review of the Swiss-EU bilateral agreements, initiate expert meetings to assess the scope for further reducing restrictions/reservations between Switzerland and the EEA EFTA countries under the Vaduz Convention;
Initiating a review of the committee structure under the EFTA Council;
Paying attention to the cooperation and the exchange of information between Geneva and Brussels duty stations, in particular by hosting a meeting of the Transparency Group in Geneva.
Following up on the work in the working group to look into the feasibility of joint services between the three EFTA institutions concerning some administrative activities.
3. The World Trade Organization
Regarding on-going work in the WTO, the Chair will continue the well-established practice of having exchanges of views between the EFTA-states.