The EFTA Parliamentary Committee met for an ordinary meeting on the fringes of the EFTA ministerial conference in Geneva on 23 and 24 November. The representatives of the national parliaments from the EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) used the occasion to elect Council of States member Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP, SG) as chair of the EFTA Parliamentary Committee. Elfried Hasler, the head of the Liechtenstein EFTA/EEA Delegation, will assume the role of vice-chair as of 1 January 2018 from National Council member Thomas Aeschi (SVP/ZG), who held the role this year.
At the EFTA ministerial conference the Parliamentary Committee discussed the current state of work and the outlook for the free trade policy of the EFTA countries with non-EU states. Developments in EFTA’s trade relations with countries outside the EU are an important topic of the half-yearly meetings between EFTA ministers and the Parliamentary Committee.
The talks also covered expectations regarding the upcoming WTO Ministerial Meeting in Buenos Aires between 10 and 12 December. The EFTA Parliamentary Committee will be represented at the annual meeting of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO which will take place in Buenos Aires on 9 and 10 December. The EFTA/EU Delegation will be represented at the conference by National Council members Kathy Riklin (CVP/ZH), Hans Egloff (SVP/ZH) and Hans-Peter Portmann (FDP/ZH).