52. Editorial Note
On March 16, representatives of the European Economic Community meeting in Brussels endorsed a memorandum of the EEC Commission, the “Hallstein Report,” which attempted to break the impasse between the six EEC nations and other OEEC members over trade and tariffs. The Hallstein Report recommended an “interim agreement” between the EEC states and 11 other members of the OEEC of 3 to 4 years duration based on a mutual increase of 20 percent in import quotas by both the Six and the Eleven, negotiations for the reduction in import duties, and the eventual extension of these to all GATT nations.
At the initiative of the British and Swedish Governments, representatives of seven European nations, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, met near Stockholm to consider the Hallstein Report on March 17 and 18. The delegates concluded that the offer was unsatisfactory and delegated Hubert de Besche of the Swedish Foreign Ministry to study the possibility of establishing a common trading area among the so called “Outer Seven.”
On May 27, the Swedish Government invited the six other Outer Seven states to a meeting to discuss formation of a free trade area. Preliminary discussions were followed by a ministerial meeting on July 20–21. On July 21, the ministers representing the seven governments announced that they would recommend the formation of a European Free Trade Association to their respective governments.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) agreement was formally initialed on November 11.