EFTA social partners praise EEA Agreement on its 30th anniversary

The EFTA Consultative Committee, which represents the social partners of the EFTA States, met in Brussels on 10 April for a comprehensive day of meetings.

The programme started with an internal meeting, where the committee welcomed Simon Dekeyrel, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, to discuss the current state of play of the European energy market. During this meeting, the EEA EFTA States' contribution to a clean energy mix and secure and affordable energy prices in Europe was underlined. Next, against the backdrop of reflecting on the achievement of 30 years of EEA cooperation, the social partners had an exchange with Prof. Dr Jacques Pelkmans, Associate Senior Research Fellow at CEPS, who presented his recent report on empowering the Single Market. The committee aims to use these findings to prepare its resolution and report on 30 years of EEA partnership with the European Economic and Social Committee.

The EFTA social partners also met with the Standing Committee of the EFTA States, consisting of EEA EFTA Ambassadors to the European Union. They underlined the importance of close unity and shared values in an increasingly challenging geopolitical context, and highlighted the need to enhance the resilience of the Internal Market through the unique EEA framework. They also discussed the incorporation of EU legal acts into the EEA Agreement, as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by acts with a distinct horizontal nature. There was a clear consensus between the social partners and the Ambassadors on how essential the EEA Agreement is - and will remain - as a basis for cooperation with the EU.

The afternoon was dedicated to a seminar between the social partners and the relevant EFTA working groups, composed of experts from the national administrations responsible for assessing the EEA-relevance of EU legislation: the Working Group on Health and Safety at Work and Labour Law, chaired by Ingrid Finsland; and the Working Group on Gender Equality, Anti-Discrimination and Family Policy, chaired by Petter Kåre Sørlien. The Working Group Chairs provided an overview of ongoing work and exchanged views with the committee members.

The seminar included a presentation by Jörg Tagger from the European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion on strengthening social dialogue in the EU. This was followed by an exchange with two social attachés from the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, who presented their priorities and spoke about the ongoing negotiations on employment and social policy.

See high-resolution photos from the meeting here.