Free Trade Association Research Articles

30 Years of the Economic European Area; a Tax Law Perspective

In 2024, the European Economic Area (EEA) will have existed for thirty years. During that time, the EEA Agreement has served its cause to enlarge the European internal market to Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Covering fundamental freedoms that need to be interpreted comparably to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU’s (TFEU’s) fundamental freedoms, a significant amount of case law interpreting the EEA Agreement’s fundamental freedoms has been established from both the CJEU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court. The author attempts to elucidate the approach taken by both courts to come to judgments creating a homogenous interpretation and application of EU law to the largest possible extent. Besides that, the extension of EU directives to cover EEA situations is relevant. The EEA Agreement foresees a procedure for that, but it does not thus far cover substantive direct tax directives. The author argues that some arguments still exist following which EU direct tax directives should actually be added to the EEA Agreement.

A web intelligence information system to support the production of EuroGroups Register (EGR) statistics

There is a growing demand for statistics to better understand the globalisation that is accelerating due to the removal of barriers in international trade and to technological progress. Key players in globalisation are the multinational enterprise (MNE) groups that have increased in number and complexity and need to be properly represented by macroeconomic and business statistics. To deal with this need, the European Union Member States, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and Eurostat have collaborated to create the EuroGroups Register (EGR). This paper explores the use of web intelligence to improve the accuracy and completeness of the EGR, which makes use of tools for extracting and exploring information from the World Wide Web. Additionally, it presents a methodology to assess the quality of the information retrieved from the web, based on an ex-post comparison with the official information contained in the EGR. The results provide indications about the possibility of using web intelligence tools to support MNE group monitoring and to complete the EGR data in cases where this information is missing. Finally, it dives deeply into the approach to harness Wikipedia as a data source and into the techniques and methodology used to extract data from this source.

The Final Loss Saga under the EEA Agreement – Comments on the EFTA Court’s Judgment in E-7/23 ExxonMobil Holding Norway

The article discusses the recent European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court’s judgment in case E-7/23 ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS which is yet another element in the final loss saga initially developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in the Marks & Spencer case.

Threats and Opportunities For Textile and Other Textile Products (TPT) in The Efta Market Using The Indonesia-Efta Scheme

This thesis examines the problems and opportunities faced by the Indonesian textile and textile products (TPT) industry in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) market through implementing the Indonesia-EFTA scheme. The analysis tool used is Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), which allows the detection of relative comparative advantages in Indonesia's textile exports to the EFTA market. The report highlights various important aspects that affect Indonesia's textile competitiveness in the market, including trade rules, quality requirements, and consumer trends. The results of the RCA analysis provide in-depth insight into the relative position of Indonesian TPT in the EFTA market, as well as the potential for sector development in the context of the Indonesia-EFTA trade agreement. These findings can provide a framework for government policies and business strategies for textile industry players to take advantage of opportunities and address challenges in strengthening their competitiveness in the EFTA market.

Determining the Ebullient Phases in EFTA Stock Markets

Previous empirical literature supports the idea that stock bubbles have impacts on the efficient allocation of wealth. Researchers targeted various economies in the past using various methods to explore the bubble phenomenon. This study uses the generalized SADF test, which is admitted by empirical literature to be the most successful technique, to explore stock bubbles in three countries included in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) that have not been studied before. This paper takes the lead and tests for the existence of bubbles in the monthly end index prices of respective countries based on the latest available time series data from January 2001 to September 2019. Based on empirical results, it is concluded that the stock markets of all three countries experienced multiple bubbles during the study period. The case of Iceland is worse, where comparatively more fluctuations in stock prices are seen. To avoid the occurrence of further stock price bubbles in these countries, policy recommendations are provided as well.

