Do you want to consult EFTA documents? Find more information on how and where you can access them below.
Regulatory framework
Rules on public access to EFTA documents have been laid down in Decision of the EFTA Council No. 6 of 2007 (as amended) and Decision of the Standing Committee No. 3 of 2007 (EEA related EFTA documents). They specify the application process for requesting access to EFTA documentation and in their annexes, they list documents that EFTA shall make publicly available on its website.
EFTA documents available on the website and Public Journal
A large part of EFTA documentation is made available (in English) on the EFTA Secretariat’s Public Journal.
Some documentation can also be found elsewhere on our web pages: Legal texts such as the EEA Agreement, and Joint Committee Decisions can be found (in more languages) on specific web pages, as can the EFTA Convention and third-country Free Trade Agreements.
Individual legal acts that are considered for incorporation, or that have already been incorporated, into the EEA Agreement can be found using EEA Lex.
In the EEA Supplement you can find Norwegian and Icelandic translations of EEA-relevant texts. Weekly issues of the EEA Supplement contain information notices from the EU side, as well as information from the EFTA Surveillance Authority, EFTA Court and the Standing Committee of the EFTA States. The EEA Supplement is also the publication venue for the Norwegian and Icelandic translations of EEA incorporated legal acts and Joint Committee decisions.
Application process for access to EFTA documents
If you are looking for EFTA documentation that you have not been able to find on the web pages specified above, it could be that the documentation in question is not deemed “public”. However, it may still be handed out upon request.
Please e-mail your request in English with as clear a reference to the documentation needed as possible to access [at] efta.int (access[at]efta[dot]int). You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and can expect a reply to your request within 12 working days. Note that you may be informed of further delays if the EFTA States must be consulted for the access request.
Inactive paper records that are less than 40 years old are stored at EFTA’s headquarters in Geneva and may be consulted as well by sending a request for access (access [at] efta.int (access[at]efta[dot]int)).
Historical EFTA records
For access to historical records, please be informed that the EFTA Secretariat has deposited its fonds at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), located at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. EFTA records from 1960 to 1984 have been inventoried and are accessible here.
Requests for access to these records may be sent directly to the HAEU where the records may be consulted in accordance with the rules governing access and use of the HAEU.