On 26 February 1959, the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) notes the problems encountered in Oslo by the Governments of Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom with regard to the establishment of a free-trade area.

On 17 June 1959, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the efforts made by Reginald Maudling, UK Paymaster-General, to establish a free-trade area in Europe.

On 10 October 1959, the periodical Documentation syndicale italienne outlines the position of the unions in Europe on relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

On 21 July 1959, Ministers from Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, meeting in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden, approve the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and announce that negotiations will continue with a view to the establishment of a Nordic Common Market.

On 20 November 1959, in Stockholm, representatives from Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom give the green light to the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

On 20 November 1959, meeting in Stockholm, the representatives of Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom adopt the text of the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and declare their willingness to open negotiations with the Six in order to establish new foundations for their economic relations.

In December 1959, the Austrian cinema newsreel reports on the political and diplomatic debates concerning the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

On 30 November 1959, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry sends to Portugal’s Embassies a circular concerning Portugal’s commitment to the European Free Trade Area (EFTA).

On 3 January 1960, Bruno Kreisky (left), Austrian Foreign Minister, and Fritz Bock (right), Austrian Trade Minister, arrive at Vienna Airport to travel to Stockholm where, the following day, they are to sign the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

On 3 January 1960, as Austria signs the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the Austrian daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung reports on the reactions of Bruno Kreisky, Austrian Foreign Minister, and of Fritz Bock, Austrian Trade Minister.

On 4 January 1960, in Stockholm, the Ambassadors or Foreign Ministers of Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom sign the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which is to enter into force on 3 May 1960.

In his memoirs, Bruno Kreisky, Austrian Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and Chancellor from 1970 to 1983, recalls the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960 and the negotiations that culminated, on 22 July 1972, in the signing of the cooperation agreements between the European Community and those EFTA Member States that were not applying for accession.

Interactive map showing the seven founder members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960, as well as the subsequent accessions and withdrawals that have determined the present composition of the organisation.

On 4 January 1960, in Stockholm, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom sign the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

On 4 January 1960 in Stockholm, Östen Undén, Swedish Foreign Minister, announces the signing of the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

On 4 January 1960 in Stockholm, Gottlieb Gut, the Swiss Ambassador to Sweden, signs the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

On 15 January 1960, illustrating the recent establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), British cartoonist David Low speculates on the contradictory economic ambitions of the six Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and those of the Seven, ambitions which threaten to make the European market unworkable.

On 3 May 1960, after ratification by the national parliaments of the Seven, the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) officially comes into force in Stockholm.

On 1 March 1970, Iceland officially joins the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). From left to right: Sir John Coulson, Secretary-General of EFTA, Einar Benediktsson, Permanent Representative of Iceland to EFTA, and Gylfi Th. Gíslason, Icelandic Minister for Trade.

In this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and subsequently Head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities in the United Kingdom until 1973, describes the state of relations between General de Gaulle and the leaders of the United Kingdom as France twice rejected, in 1963 and 1967, the opening of negotiations for the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.