EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee concludes 65th meeting in Vaduz

The meeting was co-chaired by Norbert Lins, President of the EEA JPC and Chair of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the EFTA countries and the EEA, and Nikolai Astrup, Vice President of the EEA JPC and Chair of the EFTA Parliamentary Committee.

The EEA in light of geopolitical challenges

The committee opened the session by holding a dynamic discussion with Sabine Monauni, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein. Participants exchanged views on a range of important issues, including Ukraine, global trade, Iceland-EU relations and the future of the EEA in a time of rapid geopolitical shifts. Foreign Minister Monauni described the current period as one of multiplying economic, environmental and geopolitical crises, placing pressure on small states like Liechtenstein. In this context, she emphasised three guiding principles for navigating challenges: rejecting isolation, building alliances with like-minded partners and defending core European values.

Members also exchanged views with the EEA Joint Committee, represented by Nicolas von Lingen of the European Commission and Anders H. Eide, Ambassador of Norway to the EU. The debate focused on developments in the EEA Agreement and relevant working priorities in the coming months, including enhanced efforts to reduce the EEA backlog. The Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU also provided an update on the work of the EEA Council and preparations for its upcoming meeting on 27 May 2026.

Strengthening Europe's strategic industries

During the EEA JPC meeting, the committee discussed the Industrial Accelerator Act - the EU's flagship initiative under the Clean Industrial Deal. Exchanges with Joan Canton, Head of Unit at DG GROW, and Christophe Grudler, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and rapporteur on the file, focused on the pillars of the proposal and the "Made in Europe" definition. Several members of the EEA EFTA delegation highlighted the strategic importance of the proposal for Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as fully integrated members of the Internal Market and contributors to clean industrial value chains in Europe.

The European Grids Package

The agenda then turned to a discussion on the European Grids Package, published in December 2025. Members heard from Raphael Sauter, Deputy Head of Unit at DG ENER, who provided a presentation on the package, including the proposed revision of the Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation and the new energy permitting directive. Discussions highlighted the inclusion of EEA EFTA countries through a dedicated Projects of Mutual Interest (PMI) category, with Norway's "Northern Lights" carbon storage project cited as a concrete example. Participants also addressed the ongoing debate surrounding the proposal to allocate a part of congestion revenues to cross-border infrastructure investments and decision making over national grid development.

Military mobility

Finally, participants took stock of the EU's efforts to strengthen military mobility across Europe through the Military Mobility Act. Petras Auštrevičius, MEP and rapporteur on the file, outlined the proposal's goal to reduce cross-border military transit times from up to 45 days to just three days through digital documentation, harmonised markings and a "military Schengen" approach across land, rail, water and air.

From an EEA EFTA perspective, Trine Lise Sundnes, Member of the Norwegian Parliament, highlighted the importance of military mobility as a key part of security cooperation in Europe. She welcomed Amendment 14, opening for EEA EFTA participation in Council deliberations on activation of the European Military Mobility Enhanced Response System (EMERS). However, she pointed out that in the activation of EMERS, it was essential that Norway would not become a bottleneck. Norway should therefore be enabled to participate as closely as possible with the EU Member States.

Discussions also touched on the importance of investment in dual-use infrastructure and of ensuring that critical technologies used in defence infrastructure remain European-controlled.

Parliamentary oversight of EEA cooperation

Finally, the committee adopted a resolution on the Annual Report of the EEA Joint Committee on the Functioning of the EEA Agreement in 2025, reaffirming parliamentary oversight of the EEA Agreement. In the resolution, the co-rapporteurs focus on key themes, including Russia's war against Ukraine and global trade tensions, the EEA backlog, the EEA EFTA States' participation in 15 EU programmes and 18 decentralised agencies, and the EEA Financial Mechanism.

Annual Report of the EEA Joint Committee on the Functioning of the EEA Agreement

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