The goal of the project, commissioned by the European Commission, DG Trade, is to carry out an evaluation of the impact of trade chapters of the Euro- Mediterranean AAs. The project is implemented by CASE together with its partners, Ecorys Netherlands and FEMISE (the Euro-Mediterranean Forum of Institutes of Economic Sciences).
The Association Agreements (AAs) between the EU and respectively Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia have been signed between 1995 and 2002 and have entered into force between 2000 and 2006. The AAs were part of the outcome of the so-called Barcelona Declaration, an attempt aimed at fostering political, security, cultural, human as well as economic and financial partnerships between the EU and the Southern Mediterranean partner countries. The AAs emphasized economic liberalisation and reforms, and trade was one of the main forces driving these economic reforms. The trade chapters of these agreements (amounting to an FTA) were therefore the most important operational and binding commitments that were made.
The objectives of the trade chapters of the Association Agreements are:
- To promote trade and expansion of harmonious economic and social relations between the EU and the six partner countries,
- To establish the conditions for the gradual liberalization of trade in goods, services, and capital flows between the EU and the six partner countries, and
- To encourage intra-regional integration by promoting trade and cooperation both within the Mediterranean region and between the region and the EU Community and its Member States.
In the context described above, this evaluation will assess:
- The effectiveness and efficiency of the trade chapters of the Association Agreements in view of achieving its objectives
- The relevance of the trade chapters of the Association Agreements regarding current trade issues faced by the EU and the six partner countries
- The coherence of the trade chapters of the Association Agreements with the trade policy of the EU and its other policies (e.g. neighbourhood policy) with respect to the six partner countries
Read the Iterim Report
Stakeholder consultations constitute an important element of the evaluation, as stakeholders can provide valuable inputs and feedback into the study. So far, there have been workshops in all six Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia.
On April 30, 2020 two final consultations event will take place. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, they have both been moved online:
- 10:00-13:00 CET | Stakeholder workshop for stakeholders in the EU – Discussion of interim results
To register, please confirm your participation by sending an email to eu-mediterranean@ecorys.com, after which you will receive the details and instructions needed to join the online meeting. The workshop will use English as working language.
To access agenda and more information about the workshop, please click here
- 15:00-17:00 CET| Civil Society Dialogue on Euromed ex-post evaluation – Discussion of interim results
The meeting will take place via WEBEX. Access code and password will be sent to registered participants. The workshop will use English as working language.
To register and for more details, please click here https://trade.ec.europa.eu/civilsoc/meetdetails.cfm?meet=11564
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