The forthcoming referendum on the proposed EU constitution has led some to suggest that Britain gives up EU membership and returns to the European Free Trade Association (Efta), of which it was a member between 1960 and 1972 and which is still maintained by Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Get out of nannying, protectionist Europe, so the theory goes, and we might become as wealthy as Norway and Iceland, two countries which top the charts of GDP per capita.
It is a shame to spoil a nice idea, but if you are looking for an organisation which embraces the benefits of free trade, it wouldn’t be Efta. In negotiating free trade agreements with other countries, Efta has followed the EU all the way — or rather part of the way. It lags some distance behind the European Union when it comes to the liberalisation of trade in services and investments.
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