Homogeneity of Law in the European Economic Area: A Case of Integration of Multiple Regional Communities and Implementation of Common Rules in the Integrated Community

The Member States of the European Communities (EC), EC, and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have concluded the Agreement on European Economic Area (EEA Agreement). When such a combined regional community is formed, while each of these constituting bodies does not cease to exist, a question arises as to what legal constraints are necessitated to avoid divergent application of law among the members. This paper analyzes this question through examination of the EEA institutional system by focusing on the principle of homogeneity.



The EEA system can be well understood by viewing it from the standpoint of the homogeneity principle, which includes two normative requirements. Firstly, it requires the EFTA/EC and their countries secure uniform interpretation of provisions of EEA law. Secondly, it requires that the substantive outcome of the application of the EEA Agreement is homogeneous. These requirements are embedded in the EEA institutional system, which contains not only a number of provisions identical in substance to those of the EC Treaty, but also a procedure for incorporating later EC secondary legislation into the national law of EFTA countries. Regard should also be paid to the EFTA Court as its own judicial organ and the EFTA Surveillance Authority, whose task is to supervise the application of EEA law within the EFTA. This overview shows that the EEA system is built up very similarly to the corresponding EC system, and thereby intends to manage the possibility of divergent development of law.



However, the possibility cannot be excluded that the EFTA court may apply EEA law differently within the EFTA framework. The principle of homogeneity again makes up for this deficiency in the EFTA judicial system, i.e., intervention of EC Organ/Member States in the procedure, the case-law information exchange, and monitoring by the EEA Joint Committee. Furthermore, the EFTA Court very often refers the case of the ECJ, and even adopts precedents of constitutional relevance in order to secure homogeneous interpretation and application of the EEA law in so far as homogeneity is concerned.



These solutions by the EEA to the divergent problems functions well so far. However, this cannot be easily applicable to the integration of multiple regional communities in general. Two prerequisites of the EEA system must be pointed out. Firstly, the system has been developed under strong influence of the preceding EC acquis. Secondly, it is assumed that the judicial organs play an active role in the governance of integration. Though these points need to be kept in mind, the principle of homogeneity as applied in the EEA is an appreciable legal solution to the unavoidable problems regarding integrating multiple regional communities.