Brussels, 31/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The permanent representatives of the member states (Coreper) agreed, on Wednesday 30 March, on a compromise proposal from the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council of Ministers relating to the Council's decision to sign the regional convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean rules of origin. The text in question sets out the rules allowing for the origin of goods traded to be determined within the framework of free-trade agreements in the Euro-Mediterranean zone in order to be able to apply preferential tariffs to them, as well as reductions in or abolition of customs duties or equivalent taxes. In addition to the 27 EU member states, 22 countries are party to the convention - EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein), the signatories of the Barcelona Declaration (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority), the countries taking part in the EU stabilisation and association process (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, FYROM and Albania), plus the Faroe Islands. The compromise put forward by the Hungarian presidency makes it easier to determine the cumulated added value produced in more than one country in the region. From now on, the value added produced in the countries of the region can be added together when determining whether a certain product complies with the threshold for preferential treatment. The compromise also removes difficulties relating to the interconnected network of bilateral protocols, which used to require amendment of all bilateral agreements whenever one rule within the region was changed, including the accession of a new country. Henceforth, this simple convention will replace the protocol network. (E.H./transl.jl)