Evolution of EFTA in Differentiated Integration within Europe

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA), established over 60 years ago as an alternative platform for fostering cooperation, has evolved into a crucial component of the pan-European project. The organizational framework underpinning its operations, its developmental trajectory with specific focus on divergences, and the models of differentiated integration (DI) have significantly contributed to its evolution.EFTA's distinct organizational structure, coupled with its pragmatic legal framework, serves as the foundation of its operations. A detailed examination allows for a clear distinction between Switzerland and the three member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.Regarding the EEA, its legal framework is established through collaborative development of legal instruments with the EU. The thematic allocation is carefully structured based on existing competencies; officials of EFTA's pillar bodies within the two-pillar EEA structure maintain productive relations with the EU, while others focus on internal matters. The geographical location of these bodies plays a decisive role: Brussels and Luxembourg are aligned with a broad Eurocentric decision-making paradigm, while those within EFTA prioritize endogenous agendas.Switzerland's integration trajectory relies on a diverse array of regulatory mechanisms aimed at bridging disparate areas and fostering cooperation among participating states. A sectoral approach and bilateral agreement packages with the EU are pivotal, with several EFTA bodies operating within Swiss jurisdiction facilitating convergence with the European market. Amidst the current regional turbulence, the convergence of various factors has enabled EFTA to align with the EU's approach to differentiated integration. While earlier scholarly perspectives on the phenomenon were limited in criteria and tools, subsequent empirical developments have provided a more nuanced understanding. The DI models adopted by EFTA member states closely resemble those of the EU, highlighting their alignment. Ultimately, the Association has become an integral part of European integration, with the quartet of participating countries maintaining greater flexibility in decision-making processes.

Surge in Fixed-Dose Combination Drugs: Need for Data Exclusivity Protection in India Recently, India Rejected the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Nations' Demand to Keep the Data Exclusivity Provision in the Free Trade Pact as it Would be Detrimental to its Generic

Surge in Fixed-Dose Combination Drugs: Need for Data Exclusivity Protection in India Recently, India Rejected the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Nations' Demand to Keep the Data Exclusivity Provision in the Free Trade Pact as it Would be Detrimental to its Generic

Analysis of the road safety in the EU countries and the impact of PBM on its improvement

Abstract The occurrence of a large number of road fatalities necessitates making improvements in road safety conditions. Governments and experts of European countries have been involved in this activity by investing efforts to increase security as well as achieve the goals of the European Commission (EC) to reduce fatalities by 50% by 2030.They aim to achieve road traffic without any fatalities occurring by 2050. Including a series of innovations for safety in the auto industry, deploying ITS technology, enforcing stringent legal regulations, emphasising on higher education of all traffic participants and undertaking other such important actions help achieve the set goals. Furthermore, adequate road maintenance with the use of modern models will definitely contribute to improving road safety. Moreover, it is necessary to regularly monitor road safety indicators and react accordingly on time. This paper presents a current state safety analysis from the perspective of road fatalities and road maintenance investments (RMIs) in the European Union (EU) and in European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. The main objectives of this paper are to analyse road safety aspects and emphasise on the relation existing between road fatalities and RMI. Concurrently, the objective of this paper is to verify the possible influence of the performance-based maintenance (PBM) model on improving road safety in the European Union. As part of the research, 27 EU member states and 3 EFTA members were analysed in the period 2010–2021. The results indicate a connection between road fatalities and RMI. Thus, this particular one is almost linear at the average EU level and that PBM models can directly contribute to improving traffic safety and indirectly by savings in maintenance costs.

Does Similarity in Philippine Free Trade Agreements Matter in Trade?

This study proposes using text-of-trade analysis to understand the design of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). It examines the similarities between these agreements and other free trade agreements of Japan and EFTA member countries and how these similarities impact Philippine trade. The paper illustrates how text analysis can complement conventional methods, such as the gravity model and other econometric approaches, in assessing trade agreement impacts. The results reveal that similarities across trade agreements, whether at the document, chapter, or topic-specific provision levels, which strongly reference sustainable development, can influence and foster trade.

