The birth of EFTA
The birth of EFTA
The birth of EFTA
TextThe European Free Trade Association
Confidential note (26 February 1959)
TextOn 26 February 1959, the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) notes the problems encountered in Oslo by the Governments of Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom with regard to the establishment of a free-trade area.
Cartoon by Low on the European Free Trade Area (17 June 1959)
ImageOn 17 June 1959, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the efforts made by Reginald Maudling, UK Paymaster-General, to establish a free-trade area in Europe.
‘The Common Market and the Free Trade Area according to the unions’ interpretation’ from Documentation syndicale italienne
TextOn 10 October 1959, the periodical Documentation syndicale italienne outlines the position of the unions in Europe on relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Communiqué relating to the meeting of the Seven (Saltsjöbaden, 20–21 July 1959)
TextOn 21 July 1959, Ministers from Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, meeting in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden, approve the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and announce that negotiations will continue with a view to the establishment of a Nordic Common Market.
Communiqué issued in Stockholm (20 November 1959)
TextOn 20 November 1959, in Stockholm, representatives from Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom give the green light to the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Resolution adopted by EFTA (Stockholm, 20 November 1959)
TextOn 20 November 1959, meeting in Stockholm, the representatives of Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom adopt the text of the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and declare their willingness to open negotiations with the Six in order to establish new foundations for their economic relations.
Austria, founder member of EFTA (1959)
VideoIn December 1959, the Austrian cinema newsreel reports on the political and diplomatic debates concerning the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Circular to Portuguese Embassies (30 November 1959)
TextOn 30 November 1959, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry sends to Portugal’s Embassies a circular concerning Portugal’s commitment to the European Free Trade Area (EFTA).
Austrian negotiating committee for the establishment of EFTA (Vienna, 3 January 1960)
ImageOn 3 January 1960, Bruno Kreisky (left), Austrian Foreign Minister, and Fritz Bock (right), Austrian Trade Minister, arrive at Vienna Airport to travel to Stockholm where, the following day, they are to sign the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
‘Austria has signed the Treaty establishing EFTA' from the Wiener Zeitung (3 January 1960)
TextOn 3 January 1960, as Austria signs the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the Austrian daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung reports on the reactions of Bruno Kreisky, Austrian Foreign Minister, and of Fritz Bock, Austrian Trade Minister.
Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (4 January 1960)
TextOn 4 January 1960, in Stockholm, the Ambassadors or Foreign Ministers of Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom sign the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which is to enter into force on 3 May 1960.
Bruno Kreisky, Memoirs
TextIn his memoirs, Bruno Kreisky, Austrian Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and Chancellor from 1970 to 1983, recalls the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960 and the negotiations that culminated, on 22 July 1972, in the signing of the cooperation agreements between the European Community and those EFTA Member States that were not applying for accession.
The European Free Trade Association (1960–2015)
MapInteractive map showing the seven founder members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960, as well as the subsequent accessions and withdrawals that have determined the present composition of the organisation.
The Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (4 January 1960)
Image On 4 January 1960, in Stockholm, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom sign the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
The signing by Sweden of the EFTA Convention (Stockholm, 4 January 1960)
ImageOn 4 January 1960 in Stockholm, Östen Undén, Swedish Foreign Minister, announces the signing of the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
The signing of the EFTA Convention by Switzerland (Stockholm, 4 January 1960)
ImageOn 4 January 1960 in Stockholm, Gottlieb Gut, the Swiss Ambassador to Sweden, signs the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Cartoon by Low on the establishment of EFTA (15 January 1960)
ImageOn 15 January 1960, illustrating the recent establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), British cartoonist David Low speculates on the contradictory economic ambitions of the six Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and those of the Seven, ambitions which threaten to make the European market unworkable.
The EFTA Convention comes into force (Stockholm, 3 May 1960)
ImageOn 3 May 1960, after ratification by the national parliaments of the Seven, the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) officially comes into force in Stockholm.
Iceland joins EFTA (Geneva, 1 March 1970)
ImageOn 1 March 1970, Iceland officially joins the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). From left to right: Sir John Coulson, Secretary-General of EFTA, Einar Benediktsson, Permanent Representative of Iceland to EFTA, and Gylfi Th. Gíslason, Icelandic Minister for Trade.
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the OEEC, the Maudling Committee and EFTA
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and subsequently Head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities in the United Kingdom until 1973, describes the state of relations between General de Gaulle and the leaders of the United Kingdom as France twice rejected, in 1963 and 1967, the opening of negotiations for the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.
The activities of EFTA
'The Free Trade Association has a role to play in European unification' from Le Monde diplomatique
TextIn December 1960, Frank Figgures, Secretary General of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), outlines in the French monthly publication Le Monde diplomatique the role that EFTA plays in forming a united Europe.
'How are the EFTA Seven getting on?', from Communauté européenne
TextIn December 1965, Jean Lecerf describes relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in the monthly publication Communauté européenne.
Bruno Kreisky, Karl Schleinzer, Josef Klaus and Bruno Pittermann at the EFTA Summit in Vienna (24 May 1965)
ImageOn 24 May 1965, (from left to right) Bruno Kreisky, Karl Schleinzer, Josef Klaus and Bruno Pittermann, Austrian Ministers, attend the summit meeting of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Vienna.
Communiqué issued after the ministerial meeting of the EFTA Council in Vienna (24 May 1965)
TextOn 24 May 1965, the final communiqué issued by the ministerial meeting of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Council in Vienna gives a positive account of EFTA’s activities and calls for a strengthening of its relations with the European Economic Community (EEC).
