The Consultative Committee of the European Economic Area (EEA) is a voice for workers, employers and other organisations in the 30 EEA countries. The Committee forms part of the EEA institutional set-up and is composed of representatives from the EFTA Consultative Committee and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).  The EEA Consultative Committee meets once a year and is currently co-chaired by Mr Halldór Grönvold,  Chair of the EFTA Consultative Committee, and Mr Meelis Joost from the EESC.

Role

The EEA Consultative Committee works to strengthen contacts between social partners in the EEA, to cooperate in an organised and regular manner to enhance awareness of the economic and social aspects of the EEA, and to provide input through resolutions into deliberations of other EEA bodies.

Cooperation between the social partners in EFTA and in the EU has been strengthened considerably through close contact between the EFTA Consultative Committee and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Informal cooperation between these two institutions began in 1975, but was later formalised by the EEA Agreement, which entered into force on 1 January 1994. The EEA Agreement extended the Single Market of the EU to the three EEA EFTA countries, namely Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Article 96 of the Agreement stipulated the establishment of the EEA Consultative Committee. This body consists of an equal number of nine representatives of the EFTA Consultative Committee and of the EESC.

Activities

The EEA Consultative Committee meets once a year and adopts resolutions on areas of priority.

Resolutions adopted by the EEA Consultative Committee

Cooperation between the two sides of the EEA Consultative Committee has been further reinforced by the Osmosis procedure, through which representatives of the EFTA Consultative Committee participate in the work of the EESC and vice versa. The procedure has helped establish regular dialogue between the EFTA Consultative Committee and the EESC, and this cooperation has proven to be both valuable and productive. Extensive contact with EU counterparts has contributed to an increased awareness of the EEA among members of the EESC, which is often reflected in the EESC's opinions.

EEA Consultative Committee Rules of Procedure