In 1963 individual national negotiations with the EEC (apart from Austria) were suspended and a meeting was held in Lisbon in May, which proved created an impetus for greater consideration for agriculture in EFTA. A new timetable for tariff reductions was formulated which shortened the transitional period laid down in the Stockholm Convention. Furthermore, measures were put in place to promote the expansion of trade in the agricultural field with the creation of the Agricultural Review Committee (Article 25). Between 1961 and 1966 intra-EFTA trade in farm products grew 48%.

The Agricultural Review Committee (ARC) fell under the auspices of the Economic Department of EFTA