EFTA

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization established in 1960 to promote free trade and economic integration in Europe. It currently comprises four states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA serves as a platform for coordinating trade and economic policy among its members, while each country retains its own external trade relations and policies.

EFTA was created as an alternative to the European Communities (now the European Union) for countries seeking closer economic cooperation without full integration into the EU. Its membership has changed over time: seven founders—Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom—formed the initial group. Finland joined in 1961, and the United Kingdom left in 1973 after joining the EC. Since then, the organization has progressively narrowed to its current four members.

The relationship with the European Union varies among EFTA members. Three members—Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway—participate in the European Economic Area (EEA), which provides access to the EU internal market in goods, services, capital, and people, subject to certain obligations. Switzerland, by contrast, is not part of the EEA but has a dense network of bilateral agreements with the EU covering trade, transport, justice, and other areas.

Governance and activities: EFTA operates through a Council of Ministers and a Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland. It does not act as a customs union or a single market, but instead coordinates on trade policy and negotiates and maintains free trade agreements with many non-EU countries and international partners. The organization emphasizes free trade, market openness, and international economic cooperation.