Report of the working group on the EEA co-operation has been published

A working group appointed by Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, delivered its report today on Iceland‘s membership of the European Economic Area Agreement. 

Appointed in August 2018, the three-person working group was given the task of assessing the benefits to Iceland of participation in the EEA co-operation and the principal challenges faced by government in implementing the EEA Agreement. The appointment of the group was partly a response to a request by thirteen Members of Parliament, as well as being an opportunity to mark the 25th anniversary of the EEA Agreement.

The group was chaired by Mr. Björn Bjarnason, former government minister and member of Parliament. Other members of the group were eminent legal experts Ms. Kristrún Heimisdóttir and Ms. Bergthóra Halldórsdóttir.

The Report of the Working Group on the EEA Co-operation has now been published. The members of the group introduced their findings at a press meeting at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs this afternoon. 

“I am very pleased that this extensive report has now been published and I am convinced that it will make an important contribution to the ongoing dialogue in our society about the advantages and disadvantages of the EEA cooperation. Now we will have to scrutinise carefully the contents of the report. However, my initial assessment is that the working group executed its task meticulously and objectively,” says Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs. 

The entire report can be accessed from the Government website (in Icelandic). An English translation of its Foreword, Commemorative Statement, Executive Summary and Fifteen Point on Improvements can be downloaded from here.