Just reading about the EU I thought of the counter-group the European Free Trade Assn. I went on the web and saw it exists. But Why? It only has Iceland, Norway,Switzerland and Liechtenstein (sp?).
Why bother with the expense? Why not disband? I can see who the former two or the latter two countries may have something in common but as a group they are just a reminant of what once was?
What is the SD on them today? The website Click here for EFTA is pretty pathetic.
Used to be much larger, but most of its members have since joined the EU.
The EU and EFTA together make up the European Economic Area (EEA). I’m a bit vague on this, but my impression is that EFTA members have a common market within the EEA but have no influence over the terms on which that market operates (which is decided by the EU) and no obligation to accept those terms if they don’t like them, and no obligation to support, or right to participate in, the EU institutions. In short, they have a limited commitement and limited influence.