Brussels, 08/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - In Malta on 5 October (see other article), President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso announced that his services at the Commission and the European External Action Service “are currently drawing up a joint communication on relations between the EU and Maghreb”. “We are trying to sketch out a few proposals on how the EU could support your efforts to promote regional integration”. The communication will “enhance the role of the 5+5 and that of the Arab Maghreb Union, with which we propose to step up our dialogue. It will also describe proposals for a few key sectors where we can add value on the basis of our various instruments. These sectors will include security, economic development, job creation, trade, energy and transport”.
Barroso believes that “the arguments in favour of economic integration in the Maghreb are well-known. As it is one of the least integrated regions of the world - despite its geographical assets and cultural and linguistic links - the Maghreb has an enormous amount to gain from the integration process. The costs of non-Maghreb have been put at 1% to 2% of GDP per country. The potential advantages of integration go beyond economic growth, covering security and, more generally, human development in the region. The benefits of close integration in the Maghreb are shared not only between the citizens of the partner countries in the region, but will also benefit neighbouring countries, including the EU”. He welcomed the initiative to hold a Maghreb “summit” in Tunis before the end of the year. The EU is expected to be invited to this. “Even though we acknowledge that the dynamism for integration must come from our partners in the Maghreb, we believe that we have a contribution to make to this process, due to our own history and experience of regional integration”, the President of the Commission concluded. (FB/transl.fl)