European Economic Area (EEA) 1
European Economic Area (EEA) 1 : In 1958, with the entry in force of the Treaty of Rome, certain non-member countries of Europe, afraid of remaining outside the Western European integration process, signed the Stockholm Convention (1960), instituting the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). The signatories were Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland. Within a few years, Finland and Iceland joined EFTA. Simply put, the European Economic Community (EEC) and EFTA comprise the EEA. The Treaty of the EEA, signed in spring 1992, entered into force on 1 January 1994. It was an agreement between the European Community (EC) on one side, and the Member States of EFTA on the other. This agreement has been designed to allow other European countries to benefit from the advantages of the common market. The EFTA countries participating in the EEA, on their part, agreed to respect the rules of the Common Market. EFTA had up to nine Member States, of which six have joined the European Union (EU). When Austria, Sweden and Finland joined the EU in 1995, EFTA was left with only four members - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. of these, only the first three take part in the EEA, since Switzerland refused the EEA treaty by referendum. An EEA Enlargement Agreement between the EC and its Member States, the EEA, EFTA States and the accession countries came into force on 1 May 2004. See: European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
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