出于上述原因，当欧洲经济区在1994年最初成立时，其目的仅仅是作为计划成为欧盟成员、但还没有准备好最终加入的奥地利、瑞典、芬兰和挪威等国的临时过渡性制度。
For these reasons, when the EEA was established in 1994, it was intended only as a temporary transitional arrangement for countries – such as Austria, Sweden, Finland, and Norway – which planned to become EU members, but were not ready to join.