1. The Assembly thanks the Council of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) for submitting its First Annual Report and expresses its gratitude to the Council's spokesman for coming to Strasbourg to present the Report. It notes that good relations have been established between its Economic Committee and the Association and between the Council of Europe and the EFTA Secretariats.
2. The Assembly recalls its Recommendation 229 (1960), in which it welcomed the creation of the EFTA as a means both of forming a free market among its Members and of facilitating a multilateral settlement embracing all member countries of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and notes with satisfaction that progress has been made towards these two objectives in the first year of the EFTA's existence.
3. As regards the first objective, the Assembly congratulates the EFTA, in particular, on having brought forward the second tariff cut by six months as a first result of its continuing efforts to shorten the timetable of tariff reductions. It notes with interest that the liberal rules of origin of the EFTA appear to have operated smoothly.
4. The Assembly sincerely welcomes the conclusion of the Association Agreement with Finland, which will benefit trade relations between Finland and other European countries and contribute towards strengthening the Finnish economy.
5. The Assembly is concerned that trade in agricultural and fishery goods between the EFTA countries has expanded less than trade in the industrial sector, but it notes that the Council is engaged on an examination of this problem, with a view to establishing rules for the gradual abolition of subsidised exports to other member States, and hopes that this work will be concluded before 1st January 1962, as provided in Article 24 of the EFTA Convention. It also notes with concern that the Report does not refer to any periodic exchanges of views between Members on their economic and financial policies as envisaged in Article 30 of the EFTA Convention.
6. As regards the second objective of the EFTA, the Assembly welcomes the fact that the EFTA countries have, on numerous occasions, expressed their wish to enter into negotiations with the Six. It also welcomes the fact that, since this Report was published, three member States have applied for the opening of such negotiations in accordance with Article 237 of the Rome Treaty.
7. In this connection the Assembly attaches importance to the statement in the Report that all Members of the EFTA are willing to undertake obligations that go beyond those which they have accepted among themselves, including effective institutions to supervise the implementation of such obligations.
It expresses its agreement with the view taken in the Report that this new effort "must respect the basic political positions not only of the several States of Europe, but also of the European Economic Community".
8. The Assembly approves of the rules of procedure agreed upon by the EFTA countries in view of opening negotiations with the European Economic Community. It expresses the wish that the said negotiations between the Six and the countries which have applied for membership should be started as soon as possible.