Brussels, 22/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - At the Euromed trade ministerial in Istanbul on Wednesday, the external trade ministers of the EU and of the Mediterranean countries reiterated their ambitions to open negotiations on the liberalisation of services. To this end, the ministers approved a framework protocol on Wednesday, which contains a series of guidelines to direct these negotiations. Then, in a second stage, the Euromed countries are called upon to negotiate bilateral agreements amongst themselves, which are compatible with WTO rules. This is an "important step towards the integration of our economies, which represent 700 million citizens", said the European Commissioner for Trade, Pascal Lamy, in Istanbul. The liberalisation of trade in goods is already covered by the Association Agreements the EU has concluded with all the Mediterranean countries, with the exception of Syria. The ministers also discussed the problems to be faced by some of the Euromed countries as of 1 January 2005, which the last WTO quotas for trade in textiles and clothing are abolished. The next Euromed trade ministerial will take place in Tunisia in 2005.