Brussels, 24/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations, will be in Algiers from 26 to 27 June to mark the end of the ratification procedure for the association agreement with Algeria. Implementation of the agreement is foreseen for 1 September this year and an Association Council should be held in October or November. The visit is to kick-off implementation of various provisions of the agreement and trigger the creation of three thematic working groups on: - migration, social affairs, justice and security; administrative reforms; and infrastructures. In the last group, the priorities would be to strengthen cooperation in transport and energy and, generally speaking, to give impetus to cooperation that is marred by delays due to the security situation over recent years. Financial cooperation, for which the rate of commitment is EUR 53 million per year, could be reviewed slightly upward for projects still to be conceived. Algeria received aid of EUR 949 million between 1978 and 1996 (including 640 million in EIB loans), mainly intended for administrative, banking and economic reforms. Algeria, from where a large part of exports are hydrocarbons, has a surplus trade balance with the EU: - EUR 11.250 billion in 2000, which is expected to increase with the constant rise in crude oil prices. In parallel, the Commission and Algeria have since February begun exploratory conversations on an “action plan” in the context of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy, but the Algerian government seems to want to give priority to application of the association agreement before moving fully on to this phase.
Ms Ferrero-Waldner, who is also to be received by President Bouteflika, will also tackle political dialogue (the European Parliament at its last session spoke of its concern about the fate of journalists) and security-related issues in the country. It will also be a question of cooperation in the region (Mediterranean and Maghreb) but Algeria has so far been reticent to join the group of EU partner countries (Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia), that are engaged in a trade liberalisation process among themselves in application of the Agadir Agreement.