The EFTA Parliamentary Committee will meet on the margins of the European Economic Area (EEA) Ministerial Meeting in Brussels on 23 and 24 November. The agenda includes a working meeting with the current chair of the EFTA Council and an in-depth discussion on various trade policy challenges. Afterwards, a delegation of the Parliamentary Committee will travel on to Poland to discuss the implementation of the EEA Financial Mechanism.

The EFTA/EU Delegation represents the Swiss Parliament at the Parliamentary Committee which meets twice a year for ordinary meetings. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meetings have been held by videoconference. During their November meeting, the EFTA Members of Parliament will for the first time meet again in Brussels with the Islandic chair of the EFTA Council. On the agenda, in addition to the priorities of the Icelandic Chairmanship, are EFTA’s free trade policy with regard to third countries and various innovations within EFTA in the areas of transparency, trade and sustainable development, and e-commerce.

The Parliamentary Committee will meet with various representatives of the European Commission and think tanks to exchange views on recent developments in the trade environment and on the current challenges in EU–UK relations. The Swiss delegation will also participate as an observer in the meeting of the EFTA Parliamentary Committee with the EEA foreign ministers.

Discussions will focus on topics including the EEA Financial Mechanism (EEA and Norway Grants), which aims to reduce economic and social disparities in the EU, as well as the engagement of the EEA states in Poland in response to the current challenges to the rule of law. Following the technical discussions in Brussels, a delegation of the Parliamentary Committee will travel on to Warsaw to discuss the political situation and the implementation of the EEA and Norway Grants in the new funding period. This part of the programme is important for the Swiss delegation in view of the implementation of the second Swiss contribution to selected EU Member States. In addition, the current situation on the border between Poland and Belarus will also be discussed.

In addition to the EFTA/EU Delegation president, National Council member Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL), National Council members Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (The Centre, BL), Thomas Aeschi (SVP, ZG) and Hans-Peter Portmann (FDP, ZH) as well as Council of States member Carlo Sommaruga (SP, GE) will take part in this working meeting.