Having been launched as a result of the EuroMed conference in Barcelona, in 1995, the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and the Mediterranean partnership countries Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, and Tunisia were rekindled by the French EU-Presidency, in 2008.
The EU-Mediterranean negotiations have progressed very slowly, so far. This is, above all, due to the Mediterranean partnership countries’ difficulties in cooperating effectively with each other.
(Source: European Commission)
The European Services Forum would welcome any advancement of the Mediterranean cooperation. Since services account for about at least 50% of every Mediterranean partnership country’s GDP, and even for 70% of the GDP in Jordan and Lebanon, a EU-Mediterranean FTA covering free trade in services would generate considerable economic gains on both sides of the Mediterranean.
It is important to consider that apart from Syria, every Mediterranean country in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership concluded an Association Agreement with the EU.” –> Provisions on services
For further details see the
- European Commission’s website
- European Commission’s statstics
- European Commission’s website on the Euro-Mediterranean partnership
- European Commission’s questions and answers sheet on “Services and Investment Liberalisation in the Euro-Mediterranean”