The European regions in the global value chains: New results with new data

AbstractThis article contains the methodology and main results related to the update and extension of the widest interregional input–output tables for the entire EU27, UK and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. This work continues the outstanding effort developed in the past years regarding the estimation and analysis of different multiregional input–output (MRIO) databases at the country level (world input–output database, EXIOBASE, ICIO, FIGARO, etc.) and the MRIO tables developed for the European Union (EU) at the NUTS2 level. The main contribution consists of updating and extending the current EUREGIO collection to obtain a EUREGIO table for 2017, which will be referred (NUTS‐2 Rev.2016) for all the EU27 + UK + EFTA countries and will be embedded in the new FIGARO multicountry 2017. Such effort was developed in the context of the ESPON‐IRIE project. This article summarises the methodology used and compares the results obtained with the ones of the main benchmarks, providing an analysis of the national and regional participation in the global value chains (GVCs). The main results suggest that, on average, 65% of value added is embodied in the goods and services sold to the same NUTS‐2 region, 16% is embodied in the ones sold to regions in the same country and the remaining 20% is exported (to other countries). Exploring the heterogeneity within these figures can also be seen that the variety is higher across regions than across sectors. Our analysis suggests that, to a large extent, the heterogeneous participation of EU27 + UK + EFTA regions in the GVCs is explained by their sectoral structure more than by the regional idiosyncratic characteristics. Such results open the floor for the correct design of industrial policies, embedded in the smart specialisation paradigm.

European Union Proficiency Tests for pesticide residues in cereals and feedstuff, from 2007 to 2022- Data collection experience

The European Union Reference Laboratory for pesticide residues in cereals and feeding stuff (EURL-CF) has, for 16 consecutive years since 2007, organized European Union Proficiency Tests (EUPTs) for analysis of multiple pesticide residues in various cereals and feedstuff commodities. The EUPTs are directed to National Reference Laboratories (NRLs), and official laboratories (OfLs) in European member (EU) states and in European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. The aim of the EUPTs is to gain information regarding the quality, accuracy and comparability of pesticide residue data in cereals and feedstuff reported by different EU and EFTA laboratories, to help evaluate and improve their performance. This article summarizes 16 years’ experience in processing and analyzing results for EUPTs for pesticide residues in cereals and feedstuff. It provides an overview of the performance and development of as many as 160 laboratories throughout the years. Results are highlighted in terms of the number of participants, analytical scope, z scores, false positive and false negative reported results, and classification of laboratories. The performance of laboratories in the EUPTs has improved over time. A notable increase was observed in NRLs and OfLs classified as category A, indicating satisfactory overall performance and scope coverage for the majority of participating laboratories.

Paying the Price for Allies: Britain, the Seven and the EFTA Stockholm Negotiations

ABSTRACT Few scholars would dispute that negotiations for the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which formally commenced near Stockholm in June 1959, moved at breakneck speed. Generally acknowledged too are the reasons behind this haste: the need swiftly to find another route to working with the European Economic Community (EEC) following the collapse of the wider Free Trade Area (FTA) proposal, the degree of consensus already achieved by the Association’s founder members during the FTA talks, and the fact that few felt EFTA was a permanent alternative to an arrangement with the Six. But none of this negated the very real obstacles faced by negotiators. Each indeed obliged the Seven collectively – and, as by far the single largest economic actor, Britain specifically – to reconsider the scope of the agreement under discussion and the sorts of concessions required to reach a deal. And yet this is a moment in EFTA’s founding often glossed over in extant literature. This article consequently provides a long-overdue detailed study of the build-up to, and evolution of, the Stockholm negotiations, examining the topics on which negotiators focused and the conditions under which compromises eventually emerged. In so doing, it points to the agency of smaller EFTA states in being able to exercise maximum influence at critical junctures in the process and explains why the timing of their demands as well as the nature of the negotiations themselves ultimately influenced their success.

