Adaptable survivor faces uncertain times
By Jarle Hetland - 16.10.2008 / 00:00 CET
EFTA has undergone many changes since it was set up nearly 50 years ago, but its survival appears uncertain.
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© 2012 European Voice. All rights reserved.
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Fact file
This is EFTA
õ The EFTA Council – the association's highest governing body, comprises of member states' representatives from two levels. Member state ambassadors meet once a month in Geneva. Ministerial meetings take place twice a year.
õ The EFTA secretariat has a headquarters in Geneva, which deals with the management and negotiation of free-trade agreements with non-EU countries and assists the EFTA Council, and another headquarters in Brussels, which provides support for the management of the EEA and assists the EEA-EFTA countries in their dealings with the EU.
õ The EFTA statistical office is a Luxembourg-based liaison office between Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, the EFTA countries' national statistical offices.
õ The EFTA Surveillance Authority is in charge of ensuring that Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway adhere to the EEA rules.
õ The EFTA Court is responsible for interpreting the EEA agreement as it affects Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway and ruling on their compliance with the accord.
EFTA Member STates
This island in the north Atlantic has just over 100,000 square kilometres and is home to around 300,000 people. It became a republic and gained independence from Denmark in 1944. Its main natural resources are geothermal power and fish, which make up 70% of export earnings. It has a gross domestic product (GDP), in purchasing power parity per person, of €29,700.
The tiny principality – 160 sq km – is squeezed between Austria and Switzerland and has a population of just 35,000. Despite few natural resources, it is a prosperous, industrialised country with a vibrant financial services sector. Its low business taxes make it an attractive location for small enterprises and for holding companies and foundations. Liechtenstein is in a customs union with Switzerland, whose national currency – the Swiss franc – it uses. It has a GDP in purchasing power parity per person of €39,700.
Spread across 320,000 sq km, Norway is one of Europe's least densely populated countries. It has an abundance of natural resources: petroleum, hydropower, fish, timber, and minerals. Gas and oil account for around one-third of exports. It has a GDP in purchasing power parity per person of €39,200.
Switzerland is less than half the size of Iceland (41,000 sq km) but has a population of almost 7.6 million, of whom around one-fifth are foreign-born. Services account for 72.7% of GDP and it has a competitive, export-oriented chemicals and machine industry. It has a GDP in purchasing power parity per person of €29,500.
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