Geneva, 15/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The future trade agreements that the EU will be negotiating with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia are expected to help consolidate the progress achieved in the Arab Spring and strengthen the democratisation process on the southern and eastern banks of the Mediterranean basin.
On Wednesday 14 December, the Council of EU foreign ministers gave the go-ahead to the opening of trade negotiations with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, as soon as the necessary preparatory process is completed. This decision provides the European Commission with a mandate to start negotiations to establish deep and comprehensive free trade areas (DCFTAs) that will go beyond removing only tariffs to cover all regulatory issues relevant to trade, such as investment protection and public procurement.
“We are offering Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia progressive economic integration into the EU single market and want to improve the conditions for market access to the EU for these four WTO members as they engage in a process of democratic and economic reform”, said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht in a press release. He added: “Our door is open for other Southern Mediterranean partners once the same conditions are met.”
This also constitutes a barely veiled message to Algeria and Libya which, contrary to the countries involved in future agreements, are not yet members of the WTO.
The future deep and comprehensive free trade areas will be part of the existing Euro-Mediterranean association agreements and will cover a full range of regulatory areas of mutual interest, such as trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, investment protection, public procurement and competition policy. The different economic development and regulatory priorities of the EU's Southern Mediterranean partners will be taken into account during the negotiations by the European Commission.
As well as improving the access of these countries to the EU market, the development of an investment friendly environment and support for the process of economic reforms that they have undertaken, the EU also wants to help strengthen these countries' regional integration, which is already taking place as part of the Agadir agreement. (EH/transl.fl)