03-MAY-1960 :- European Free Trade Association established .

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates in parallel with – and is linked to – the European Union .The EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable or unwilling to join the then-European Economic Community which has now become the European Union. The Stockholm Convention, establishing the European Free Trade Association, was signed on 4 January 1960 in the Swedish capital by seven countries .

Today's European Free Trade Association members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, of which the latter two were founding members. The initial Stockholm Convention was superseded by the Vaduz Convention, which enabled greater liberalisation of trade among the member states.