The Schengen Agreement in Europe also facilitates traffic and trade between countries. If a U.S. citizen plans to visit or travel to European countries, you need to know the requirements of the Schengen Agreement. The Schengen Agreement is a treaty establishing the European Schengen Area, which consists of 26 countries where internal border controls for short-term tourism, business travel or travel through the country to a non-Schengen destination have been largely abolished. The EEA Agreement was signed in Porto on 2 May 1992 by the seven countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the European Community (EC) and its 12 member states at the time. [16] [17] On the 6th. In December 1992, the Swiss electorate rejected the ratification of the agreement in a referendum ordered by the Constitution[18], effectively freezing the application for EC membership submitted earlier this year. Rather, Switzerland is linked to the EU by a series of bilateral agreements. On 1 January 1995, three former EFTA members – Austria, Finland and Sweden – joined the European Union, which had replaced the European Community with the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty on 1 November 1993. Liechtenstein`s participation in the EEA has been postponed until 1 May 1995.
[19] Any European State that becomes a member of the EU or a member of EFTA may apply to become a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement in accordance with Article 128 of the Agreement. [20] However, when the EEA was created in 1994, several developments hampered its credibility. Firstly, Switzerland rejected the EEA Agreement in a national referendum on 6 December 1992, thus hindering the full integration of the EU-EFTA into the EEA. In addition, Austria had applied to become a full member of the EEC in 1989, followed by Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland between 1991 and 1992 (Norway`s accession to the EU was rejected by referendum, Switzerland froze its application to the EU after the rejection of the EEA agreement by referendum). The fall of the Iron Curtain had made the EU less reluctant to accept these highly developed countries as member states, as it would reduce the pressure on the EU budget if the former socialist countries of Central Europe joined. [15] EEA countries that are not part of the EU do not contribute financially to the union`s objectives to the same extent as their members, although they contribute to the EEA subsidy system to “reduce social and economic inequalities in the EEA”. In addition, some choose to participate in EU programmes such as the Trans-European Networks and the European Regional Development Fund. Norway also has its own subsidy programme for Norway. [70] Following the enlargement of the EU/EEA in 2004, the financial contribution of EEA countries, in particular Norway, to social and economic cohesion in the internal market increased tenfold (€1167 million over a five-year period). [Citation needed] The Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) is a 1992 agreement that integrates the Member States of the European Union (EU) and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – into a single market. (The fourth EFTA state, Switzerland, renounces membership.) The aim of the agreement is to strengthen trade and economic relations between countries by removing barriers to trade and establishing a level playing field and compliance with the same rules. Switzerland is not part of the EEA Agreement, but has concluded a number of bilateral agreements with the EU.
Further information on these agreements can be found on the website of the European Commission and on the website of the Swiss Federal Administration. The right to free movement between EEA Member States and the relevant provisions on safeguard measures are identical to those applicable between EU Members. [9] [10] The rights and rules applicable in all EEA Member States, including those that are not members of the EU, are set out in Directive 2004/38/EC[10] and the EEA Agreement. [9] The EEA Joint Committee is composed of the EEA EFTA States and the European Commission (which represents the EU) and has the task of amending the EEA Agreement in order to incorporate the relevant EU legislation. An EEA Council meets twice a year to regulate global relations between EEA members. In 2020[Update], the EEA Contracting Parties are three of the four EFTA Member States and the 27 EU Member States. [21] The youngest EU member, Croatia, concluded negotiations for accession to the EEA in November 2013[22] and provisionally applied the agreement of 12 April 2014 until it is ratified by all EEA Member States. [4] [13] When a state joins the EU, it is not necessarily immediately part of the EEA, but it is required to apply. [32] Following eu enlargement in 2007, during which Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on 1 January 2007, an EEA enlargement agreement was only signed on 25 July 2007 and only entered into provisional force on 1 August 2007. [33] [34] [25] The agreement did not fully enter into force until 9 November 2011. [25] On the other hand, the EEA Agreement was provisionally applied to the 10 acceding countries in May 2004 from the date of their accession to the EU. [35] **In 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU and, indeed, the EEA agreement, a process informally known as Brexit and a two-year window to negotiate the terms of that withdrawal was triggered.
As of September 2019, however, Brexit has yet to take place. There is currently a deadline of 31 October 2019 for the UK to leave the EU, with or without a negotiated agreement. The EEA Agreement requires the inclusion of EU rules covering the “four freedoms” – the free movement of goods, services, people and capital – in all member states. It also includes cooperation in other areas such as research and development, education, social policy, environment, consumer protection, tourism and culture, collectively referred to as “accompanying and horizontal” policies. Five recognised candidates for EU membership are not yet members of the EEA: Albania (candidate in 2009, negotiations since March 2020), North Macedonia (application in 2004, negotiations since March 2020), Montenegro (negotiated since June 2012), Serbia (negotiated since June 2012), Serbia (application in 2009, negotiations since January 2014) and Turkey (since October 2005). [44] [45] Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are considered potential candidate countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU and its Member States, which entered into force in June 2015 and allowed for the submission of an application for membership in February 2016[46], while Kosovo, whose independence is not recognised by five EU Member States, concluded negotiations on an SAA which entered into force in April 2016. [47] When it entered into force in 1994, the EEA Contracting Parties were composed of 17 States and two European Communities: the European Community, which was later integrated into the wider EU framework, and the defunct European Coal and Steel Community. The number of members has increased to 30 states by 2020: 27 EU Member States and three of the four EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). [8] The agreement will be provisionally applied to Croatia, the last and youngest EU Member State, until all EEA Contracting Parties have ratified its accession. [4] [13] The UK will remain a member of the EEA on a transitional basis after leaving the EU on 31 January 2020 and entering a transitional period ending on 31 December 2020. During the transition, the EEA Agreement will remain unchanged and will continue to apply both to the other EEA Members and to the United Kingdom, with the United Kingdom continuing to be treated as an EEA State.
[14] One EFTA member, Switzerland, has not acceded to the EEA but has concluded a number of bilateral sectoral agreements with the EU allowing it to participate in the internal market. All new EU members are applying to become parties to the EEA Agreement. The EEA Agreement brings together the 28 EU Member States and the three EEA EFTA States, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, in the internal market, which is subject to the same basic rules. It guarantees the four freedoms of the EU`s internal market as well as non-discrimination and the same competition rules throughout the EEA. In the late 1980s, EFTA states, led by Sweden, began looking for ways to join the then existing European Economic Community (EEC), the forerunner of the European Union (EU). There are many reasons given. Many authors cite the economic slowdown of the early 1980s and the subsequent adoption of the “Europe 1992 Agenda” by the EEC as the main reason. These authors argue from a liberal intergovernmental point of view, arguing that the large multinationals of the EFTA countries, in particular Sweden, were pushing for eec membership under the threat of relocating their production abroad. Other authors refer to the end of the Cold War, which made EEC membership less politically controversial for neutral countries. [15] In addition to the 1992 Treaty, 1 Reform Treaty and 3 Treaties were signed to allow the accession of new members of the European Union.
The European Economic Area (EEA) was created by the Agreement on the European Economic Area, an international agreement that allows the extension of the European Union`s internal market to the member states of the European Free Trade Association. [7] The EEA links the EU Member States and three EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) in an internal market subject to the same basic rules. The United Kingdom benefits from this relationship during the transition/transposition period provided for in the Treaties. [2] These rules aim to allow the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital within the European internal market, including the free choice of residence in any country in this region. .