Pat the Cope Gallagher addresses the European Afffairs Committee

I am delighted to return to the Oireachtas following my election to the European Parliament in June 2009.
I am here today to discuss my role as Chairman of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and to the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Following the recent decision taken by EU leaders to proceed with EU accession talks with Iceland, I have further been appointed Chairman of the recently established EU - Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee. This will comprise of nine members of the European Parliament and nine members of the Icelandic Parliament.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was established in 1960 as an alternative to the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union.
Today, EFTA is comprised of only four member countries, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
In 1994, three of the four EFTA countries joined the Single Market by signing the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. Switzerland declined to join the EEA following a referendum which saw the proposal defeated by a narrow margin of 50.3% to 49.7%.
At one stage, EFTA rivalled the EEC in terms of size and scope. However, this has changed drastically following the exit of Denmark and the UK in 1972 and subsequently Finland, Sweden and Austria in 1995.
The three EEA states are legally bound to implement into their domestic law, EU directives and regulations which govern the free movement of goods, people, services and capital. As a result of this obligation, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein have implemented over 80% of all EU legislation.

However, the significant economic benefits of the Single Market comes at a political disadvantage as the respective governments and Parliaments have minimal input or political influence over the formulation of these laws.