Editing European Free Trade Association (section)

====United Kingdom====
{{See also|Brexit negotiations}}
The United Kingdom was a co-founder of EFTA in 1960, but ceased to be a member upon joining the European Economic Community. The country held a [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|referendum in 2016]] on withdrawing from the EU (popularly referred to as "[[Brexit]]"), resulting in a 51.9% vote in favour of withdrawing. A 2013 research paper presented to the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] proposed a number of alternatives to EU membership which would continue to allow it access to the EU's [[European Single Market|internal market]], including continuing EEA membership as an EFTA member state, or the [[Switzerland–European Union relations|Swiss model]] of a number of bilateral treaties covering the provisions of the single market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/rp13-42.pdf|title=Leaving the EU - Research Paper 13/42|date=1 July 2013|access-date=19 May 2015|publisher=House of Commons Library}}</ref>

In the first meeting since the Brexit vote, EFTA reacted by saying both that they were open to a UK return, and that Britain has many issues to work through. The president of Switzerland [[Johann Schneider-Ammann]] stated that its return would strengthen the association.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/27/the-associated-press-the-latest-lithuania-says-uk-must-say-if-decision-is-final.html |title= The Latest: Lithuania says UK must say if decision is final |publisher= [[CNBC]] |date= 27 June 2016 |via= [[Associated Press]] |archive-date= 3 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160703064040/http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/27/the-associated-press-the-latest-lithuania-says-uk-must-say-if-decision-is-final.html |access-date=18 September 2016 |url-status= live}}</ref> However, in August 2016 the Norwegian Government expressed reservations. Norway's European affairs minister, [[Elisabeth Aspaker|Elisabeth Vik Aspaker]], told the ''[[Aftenposten]]'' newspaper: "It's not certain that it would be a good idea to let a big country into this organization. It would shift the balance, which is not necessarily in Norway's interests."<ref>{{cite news|author=Patrick Wintour |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/09/norway-may-block-uk-return-to-european-free-trade-association |title=Norway may block UK return to European Free Trade Association |newspaper=The Guardian |date=9 August 2016 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref>

In late 2016, the Scottish First Minister [[Nicola Sturgeon]] said that her priority was to keep the whole of the UK in the European single market but that taking Scotland alone into the EEA was an option being "looked at".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/holyrood/1086376/sturgeon-hints-the-scottish-government-could-seek-norway-style-eu-relationship/|title=Sturgeon hints the Scottish Government could seek Norway-style EU relationship|date=17 November 2016|access-date=17 November 2016}}</ref> However, other EFTA states have stated that only sovereign states are eligible for membership, so it could only join if it became independent from the UK,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/16/iceland-scotland-could-not-start-applying-efta-independence/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/16/iceland-scotland-could-not-start-applying-efta-independence/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Iceland: Scotland could not start applying for EFTA until after independence|date=16 March 2017|access-date=24 March 2017|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|last1=Johnson|first1=Simon}}{{cbignore}}</ref> unless the solution scouted for the Faroes in 2005 were to be adopted (see above).

In early 2018, British MPs [[Antoinette Sandbach]], [[Stephen Kinnock]] and [[Stephen Hammond]] called for the UK to rejoin EFTA.<ref>{{cite news|title=We're taking back control of Brexit, say MPs|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/mps-say-were-taking-back-control-on-brexit-as-study-shows-britain-will-have-the-eu-s-slowest-growing-a3760461.html|access-date=25 February 2018|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=7 February 2018}}</ref>