The activities of EFTA
Trade between EFTA countries in 1959 and 1967
TableTable portraying the GNP, imports, exports and balance of trade of the EFTA countries in 1959 and in 1967.
Relations with the European Community
Memorandum of Conversation between the United Kingdom and the United States (Washington, 8 December 1959)
TextOn 8 December 1959, a British Delegation arrives in Washington for talks on the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe.
Memorandum of Conversation between France and the United States (Paris, 13 December 1959)
TextOn 13 December 1959, representatives of the French Foreign Ministry hold talks in Paris with a US Delegation on the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe.
Memorandum of Conversation between the Seven and the United States (Washington, 24 March 1960)
TextOn 24 March 1960, US Under-Secretary of State, Douglas Dillon, holds talks, in Washington, with a delegation representing the Member States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Discussions focus on relations between the Seven and the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC).
Cartoon by Low on relations between the EEC and EFTA (26 April 1960)
ImageOn 26 April 1960, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the weaknesses of the fledgling European Free Trade Association (EFTA) vis-à-vis the economic weight of the Europe of Six.
Cartoon by Bernie on relations between the EEC and EFTA (20 May 1960)
Image‘We’re not ready to meet yet.’ In May 1960, the European Economic Community (EEC), led in this instance by France, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), led in this instance by the United Kingdom, are still not able to find common ground.
Talks between Konrad Adenauer and Harold Macmillan (Bonn, 10 and 11 August 1960)
TextIn a report sent to the Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Eugène Schaus, on 19 August 1960, the Luxembourg Permanent Representative ad interim to the European Communities reviews the talks between the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, and the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, on relations between EFTA and the EEC.
Note from the French Directorate of Economic and Financial Affairs (Paris, 12 October 1960)
TextOn 12 October 1960, Olivier Wormser, Director of Economic and Financial Affairs at the French Foreign Ministry, writes a note in which he outlines the position of the United Kingdom in the context of economic relations between the Six and the seven Member States of EFTA.
Cartoon by Low on the difficult relations between the EEC and EFTA (3 January 1961)
ImageOn 3 January 1961, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the difficult relations and dialogue of the deaf between the European Economic Community (EEC), here led by French President Charles de Gaulle, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Address given by Edward Heath to the WEU Council (Paris, 27 February 1961)
TextOn 27 February 1961, Edward Heath, Lord Privy Seal, gives an address to the Council of Western European Union (WEU) in which he sets out the British conditions for cooperation between the Six (European Economic Community) and the Seven (European Free Trade Association).
Report on the Franco-British talks concerning relations between the Six and the Seven (4 March 1961)
TextOn 4 March 1961, following Franco-British talks in London on relations between the EEC and EFTA, the French Foreign Ministry issues a report to the Ambassadors of the partner countries of the European Communities lambasting the intransigence of the British position.
Address given by Gunnar Lange on EFTA–EEC relations (24 April 1961)
TextOn 24 April 1961, Gunnar Lange, Swedish Minister for Trade, warns against the economic division of Europe into two blocs and calls for close cooperation at economic level between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Memorandum on the Portuguese position in the negotiations between the EEC and EFTA (5 June 1961)
TextOn 5 June 1961, the Portuguese Government publishes a memorandum in which it gives a progress report on the initial negotiations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Free Trade Area (EFTA), of which Portugal is a member.
Cartoon by Ironimus on Austria’s association with the EEC (1962)
Image‘EEC— a closed community: Softly goes our song’s entreaty.’ In 1962, the Austrian cartoonist, Ironimus, illustrates the gradual movement of some member countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) — Austria, Sweden and Switzerland — towards the European Economic Community (EEC).
Cartoon by Behrendt on the relations between EFTA and EEC
Image‘One Europe: two markets.’ In 1962, the cartoonist Fritz Behrendt portrays a European continent whose market is controlled separately by the European Economic Community (EEC) and by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
'EEC and EFTA' from the Luxemburger Wort
TextOn 11 July 1964, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort emphasises the importance of establishing a single market on the European continent and notes the common interests linking the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
‘The “Seven” and the Common Market’ from Le Monde (6 December 1966)
TextOn 6 December 1966, commenting on the meeting held in London of representatives from the seven Member States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the implications that the possible accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities could have for EFTA.
Trade between EFTA and the EEC in 1959 and 1967
TableTable showing GNP, imports, exports and balance of trade of the EEC Member States in 1959 and in 1967.
'The Scandinavians and the EEC' from Combat
TextOn 11 November 1967, the French daily newspaper Combat describes the reactions of the Nordic members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to the United Kingdom’s application for accession to the European Communities.
Interview with Pierre Werner (RTL, 30 May 1965)
Audio extractOn 30 May 1965, during the meeting of the Council of WEU Ministers in Luxembourg, the Six and the United Kingdom review the Wilson Plan which seeks to bring the European Economic Community and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) closer together.
'EFTA, a customs disarmament agreement going nowhere', from Le Monde diplomatique
TextIn December 1967, the French monthly publication Le Monde diplomatique focuses on the future of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) following General de Gaulle’s second veto of the United Kingdom’s accession to the Common Market.
EFTA Ministerial Meeting on the issue of the United Kingdom’s accession to the EC (1966)
ImageIn 1966, the British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, calls a Ministerial Meeting of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Lancaster House, London, to discuss the United Kingdom’s application for accession to the European Communities.