The EFTA Standing Committee met on 25 October to finalize preparations for the meeting of the EEA Joint Committee the following day. The Joint Committee was in a position to adopt 16 Decisions incorporating 113 new EU acts into the EEA Agreement. Notably, the Joint Committee decided on the Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme and the so-called Food Law Package which, inter alia, provides for the participation of the EEA EFTA States in the European Food Safety Authority.
The decision on the Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme provides that the EEA EFTA States will participate in the scheme for the period 2008-2012, as soon as their respective parliamentary procedures have been completed.
The EEA Joint Committee also noted that good progress was being made in finalizing work on the directives on free movement of persons.