Moreover, some major Community policy areas, agriculture, fishe- ries, taxation ...are not, as such, covered by the Agreement: nor is what is called «third country relations». Last, but not least, our «gear lever» may have to be used by the EFTA/EEA states themselves, in the form of monitoring by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and judicial guidance and control by the EFTA Court. So, on paper at least, «parallel legislation» in the EEA is, perhaps, not so much automatic or manual but, rather, automatic 
andmanual. Let me come to my three points. In an Article I wrote some five ye- ars ago, I referred to the two «sides» of the EEA as 
... 3. «A couple at Peace» Here, we move on from the ingredients to the pudding! What do «auto - matic» and «manual» look like in reality? Straight away, let me repeat: a success! In other words, the mix of automatic and manual has, in practi- ce, proved its 
worth. Involvement As to our first point – and first and foremost – you participate in full (and are very welcome to do so!) in the mass of committees and groups which take part in Community decision-making: at the same time, you, more often than not, provide «position papers» on important subjects on the table. So, your large investment in human resources reflects your wish to be involved, to the fullest extent, and to have a real influence in the decision-making 
procedures. Procedures In the second place and as to the procedures themselves, they are smooth and well-oiled! Not least because there are only two «A» officials in the Commission’s Directorate-General for External Relations working full time in this area, is it the EFTA Secretariat which has a «first go» at the 54John Forman