EFTA Surveillance Authority

Role Description ESA is recruiting a Legal Officer to join its Internal Market Affairs Directorate (IMA), in the ENFIP Unit. ENFIP was created in 2021 to promote synergies across the financial services, public procurement environment/climate and energy sectors, where EU/EEA legislation has grown at an unprecedented pace over the last few years, bringing new enforcement and regulatory challenges for ESA. The Legal Officer will be assigned responsibility for general surveillance work and case handling regarding the implementation and application of EEA law relating to the Environment in the participating EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). In the area of the Environment, ESA is responsible for ensuring that the EEA EFTA States comply with their obligations to protect, preserve and improve the quality of the environment and ensure a high level of environmental protection. Following the European Green Deal and the new/revised legal frameworks in the Environment field, ESA is increasingly vested with tasks of a regulatory nature, for example to follow-up on the EEA EFTA States’ reporting obligations and to assess their progress to achieve more ambitious environmental goals. Tasks will include the examination of complaints, legal conformity assessments, drafting of decisions, opinions and reports to follow-up on States’ compliance with relevant EEA law targets. The successful candidate is expected to proactively keep abreast of developments in the field and closely cooperate with internal and external counterparts. In particular, the successful candidate will: Work closely with other members of ENFIP and legal team, as well as technical consultants/contractors for certain projects. Maintain/strengthen relationships with the European Commission, the European Environmental Agency, the EFTA Secretariat, EEA EFTA States’ national competent authorities and external stakeholders such as NGOs. Depending on the needs of the Unit as well as the skills and interests of the successful candidate, the responsibilities may also cover tasks relating to the energy and/or climate fields.

Role Description ESA is recruiting a Legal Officer to join its Internal Market Affairs Directorate (IMA), in the unit responsible for the four freedoms of the internal market and related areas of EEA law such as labour law, social security, recognition of professional qualifications and data protection. IMA is responsible for monitoring the EEA EFTA States to ensure that they comply with their obligations in the field of internal market law. In monitoring and enforcing the effective implementation of Internal Market rules into domestic law in the EEA EFTA States, ESA performs broadly the same role as that of the European Commission in the EU Member States and the two bodies work closely together. The successful candidate will be assigned responsibility for surveillance work and case handling regarding the implementation and application of the rules of the Internal Market. We are looking for EEA/EU law generalists with the ability to specialise in subject areas covered by the unit, such as the four freedoms and related areas referred to above, with special focus on freedom of establishment, including taxation, and capital. Depending on the workload and other requirements, the responsibilities of the successful candidate may vary and also cover other fields of law of the internal market as well as general or specific issues relating to EEA/EU law. We are therefore looking for a candidate with strong background knowledge in EEA/EU law and at least three years of relevant experience from the public and/or private sector in the application of internal market rules. Day to day tasks include the examination of complaints, legal conformity assessments, drafting of decisions, opinions and reports.