EEA EFTA States appoint new ESA College and President for 2026-2029

The EEA EFTA States - Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - have announced the appointment of a new College for the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA). Arne R øksund of Norway has been reappointed as ESA President, and Árni Páll Árnason of Iceland and Nuscha Wieczorek of Liechtenstein, have been appointed as Members of the College. They will take up their posts on 1 January 2026 for a four-year period.

Mr. Røksund has been reappointed for a second term as ESA President. He joined ESA in 2022, having served as Secretary-General of Norway's Ministry of Defence since March 2017. In 2014-2017 he was Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. Mr. Røksund also has a distinguished military career, reaching the rank of Rear Admiral in the Royal Norwegian Navy. He holds a doctorate degree in history.

Mr. Árnason has been reappointed by the government of Iceland, having joined ESA as Member of the College in 2022. He was previously Deputy Managing Director at EEA and Norway Grants. He holds a law degree from the University of Iceland and studied EU law at the College of Europe before embarking on a career as a diplomat, legal counsel and later as a politician. He was elected to the Althingi, Iceland's parliament in 2007. He served as Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security (2009-2010) and Minister of Economic Affairs (2010-2011) and was leader of the Social Democratic Alliance in 2013-2016.

Ms. Wieczorek is currently Deputy Head of Liechtenstein's Mission to the European Union, a position she has held since January 2022. Before that she served in different positions at the Mission and Liechtenstein's Office for Foreign Affairs since 2017. Ms. Wieczorek holds a doctorate degree in law from the University of Basel, Switzerland, and an LL.M. from Columbia University, New York. Previously, she held various research and teaching positions in the field of national and international public law at Swiss universities. She succeeds Mr. Stefan Barriga.

The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) monitors compliance with EEA rules in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, enabling them to participate in the European Union's Internal Market. ESA performs its duties independently of the three States. For more information, check out ESA's website .

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