Editing European Free Trade Association (section)

===Other negotiations===
[[File:EU and EFTA.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Members of the European Union (blue) and<br/>EFTA (green)]]

Between 1994 and 2011, EFTA memberships for [[Andorra]], [[San Marino]], [[Monaco]], the [[Isle of Man]], [[Turkey]], [[Israel]], [[Morocco]], and other [[European Neighbourhood Policy]] partners were discussed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eu-norway.org/Global/SiteFolders/webeu/NOU2012_2_Chapter%2013.pdf |title=Norway and the EU |publisher=Eu-norway.org |access-date=8 May 2017 |archive-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922175700/http://www.eu-norway.org/Global/SiteFolders/webeu/NOU2012_2_Chapter%2013.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino====
In November 2012, after the [[Council of the European Union]] had called for an evaluation of the [[Microstates and the European Union|EU's relations with Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino]], which they described as "fragmented",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/118458.pdf|title=Council conclusions on EU relations with EFTA countries|publisher=[[Council of the European Union]]|date=14 December 2012|access-date=1 April 2013}}</ref> the [[European Commission]] published a report outlining the options for their further integration into the EU.<ref name=options>{{CELEX|52012DC0680R(01)|text=Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee of the Regions - EU Relations with the Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco and the Republic of San Marino - Options for Closer Integration with the EU}}</ref> Unlike Liechtenstein, which is a member of the EEA via the EFTA and the [[Schengen Agreement]], relations with these three states are based on a collection of agreements covering specific issues. The report examined four alternatives to the current situation: 
# A Sectoral Approach with separate agreements with each state covering an entire policy area. 
# A comprehensive, multilateral Framework Association Agreement (FAA) with the three states. 
# EEA membership, and 
# EU membership. 
However, the Commission argued that the sectoral approach did not address the major issues and was still needlessly complicated, while EU membership was dismissed in the near future because "the EU institutions are currently not adapted to the accession of such small-sized countries". The remaining options, EEA membership and a FAA with the states, were found to be viable and were recommended by the commission. In response, the Council requested that negotiations with the three microstates on further integration continue, and that a report be prepared by the end of 2013 detailing the implications of the two viable alternatives and recommendations on how to proceed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ue.eu.int/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/trans/134524.pdf |title=Council conclusions on EU relations with the Principality of Andorra, the Republic of San Marino and the Principality of Monaco |publisher=[[Council of the European Union]] |date=20 December 2012 |access-date=1 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517000353/http://ue.eu.int/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/trans/134524.pdf |archive-date=17 May 2013}}</ref>

As EEA membership is currently only open to EFTA or EU member states, the consent of existing EFTA member states is required for the microstates to join the EEA without becoming members of the EU. In 2011, [[Jonas Gahr Støre]], then [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|Foreign Minister of Norway]] which is an EFTA member state, said that EFTA/EEA membership for the microstates was not the appropriate mechanism for their integration into the internal market due to their different requirements from those of larger countries such as Norway, and suggested that a simplified association would be better suited for them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationen.no/2011/05/19/politikk/eos/eos-avtalen/eu/eeas/6642688/|title=Norge sier nei til nye mikrostater i EØS|date=19 May 2011|access-date=6 April 2013}}</ref> [[Espen Barth Eide]], Støre's successor, responded to the commission's report in late 2012 by questioning whether the microstates have sufficient administrative capabilities to meet the obligations of EEA membership. However, he stated that Norway would be open to the possibility of EFTA membership for the microstates if they decided to submit an application, and that the country had not made a final decision on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/ud/aktuelt/taler_artikler/eide_taler/2013/eosutvalget_130128.html?id=712742|title=Innlegg på møte i Stortingets europautvalg|date=28 January 2013|access-date=1 April 2013|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.klassekampen.no/61007/article/item/null |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413223348/http://www.klassekampen.no/61007/article/item/null |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 April 2013 |title=Eide: Bedre blir det ikke |date=21 December 2012 |access-date=1 April 2013 }}</ref><ref name=NORLIE>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationen.no/2012/12/08/politikk/eos-avtalen/eos/san_marino/eu/7845048/|title=Regjeringa open for diskutere EØS-medlemskap for mikrostatar|language=no|last=Aalberg Undheim|first=Eva|date=8 December 2012|access-date=6 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latribunasammarinese.net/edizioni/2013/01-gennaio/03-01-2013boiw.pdf |title=La Norvegia chiude le porte a San Marino |date=3 January 2013 |access-date=6 April 2013 |publisher=La Tribuna Sammarinese |page=7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307181930/http://www.latribunasammarinese.net/edizioni/2013/01-gennaio/03-01-2013boiw.pdf |archive-date=7 March 2014}}</ref> Pascal Schafhauser, the Counsellor of the Liechtenstein Mission to the EU, said that Liechtenstein, another EFTA member state, was willing to discuss EEA membership for the microstates provided their joining did not impede the functioning of the organization. However, he suggested that the option of direct membership in the EEA for the microstates, outside of both the EFTA and the EU, should be considered.<ref name=NORLIE/> On 18 November 2013, the EU Commission concluded that "the participation of the small-sized countries in the EEA is not judged to be a viable option at present due to the political and institutional reasons", and that [[European Union Association Agreement|Association Agreements]] were a more feasible mechanism to integrate the microstates into the internal market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2013/EN/1-2013-793-EN-F1-1.Pdf|title=EU Relations with the Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco and the Republic of San Marino: Options for their participation in the Internal Market|date=18 November 2013|access-date=20 November 2013|publisher=[[European Commission]]}}</ref>

