Prime Minister Erna Solberg is invited to Brussels to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the EEA Agreement with leaders from all over Europe.
The celebration will take place on Friday 22 March.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg and the prime ministers of Iceland and Liechtenstein are then invited as honorary guests at the EU summit in Brussels to celebrate the agreement with the heads of state and government from all 28 member states. In addition, EU President Donald Tusk and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will be present.
If brexit goes as planned, this is the last EU summit where the UK is still a member country.
The EEA Agreement came into force on 1 January 1994. It ensures entry into the EU internal market, but also means that Norway must accept large amounts of laws and regulations adopted in Brussels.
Today, the agreement has become an important reference point in the Brexit debate in the United Kingdom, where “Norway plus” is the preferred solution for many parliamentarians, especially from the opposition party Labor.
But brexit can also cast shadows over the celebration, as the EU and Britain still have not agreed on the terms of the divorce.
The horror scenario is that the European leaders come red-eyed to the meeting with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – after negotiations overnight with Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