Determinants of Peruvian Export Efficiency: Poisson PML Estimation Approach

Given their increasing engagement with the global economy, emerging countries such as Peru depend on their export sector. This research evaluates the level of efficiency of Peruvian exports (EF) and the impact of four regional trade agreements (RTAs) (MERCOSUR, the EU, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and the Andean Community of Nations (CAN)), twelve bilateral agreements (BAs), the World Trade Organization (WTO), institutional distance (ID), cultural distance (CD), foreign direct investment (FDI), trade freedom (TF), and traditional (TX) and nontraditional exports (NTX) by sector on the export efficiency of Peru. This non-experimental study used a dataset of 38 countries from 1995 to 2019. An extended stochastic frontier gravity (SFGM) ten-variable model with the one-step estimation method was applied to estimate export efficiency. Poisson’s PML estimator was used to investigate the factors that impact export efficiency (EF). The results showed that the export efficiency of Peru was moderate, ranging between 0.462 and 0.458, with a stationary trend, indicating considerable export potential between Peru and its trading partners. The major contributors to this efficiency are ID (voice and accountability, corruption control, nonadherence to the rule of law), NTX (chemicals and metal mechanics), and BA with American countries. On the other hand, CD (indulgence, long-term orientation, individualism, uncertainty, and lack of a culture of achievement), TF, agreements with MERCOSUR and the EU, FDI, and TX weakened the efficiency of exports. Finally, CAN, EFTA, BA with Asian countries, FDI, TX, and WTO did not have a significant effect on the EF. Recommendations to policy makers are presented.

Sustainable development in the Mercosur-European Union Association Agreement: tensions and expectations

This article offers an internationalist perspective on the environmental issue within interregional agreements, focusing on the European Union-Mercosur Free Trade Association Agreement, which is currently in the process of ratifications. We qualitatively analyze the history and evolution of international environmental law, the importance of the indicative origin of said legal discipline, and the dialogue of sources typical of Public International Law in order to highlight the strengths of Soft Law in the construction of a global paradigm of. Sustainable Development. We consider the aspects of environmental regulations, where the legal nature of the right to sustainable development is analyzed, as well as the limitation of the sovereignty of States in these issues; in conceiving it as a fundamental right of the human person and an international jus cogens norm. The sustainable development article of the Agreement is considered as a relevant point of analysis, and how it could have an impact on the dispute resolution mechanisms and procedures established by MERCOSUR and the European Union regarding disputes that may arise in relation to commercial activities that may affect the environment. The methodology was deductive, with bibliographic survey, analysis of jurisprudence and exegesis of normative texts.

Regional Integration in Latin America: States, Markets and Organizations

This paper is based on the research related to regional integration attempts in Latin America and their effect on the economic development of Latin American countries. Recent analyses clarify that the US’ intervention in the politics of Latin America has been the main obstacle of the regional integration process. Most importantly, political fragmentation of the countries in the region affects the success of the organizations that are formed for the regional integration. This is especially visible in the political processes of the countries such as economic crises in Argentina, political instability in Venezuela and increasing migration to the US from Latin American countries. Notable studies reveal that despite the regional integration efforts, the economic benefits to the region has been limited compared to the benefit of the global economic powers. Different from the current literature, this paper focuses on the internal dynamics of Latin American countries. In this respect, this paper investigates the effect of the regional integration attempts for the economic development of the countries in Latin America. In this regard, the rational state behaviour was found as an important element to explain in relation to the Latin American integration attempts. With a liberal intergovernmentalist perspective, this paper aims to reveal the success of regional integration attempts in Latin America with the cases of Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA), Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and Andean Community (CAN). The main argument of this paper is that increasing economic cooperation and creating a reconstruction model with a financial assistance to the less developed countries in the region have led to a regional economic development in cohesion with the policies of the regional powers of Latin America.

What makes cities happy? Factors contributing to life satisfaction in European cities

The purpose of this study is to identify the main factors of city life satisfaction across Europe. Data come from the recent fifth survey on quality of life in European cities and cover 83 cities located in the European Union, the European Free Trade Association countries, the United Kingdom, the Western Balkan Region and Turkey. In addition to running classical econometric analysis, we quantify the relative importance of the various determinants of overall satisfaction with life in cities, thus offering novel insights to shape evidence-based urban policies. The results highlight that two main policy-relevant areas contribute to the satisfaction with city life: the presence of amenities, on the one hand, and the inclusiveness and safety feeling, on the other hand. Socio-economic characteristics are generally not relevant, with the exception of economic insecurity. JEL Codes: R10, R58, I31

The trade-off between health system resiliency and efficiency: evidence from COVID-19 in European regions

