High-Level Lecture on the ENP in a Comparative Perspective

The Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies at the College of Europe, Bruges campus, with the financial support of the European Commission,  organized a series of events dedicated to the European Neighbourhood Policy in a comparative perspective .

A public high-level lecture was held on Thursday, 24 October 2013 (17:30-18:30), followed by a Q&A session and a public reception. The language of the conference was English.

• Summary

• Publication based on lecture

Speaker: Prof. Dr.iur. Dr.rer. pol.h.c. Carl BAUDENBACHER, President of the EFTA Court

The notion of European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) does not, according to common usage, relate to the Agreement on European Economic Area (EEA). This far-reaching association agreement was signed by the EC and its then 12 Member States and the then 7 EFTA States Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland on 2 May 1992, it entered into force on 1 January 1994 for five EFTA States (Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and has since mid-1995 consisted of the EU and its

Member States on the one hand and the 3 EFTA States Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway on the other. Among all the agreements concluded by the EU, the EEA Agreement stands out because it gives the associated States the right to have their own Surveillance Authority, the ESA, and their own court, the EFTA Court. The EFTA Court is basically obliged to follow or take into account relevant ECJ case law, but in the majority of its cases tackles novel legal questions. The ECJ, its Advocates General and the CFI for their part conduct a regular judicial dialogue with the EFTA Court. The question may be posed whether the EEA could serve as a model for other regional associations. For the fourth EFTA State, Switzerland, this issue could become relevant in the near future.

About the speaker

Prof. Dr.iur. Dr.rer. pol.h.c. Carl BAUDENBACHER is President of the EFTA Court since 2003, Judge of the EFTA Court since 1995, Dr. iur, University of Berne 1978 summa cum laude, Habilitation University of Zürich 1983, Chair of Private, Commercial and Economic Law at the University of St. Gallen HSG 1987-2013, Founder and Chairman of the St. Gallen International Competition Law Forum ICF, former Visiting Professor of European and International Law at the University of Texas School of Law, former Member of the Supreme Court of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Member of the Advisory Board of the University of Texas School of Law Center of Global Energy, International Arbitration and Environment Law.

Author of over 40 books and over 180 articles on European and international law, law of obligations, labor law, law of unfair competition, antitrust and state aid law, company law, intellectual property law, comparative law and the law of international courts and tribunals.