The political future of the European Economic Area

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the political future of the European Economic Area (EEA). The paper starts by providing a brief overview of the EEA (Section 2). Next, it discusses the factors affecting the future of the EEA from the vantage-point of Norway (Section 3). The Norwegian political system contains a set of gag-rules to prevent changes in the status quo of EU affiliation. What such gag rules imply for the EEA’s future is important to address. Thereafter, the paper discusses the factors affecting the future of the EEA from the vantage-point of the EU (Section 4). Penultimately, the paper considers possible trajectories for the EU-level’s development. Conclusively, the paper provides a brief assessment of the similarities and differences between the EEA and such alternatives as EU-UKTCA, the Swiss Model, and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) (Section 5).