Brussels, 14/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - Meeting on the sidelines of the General Affairs Council in Luxemburg on 12 June, the Council of the European Economic Area (EEA) held an exploratory debate on European energy policy, discussing notably the European Commission's recent Green Paper. The way in which exploitation of off-shore oil resources in the Barents Sea zone articulates with European policy would represent economic opportunities and environmental challenges for EU-EEA relations, said Council members. In foreign affairs, ministers discussed the political situation in the Western Balkans, the Middle East and Darfur.
The EEA Council welcomed the finalisation, at the end of 2005, of the ratification process of the extension of the EEA Agreement to include the ten new EU Member States and the candidate countries Bulgaria and Romania. In noted the progress made in implementing the two funds for economic and social cohesion in Central and Eastern Europe: the 2004-2009 financial mechanism and the Norwegian financial mechanism (see EUROPE 8927). Calls for projects, totalling €300 million, were launched in Hungary, Malta, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Ministers welcomed the Commission's intention to establish a new strategy for the internal market, under which future priorities would be subject to consultation (see EUROPE 9193). They acknowledged the role played by EEA/EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) in setting up a regulatory framework for the services sector. They reiterated the importance for these countries of involvement in Community programmes over the period 2007-2013, and in European agencies, such as the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA).