The EEA Joint Committee is made up of the European Parliament’s standing delegation for relations with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and EEA (DEEA Delegation) and the standing Parliamentary Delegations of the three EEA/EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). Switzerland has observer status on the EEA Joint Committee. The session will be attended by National Council member Hans-Peter Portmann (FDP, ZH), president of the EFTA/EU Delegation, National Council member Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL), vice president, Council of States member Didier Berberat (SP, NE) and National Council member Kathy Riklin (CVP, ZH).
The current plenary session of the European Parliament is the last before the European elections at the end of May. Accordingly, European institutions are speeding up legislative work to finalise items of business before the elections. The 52nd session of the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee offers participants the perfect forum to exchange views with members of the DEEA Delegation on the status of individual legislative projects relevant to Switzerland, such as the coordination of social security systems.
Danuta Hübner MEP, a member of the European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group, will also brief delegations on the latest developments regarding the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Further information on the 52nd session of the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee is available on the European Parliament’s website.
On 13 March, the Swiss delegation will also meet with representatives of the European Parliament’s AFET Committee, including its chair, David McAllister. This meeting will be dedicated to the ongoing consultations in Switzerland on the institutional agreement with the EU and the next steps. It will also provide an opportunity for participants to exchange views on the AFET Committee’s recently adopted report on the institutional agreement with Switzerland.