The objective of this paper was to investigate the existence of a trade-off between health system resilience and the economic efficiency of the health system, using data for 173 regions in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association countries. Data Envelopment Analysis was used to measure the efficiency of regional health systems before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, a spatial econometrics model was used to estimate whether this measure of efficiency, adjusted for several covariates, has a significant impact on regional health system resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, measured by the number of COVID-19 deaths per hundred thousand inhabitants. The results show that COVID-19 death rates were significantly higher in regions with higher population density, higher share of employment in industry, and higher share of women in the population. Results also show that regions with higher values of the health system efficiency index in 2017 had significantly higher rates of COVID-19 deaths in 2020 and 2021, suggesting the existence of a trade-off between health system efficiency and health system resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EFTA Court’s Judgment in Telenor: A Missed Opportunity to Clarify the Scope of Product Aggregation under the Margin Squeeze Test

Margin Squeeze is a type of abuse of dominance which is not without its critics and the judgement by the European Free Trade Association (‘EFTA’) Court largely confirms the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (‘CJEU’) case law in the area. The case concerned Telenor, the national incumbent telecom operator in Norway. In December 2012, the EFTA Surveillance Authority (‘ESA’) conducted unannounced inspections at Telenor’s premises in Oslo. In February 2016, ESA sent a statement of objections to Telenor, which was followed up by a supplementary statement of objections in June 2019. On 29 June 2020, ESA delivered its final decision finding that Telenor had abused its dominant position and imposed fines of EUR 112 million. The abuse consisted of squeezing rivals’ margins when supplying stand-alone mobile broadband services (‘MBB’) to residential users in Norway. ESA’s decision found three separate infringements related to instances of margin squeezes imposed by Telenor on Network Norway AS from 1 August 2008 to 31 August 2010; on Ventelo AS from 1 January 2008 to 30 November 2010; and on service providers from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012.

Trade Agreements and Sustainability: Exploring the Potential of Global Value Chain (GVC) Obligations

ABSTRACT This article investigates the potential of global value chain (GVC)-orientated sustainability provisions in regional and bilateral trade agreements (FTAs). Such provisions impose social and environmental obligations directly onto GVCs, as opposed to creating obligations for governments. The theoretical potential of GVC provisions is examined, and the concepts of effectiveness and legitimacy are introduced as values by which to assess them. Four recent sets of provisions are then scrutinized. These are (i) palm oil sustainability standards from the Indonesia–European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Comprehensive Economic Partnerhsip Agreement (CEPA) FTA, (ii) hen welfare standards in the European Union–Mercosur Association Agreement, (iii) a stipulation of a minimum average wage for the automobile industry in the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), and (iv) enforcement of collective bargaining and freedom of association directly against factories, also in the USMCA. All of these provisions are found to have significant deficiencies. At the same time, it is argued that three different governance models underpin them, namely (i) third-party certification schemes, (ii) domestic regulations of one of the parties, and (iii) bespoke arrangements created for the FTA in question. The article therefore considers the potential and drawbacks of each governance model in terms of their effectiveness and legitimacy, as well as alternative and complementary commitments including unilateral measures and subject-specific trade agreements.

Implementation of Implant Traceability at Landspitali Hospital

Iceland is obliged to adopt the regulations of the European Union in cooperation with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). In 2019, Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (2017) concerning medical devices was approved by the Icelandic Parliament. The regulation was established to prevent the mishandling of equipment used in medical procedures and thereby enhance patient safety. One requirement is complete traceability of an implant – an object used in a procedure and left in the body for longer or shorter periods – from the manufacturer until it is used in a patient. To ensure traceability, it is necessary to review and simplify the entire process and to prevent errors as much as possible. The Lean methodology, which focuses on simplifying processes, eliminating waste, and getting things right the first time, is used for project management at Landspitali, the National University Hospital of Iceland. Landspitali’s working environment is complex, and mistakes can be costly. There is a high demand for data collection and record keeping, which contribute to ensuring patient safety. The process of implementing changes to workflows needs to be carefully managed, and it is crucial to inform and establish trust with those involved in workflows and technical solutions. Involving staff in process improvement using Lean principles enhances insight and fosters greater acceptance of changes, making it easier to respond to problems and external circumstances affecting the transition.