EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (EEA)

May 21, 2019

The UK government has scrapped the requirement of filling out landing cards at airports by international travellers coming to the UK from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) like India, as part of a series of measures aimed at a smoother entry into Britain.

About:

History: The Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) entered into force on 1 January 1994.
Members: The Agreement on the EEA brings together the EU Member States and the three EEA EFTA States — Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — in a single market, referred to as the "Internal Market". Switzerland is not part of the EEA Agreement.
What is it? It provides for the inclusion of EU legislation covering the four freedoms — the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital — throughout the 31 EEA States.
What is the EEA Not? The EEA Agreement does not cover the following EU policies -
- Common Agriculture and Fisheries Policies (although the Agreement contains provisions on various aspects of trade in agricultural and fish products);
- Customs Union;
- Common Trade Policy;
- Common Foreign and Security Policy;
- Justice and Home Affairs (even though the EFTA countries are part of the Schengen area); or
- Monetary Union (EMU).