The EEA Joint Committee is responsible for the management of the EEA Agreement and typically meets eight times a year. It is a forum in which views are exchanged and decisions are taken by consensus to incorporate EU legislation into the EEA Agreement.
The EEA Joint Committee is composed of the ambassadors of the EEA EFTA States and representatives of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission. The Presidency of the Committee is held for six months on an alternating basis by the EU and an EEA EFTA State.
Four subcommittees assist the Joint Committee on the free movement of goods; the free movement of capital and services, including company law; the free movement of persons; and horizontal and flanking policies. Numerous expert and working groups report to these subcommittees.
The Joint Committee presents an Annual Report on the Functioning of the EEA Agreement:
Joint Committee meeting schedule
Rules of Procedure of the EEA Joint Committee are laid down in Decision No 1/94 of the EEA Joint Committee, as amended by Decision No 24/2005 of the EEA Joint Committee. Click here for the consolidated version of the Rules of Procedure.
EEA Joint Committee Decisions
Whenever an EEA-relevant legal act is amended or a new one adopted by the EU, a corresponding amendment needs to be made to the relevant annex to the EEA Agreement. This is essential to maintain the principle of homogeneity in the EEA. The amendment to the EEA Agreement should be taken as closely as possible in time to the adopted legislation on the EU side, with a view to permitting simultaneous application in the EU and in the EEA EFTA States.
Preparatory work for EEA Joint Committee Decisions is the responsibility of the EFTA subcommittees and working groups, in which representatives of the EEA EFTA States participate. The EEA Joint Committee agrees on the incorporation of a decision into the EEA Agreement, and therefore plays a key role in the EEA decision-making procedure.
Overview of EEA Joint Committee Decisions
List of adopted Joint Committee Decisions (JCDs)
Adopted Joint Committee Decisions
You can access these and other legal documents in the EFTA Legal Texts section of the website.
EEA Joint Committee agendas can be found in the EFTA Public Journal.