Rapid growth and early achievements of EFTA
EFTA grew almost immediately when Finland became an associate member in 1961 and a full member in 1986.
In 1962, EFTA’s Secretary-General described the Association as “a straightforward organisation designed to create a common market for industrial products and as many others as possible … as fast as the Community”.
From the start, EFTA eliminated quantitative export restrictions and began the gradual removal of customs duties on industrial goods. Originally scheduled for completion in 1970, the process was accelerated after the EEC announced that it would abolish tariffs by 1968. By 1966, all tariffs within EFTA were gone – three years ahead of schedule and faster than the EEC.
Agricultural products (listed in Annex D) remained outside the system, handled instead through bilateral agreements. Fish and fisheries products were only included in 1990.
Legacy of the first decade
By 1970, EFTA had:
• Established a functioning free trade zone in industrial goods;
• Proved that integration without supranationalism was possible;
• Shifted from purely administering the Stockholm Convention to engaging more with the EEC and third countries.
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Crisis and adaptation
The oil shock of 1973 triggered a global economic downturn: high inflation, falling productivity and rising unemployment. Progress slowed as non-tariff barriers emerged worldwide, undermining earlier gains.
At a time when protectionist pressures were rising worldwide, at the Vienna Summit in May 1977 EFTA governments reaffirmed their commitment to an open and liberal trading system. They agreed on a long-term strategy to strengthen economic cooperation both within the Association and with the EEC. Ministers called for concrete steps to consolidate free trade, including the systematic identification and removal of non-tariff barriers.
In the years that followed, EFTA worked to translate the Vienna guidelines into action. Governments began notifying the EFTA Secretariat of practices that might hinder trade, and launched studies on how to reduce technical and regulatory obstacles. EFTA also backed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) multilateral trade negotiations, seeing a strong global trading system as the best defence against protectionism.
From Vienna to Visby: Renewal and cooperation
These efforts culminated in the Visby Summit of 23 May 1984 – only the fourth such meeting of EFTA Heads of Government. They reaffirmed the importance of the Association not only for the sound functioning of their economies, but also for its growing role in wider international cooperation. They resolved to strengthen and improve collaboration under the Stockholm Convention, to abolish and prevent the creation of new trade-distorting non-tariff barriers, and to reduce trade bureaucracy. EFTA was to be used more actively as a forum for information exchange, consultation and – when appropriate – stronger coordination on trade and economic matters of common interest in international forums such as GATT and the OECD.
From Vienna to Visby, EFTA demonstrated its capacity to adapt and to defend free trade in challenging times, translating its broad strategic vision into a detailed agenda for action that would guide its work well into the next decade.
Confidential EFTA letter (1984) outlining preparations for the Visby Summit and the drafting of a work programme for the Association. EFTA-797
‘Follow-up to the Luxemburg and Visby Meetings,’ confidential note by the Secretary General, EFTA/SGN 5/84, Distribution A.3, 8 June 1984, HAEU, EFTA-797
EFTA Council, ‘EFTA WORK PROGRAMME,’ Annex to EFTA 24/84, 8 June 1984, HAEU, EFTA- 797
EFTA Council, ‘EFTA WORK PROGRAMME,’ Annex to EFTA 24/84, 8 June 1984, HAEU, EFTA- 797
EFTA Council, ‘EFTA WORK PROGRAMME,’ Annex to EFTA 24/84, 8 June 1984, HAEU, EFTA- 797
EFTA Council, ‘EFTA WORK PROGRAMME,’ Annex to EFTA 24/84, 8 June 1984, HAEU, EFTA- 797
EFTA Council, ‘EFTA WORK PROGRAMME,’ Annex to EFTA 24/84, 8 June 1984, HAEU, EFTA- 797
EFTA Ministerial Meeting of the Council and Joint Council, 8th Simultaneous Meeting, Visby (Sweden), 22 May 1984. Photo: Unknown author / EFTA-1359_1
EFTA Ministerial Meeting of the Council and Joint Council, 8th Simultaneous Meeting, Visby (Sweden), 22 May 1984. Photo: Unknown author / EFTA-1359_4
EFTA Ministerial Meeting of the Council and Joint Council, 8th Simultaneous Meeting, Visby (Sweden), 22 May 1984. Photo: Unknown author / EFTA-1359_11
EFTA Ministerial Meeting of the Council and Joint Council, 8th Simultaneous Meeting, Visby (Sweden), 22 May 1984. Photo: Unknown author / EFTA-1359_21
EFTA Ministerial Meeting of the Council and Joint Council, 8th Simultaneous Meeting, Visby (Sweden), 22 May 1984. Photo:
EFTA Ministerial Meetings, 1960–1980
This selection of Ministerial Meeting photographs offers a visual glimpse into EFTA’s institutional life during its formative decades. From Vienna and Geneva to Lisbon, Bodø and Saltsjöbaden, these images highlight the continuity and geographic breadth of cooperation among Member States as they shaped the Association’s early development.
Relations with third countries
Partnerships beyond EFTA and the first free trade agreement (1967-1979)
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