Brussels, 17/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - In June, Algeria and the EU decided to convene their Association Council in June to seek to rekindle cooperation that has been hampered by difficulties encountered in implementing the association agreement and by the weakness of European investment noted by the partner country. This was announced in Algiers after the two-day visit by European Neighbourhood and Development Commissioner Stefan Füle, who, when in the Algerian capital, met several members of the government in charge of the economy and, notably, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci. Füle and his discussion partners were able to sketch out a plan for recovery that met the demands of both sides “half way”.
Algiers calls for deferral in implementation of the plan for tariff dismantling, provided for in the agreement to allow time to protect industries that are generally not very competitive. Brussels suggests that things should not be disrupted but that the Algerian economy should receive more supervision so that it does better when faced with the challenge of market opening.
This will be the main theme of the fourth Association Council to be held on 21 June. Medelci said the EU-Algeria association agreement allowed Algeria to call for the timetable to be reviewed in order to take into account the need to supervise efforts which, at several industrial or agricultural levels, are made by the government in an attempt to develop and modernise. He nonetheless discarded the idea of completely turning things upside down, saying: “The question of timetable review is not negligible but should not turn the whole of cooperation between Algeria and the EU upside down”. On the whole, Medelci said, Algeria's priority remains that of developing sectors other than hydro-carbons within the framework of diversification of the national economy. “Our challenge, which we share with our partners and with the EU in particular, is to be able to create conditions for receiving more investment in sectors other than in the hydrocarbon sector”, he said. Official sources have said there are plans to sign a scientific and technological cooperation agreement in September.
The creation of a “political dialogue committee” has also been decided and, from now on, this will be of an “official nature” in order to provide a permanent framework for consultation between Algeria and the EU on political, security and human rights issues. Stefan Füle was quizzed by the press on the political aspects. He replied cautiously, nonetheless underlining Europe's attachment to greater involvement by civil society when it comes to running public affairs. According to the local press, the European commissioner said he was “delighted”' to learn from Mourad Medelci that the political reforms announced by President Bouteflika “and the political parties will include the civil society and strengthen democracy, freedom of expression and freedom of association”. According to the same sources, he also said that he and the EU gave their support after the lifting of the state of emergency and after forthcoming reforms. Füle asserted it was “obviously vital to listen to the aspirations of the Algerian people”.
For weeks now, the country has been in a suppressed state of eruption in step with the uprisings in neighbouring countries. “The historic changes in the region mean that our relations with these countries must change and the EU, itself, must change”, the commissioner said. He went on to add a “trifle enigmatically”, as the press put it, that “no (Arab) country is immune but each has its own pace”. The countries of the southern rim of the Mediterranean must now be in line with the democratic aspirations of their people if they are to benefit from EU assistance, the Algerian press summarises.
Also, on the subject of freedom of movement of persons, Medelci called for visa and readmission issues to be dealt with bilaterally between Algeria and each of the EU countries.
Readmission agreements linking Algeria with certain countries of the EU work relatively well and, the minister said, freedom of movement “must not be detrimental to the host countries whether these be the EU states or Algeria”. “The freedom/security duo must be managed in harmony and with mechanisms that are each time more effective”, he said.
For some years, the foreign minister said, “there have been improvements regarding the number of visas granted”. He stressed, however, that “there is still much to do in order to improve freedom of movement”. (F.B./transl.jl)