European Free Trade Association

European Free Trade Association Native names: Europäische Freihandelsassoziation (German) Fríverslunarsamtök Evrópu (Icelandic) Association européenne de libre-échange (French) Associazione europea di libero scambio (Italian) Det europeiske frihandelsforbund (Bokmål) Det europeiske frihandelsforbundet (Nynorsk) Associaziun europeica da commerzi liber (Romansh) Eurohppá friddjagávpelihttu (Northern Sami)[1]
Logo
Location of the EFTA {{{1}}}  (green) in Europe (green & dark grey)
Secretariat	Geneva Brussels Luxembourg City 46°57′N 7°27′E / 46.950°N 7.450°E / 46.950; 7.450
Largest city	Oslo 59°56′N 10°41′E / 59.933°N 10.683°E / 59.933; 10.683
Official working language	English
Official languages of member states	7 languages French German Icelandic Italian Norwegian Romansh Sámi
Type	Regional organization, Free-trade area
Member states	Iceland  Liechtenstein  Norway  Switzerland
Leaders
• Secretary General	Kurt Jäger
• Council Chair	Iceland[2]
Establishment
• Convention signed	4 January 1960
• Established	3 May 1960
Area
• Total	529,600 km2 (204,500 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	14,400,000[3]
• Density	26.5/km2 (68.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$1.0 trillion[3]
• Per capita	$70,000
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$1.1 trillion[3]
• Per capita	$79,000
Currency	Króna (ISK) Krone (NOK) Franc (CHF)
Time zone	WET (UTC) CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
	Note: Iceland observes WET all year, while Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland observe CET and CEST.
Website efta.int

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.^[4] The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European single market and are part of the Schengen Area.^[5] They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union.

EFTA was historically one of the two dominant western European trade blocs, but is now much smaller and closely associated with its historical competitor, the European Union. It was established on 3 May 1960 to serve as an alternative trade bloc for those European states that were unable or unwilling to join the then European Economic Community (EEC), the main predecessor of the EU. The Stockholm Convention (1960), to establish the EFTA, was signed on 4 January 1960 in the Swedish capital by seven countries (known as the "Outer Seven": Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).^[6] A revised Convention, the Vaduz Convention, was signed on 21 June 2001 and entered into force on 1 June 2002.^[7][8]

After 1995 only two founding members remained, namely Norway and Switzerland. The other five, Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom, had joined the EU at some point in the intervening years. The initial Stockholm Convention was superseded by the Vaduz Convention, which aimed to provide a successful framework for continuing the expansion and liberalization of trade, both among the organization's member states and with the rest of the world.

While the EFTA is not a customs union and member states have full rights to enter into bilateral third-country trade arrangements, it does have a coordinated trade policy.^[4] As a result, its member states have jointly concluded free trade agreements with the EU and a number of other countries.^[4] To participate in the EU's single market, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are parties to the Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA), with compliances regulated by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court. Switzerland has a set of multilateral agreements with the EU and its member states instead.^{[dubious – discuss]}