EU-Mediterranean Trade: Shifting from “shallow” to “deep” integration

Policies guiding economic and trade relations between the European Union (EU) and countries of the Mediterranean were aimed at creating an area of shared prosperity.  More than ten years after the first trade Association Agreements came into effect, CASE Fellows Luc De Wulf and Maryla Maliszewska evaluate how these agreements have influenced regional trade and suggest policies and approaches that would assist these agreements to move from the “shallow integration” process (based simply on tariff reductions) towards “deep integration”, which will benefit from greater coordination and harmonization of economic policies and trade standards. 

Read CASE Network E-brief 7/2010 Prospects for Future Euro‐Mediterranean Trade for more on regional growth trends, potential for trade expansion, and policy recommendations for improving market access and the business environment.