====Norway====
The Norwegian electorate had rejected treaties of accession to the EU in two referendums. At the time of the first referendum in 1972, their neighbour, Denmark joined. Since the second referendum in 1994, two other [[Nordic countries|Nordic neighbours]], Sweden and Finland, have joined the EU. The [[Politics of Norway|last two governments]] of Norway have not advanced the question, as they have both been coalition governments consisting of proponents and opponents of EU membership.

====Switzerland====
Since Switzerland rejected the EEA membership in a [[1992 Swiss referendums|referendum in 1992]], more referendums on [[Switzerland and the European Union|EU membership]] have been initiated, the last time being in [[2001 Swiss referendums|2001]]. These were all rejected. Switzerland has been in a customs union with fellow EFTA member state and neighbour Liechtenstein since 1924.

====Iceland====
{{see also|Accession of Iceland to the European Union}}

On 16 July 2009, the government of Iceland formally applied for EU membership,<ref>{{cite news |title=Iceland moves towards joining EU |work=BBC News |date=16 July 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8153139.stm |access-date=18 July 2009 }}</ref> but the negotiation process was suspended in mid-2013, and in 2015 the foreign ministers wrote to withdraw its application.

====Faroe Islands (Kingdom of Denmark)====

[[Denmark]] was a founding member of EFTA in 1960, but its membership ended in 1973, when it joined the [[European Communities]]. The [[autonomous territories]] of the [[Danish Realm|Kingdom of Denmark]] were covered by Denmark's EFTA membership: [[Greenland]] from 1961 and the [[Faroe Islands]] from 1968.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.dk/samling/20081/almdel/ugf/bilag/74/657075.pdf|title=Responsum om muligheder for Færøernes tilknytning til EFTA samt for Færøernes og Grønlands tilknytning til EU|language=da|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207093847/https://www.ft.dk/samling/20081/almdel/ugf/bilag/74/657075.pdf|archive-date=7 December 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In mid-2005, representatives of the [[Faroe Islands]] raised the possibility of their territory re-joining the EFTA.<ref>{{cite news |last=Spongenberg |first=Helena |title=Faroe Islands seek closer EU relations |publisher=EUobserver |date=8 October 2007 |url=http://euobserver.com/9/24907 |access-date=18 July 2009 }}</ref> Because Article 56 of the EFTA Convention only allows sovereign states to become members of the EFTA,<ref name="VaduzConvention"/> the Faroes considered the possibility that the "Kingdom of Denmark in respect of the Faroes" could join the EFTA on their behalf. The Danish Government has stated that this mechanism would not allow the Faroes to become a member of the EEA because Denmark was already a party to the EEA Agreement.<ref name=faroes>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.fo/Files/Billeder/Uttanrikisradid/tekstir/ESfr%C3%A1grei%C3%B0ingEN%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823140509/http://www.mfa.fo/Files/Billeder/Uttanrikisradid/tekstir/ESfr%C3%A1grei%C3%B0ingEN%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-date=23 August 2011|title=The Faroes and the EU - possibilities and challenges in a future relationship|year=2010|publisher=The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Faroes|page=53|access-date=15 August 2013|quote=Under its constitutional status the Faroes cannot become a contracting party to the EEA Agreement in its own right due to the fact that the Faroes are not a state.}}</ref>

The Faroes already have an extensive bilateral free trade agreement with Iceland, known as the [[Hoyvík Agreement]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hoyvík Agreement|url=https://www.government.fo/en/foreign-relations/foreign-trade/hoyvik-agreement/|access-date=24 June 2021|website=www.government.fo|language=en}}</ref>

====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>