The prime minister of Norway said on Tuesday that she is not yet sure if the UK should join the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
“The most important thing we can do is to safeguard national, Norwegian interests,” PM Erna Solberg said.
“[The Norwegian] Parliament has been concerned that ILO [International Labour Organisation] Conventions, labour rights and human rights should be in our agreements, and those concerns are not usually at the top of the list of the things the UK negotiates over,” she said.
“An EFTA agreement will give us a good relationship with the UK. We can also get [that] through other agreements as well. And do we want Britain to be involved in dictating what the EFTA negotiates with third countries? Will our key national interests benefit by that? That is the discussion we need to have,” Solberg said, pointing out that the dynamics of the EFTA negotiations with other countries will change.
EFTA is composed of four nations: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Membership needs to be agreed by these four as well as the EU countries.
EFTA is a free trade area and the four members are part of the EU single market. While Switzerland’s participation is based on bilateral agreements with the EU, the other three are party to the Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA).
The EEA Agreement allows the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the EU.
Solberg noted that the EEA is a good mechanism for Norway but that changes to the agreement are unlikely to be considered.
“We have a good deal for a good connection with the EU [and] it is important that we retain it,” she said, adding that Norway is "a small country that relies on market access”.
On Monday the president of Iceland had encouraged the idea of British cooperation with the North Atlantic countries, creating a “northern triangle” powerhouse.
