Facing the Change in Europe: EFTA Countries' Integration Strategies [antikvár]

Preface Kari Möttölä This publication presents a comparative analysis of the EFTA countries' integration strategies in a changing Western Europe. It looks at the choices made, and being pondered, by the six members of the European Free Trade Association in the face of the new dynamic phase of economic and political integration within the European Community. The EC programme of a completed single market for goods, services, labour and capital by the end of 1992, the White Paper adopted in Milan in 1985, has forced a searching evaluation in Austria, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Fmland of their policies toward the Community, with the purpose of averting new discrimination as well as securing future interests in their most important foreign markets. The Single European Act of 1987, which provides for enhanced supranationalism in the Community's decision making and makes European Political Cooperation (EPC) an integral part of the process toward a European Union based on the Treaty of Rome, throws out a further challenge to the EFTA countries. They have to design active policies to be able to assure participation in, and influence on, matters and developments that affect their vital economic and political positions. In short, they have to avoid marginalization in changing European international relations where the EC is becoming a stronger, and more unified, key actor. The six national studies of this report highlight the economic interests of the EFTA countries in the EC area, analyze their attitudes and politicies toward the question of EC membership, and outline their comprehensive integration strategies. Starting from the basis of their free trade agreements with the EC, the governments of the EFTA countries are working to maintain the closest possible cooperation with the Community for their economies. They are using EFTA as a channel for developing new multilateral forms of West European commercial and economic cooperation and, in parallel, are concluding new bilateral arrangements with the EC on research & development and on technology. One of them, Austria, is preparing to decide on a membership application in the near future. Meanwhile, the business communities in EFTA countries are involved in internationalization, and above all Europeanization of their operations, and domestic interest groups are searching for their roles and policies under the pressures and opportunities of an integrating Europe. Facing the Change in Europe: EFTA Countries' Integration Strategies brings out the similarities and differences in those policies as they are affected by various particular domestic and external situations. As a consequence, the six case studies open a perspective not only for the future relationship between the two Western European economic groupings that are each others' main trading partners, but also for the future of EFTA, and neutrality, in Europe. Moreover, the studies in the report outline the evolving relationship between EFTA and the EC in the 'European economic space' and appraise the functions of such a future configuration of the wider Western Europe for the European international system as a whole, and for the interests of the great powers. Acknowledgements Facing the Change in Europe: EFTA Countries' Integration Strategies is based on materials from an international round table seminar held by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki on 29-30 September 1988. Paul Luif, René Schwok, Gunnar Helgi Kristins-son, Carl-Einar Stâlvant, Esko Antola, Harto Ha-kovirta and Geoffrey Edwards presented their papers originally to the seminar and revised them for publication in this report. Martin Saeter, unable