Motion for a resolution - B7-0149/2009Motion for a resolution
B7-0149/2009
European Parliament

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Euro-Mediterranean economic and trade partnership ahead of the eighth Euromed Trade Ministerial Conference - Brussels - 9 December 2009

18.11.2009

further to Question for Oral Answer B7‑0222/2009
pursuant to Rule 115(5) of the Rules of Procedure

Tokia Saïfi, Georgios Papastamkos, Daniel Caspary on behalf of the PPE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0147/2009

Procedure : 2009/2719(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B7-0149/2009
Texts tabled :
B7-0149/2009
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B7‑0149/2009

European Parliament resolution on the Euro-Mediterranean economic and trade partnership ahead of the eighth Euromed Trade Ministerial Conference - Brussels - 9 December 2009

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Barcelona Declaration of 28 November 1995, which established a partnership between the European Union and the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries,

–   having regard to the Commission's Communication to the Council and the European Parliament of 11 March 2003 entitled 'Wider Europe - Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours' (COM(2003)0104), its European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) strategy paper of 12 May 2004 (COM(2004)0373), its Communication to the Council of 9 December 2004 on its proposals for action plans under the ENP (COM(2004)0795), the action plans for Israel, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Lebanon, and Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument[1],

–   having regard to the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Tunisia[2], Israel[3], Morocco[4], Jordan[5], Egypt[6], Lebanon[7] and Algeria[8], of the other part, and the Euro-Mediterranean Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Cooperation between the European Community and the PLO (for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority)[9]; having regard to Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union (96/142/EC)[10],

–   having regard to the free-trade agreement, known as the Agadir Agreement, signed by Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco on 25 February 2004,

–   having regard to the Paris Summit of Euro-Mediterranean Heads of State and Government of 13 July 2008 which created the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM),

–   having regard to the sixth Euromed Trade Ministerial Conference held on 21 October 2007 in Lisbon,

–   having regard to the seventh Euromed Trade Ministerial Conference held on 2 July 2008 in Marseille,

–   having regard to the Euromed Trade Senior Officials meeting held on 11 November 2009 in Brussels,

–   having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the 1995 Barcelona Conference launched a very ambitious project, namely the creation of new and closer political, economic, social and cultural ties between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean; whereas the Barcelona Process must be quickly strengthened by the establishment of the free trade area,

B.  whereas the UfM, which is supposed to revitalise the Euro-Mediterranean integration process by means of concrete and visible projects, has not yet been fully established; whereas no Euromed meetings were scheduled between January and July 2009 because of the war in the Gaza Strip,

C. whereas the meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers which was to have been held in Istanbul on 24 and 25 November 2009 has had to be postponed owing to a boycott by the Arab states, protesting against the Israeli position in the Middle East peace process,

D. whereas Euro-Mediterranean trade relations are growing steadily and the EU appears to be the region's 'natural trading partner', taking 46.6% of total Mediterranean exports,

E.  whereas total Mediterranean-region trade with the EU reached €246.7 billion in 2008, which represents around 8% of total EU external trade, with a positive balance of €15.3 bn in favour of the EU,

F.  whereas the EU is a major foreign investor in the region (excluding Israel), and whereas its investments reached a record of €15.3 bn in 2006, before falling in 2007,

G. whereas trade in services is gradually increasing, with a growing positive balance in favour of the Mediterranean countries (essentially as a result of tourism) that reached a record €11.6 bn in 2006,

H. whereas, despite these figures, the level of trade and EU investment in southern Mediterranean countries remains below expectations and trade in both goods and services was not sufficiently diversified, given the potential in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and the EU's southern Mediterranean partners are attracting very little investment; whereas foreign direct investments (FDIs) remain very low in this region compared to other parts of the world; and whereas there are great differences, from one country to another, in the capacity to attract FDIs,

I.   whereas South-South economic regional integration, despite some significant initiatives, such as the Agadir Agreement, is far from being achieved, and whereas, therefore, South-South trade flows are underdeveloped, accounting for around 6% of these countries' total trade,

J.   whereas textiles, clothing and footwear producers are losing much of their market shares owing to a globalised marketplace and a strong competition from Asia,

K. whereas the European Union has signed association agreements with all its southern Mediterranean partners, with the exception of Syria and Libya; whereas the negotiations with Syria for an association agreement have been concluded, but its signing was postponed by Syria; and whereas the Commission has opened negotiations with Libya,

L.  whereas the bilateral approach, which is a component of any such process and a consequence of the specific cultural, social, economic and political differences between the countries involved, should be guided and supported by a more global vision and plan for relations among the various partners, and thus accompanied by a regional approach,

1.  Reiterates the strategic importance of establishing a comprehensive Euromed Free Trade Area, which will significantly contribute to peace, prosperity and security in the entire region, and therefore supports those measures and efforts aimed at removing barriers and obstacles; stresses that the success of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, and of the Free Trade Area in particular, requires a sustained and concerted effort from all parties;

2.  Considers that over the past decade major and unforeseen political events, such as the Middle East conflict, have had a considerable negative impact on the progress and development of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and the Free Trade Area, and that this is also the reason for its delayed implementation; deplores the fact that, for these same political reasons, the last meeting of Euromed foreign affairs ministers was cancelled and the UfM is not moving forward;

3.  Notes that the Euromed trade ministers will discuss measures to address the current weakness of Euromed trade and economic relations, a new Euro-Mediterranean Trade Road Map and a new mechanism for facilitating trade and investment in the region; considers that the existing association agreements should be expanded beyond trade in goods to cover agriculture, services, investment and regulatory issues, intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeiting, competition and public procurement and trade defence instruments in order to move towards a comprehensive free trade agreement;

4.  Strongly encourages the EU's southern Mediterranean partner countries to develop South-South trade, taking their lead from the Agadir Economic Agreement signed by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, and calls on the other countries in the region to join that agreement to further develop the integration initiatives in which the EU's southern Mediterranean partners are engaged and to exploit synergies with the deepening of the Euro-Mediterranean association agreements between Mediterranean countries and the EU; stresses that the EU institutions must respond positively to requests for technical support to promote such South-South economic integration;

5.  Considers that the cumulation of origin system should be strengthened, since it is a useful customs tool for revitalising trade in the area, and that rules of origin should be updated and simplified in order to take account of the interests of the Euromed partners; calls, therefore, for the regional agreement on the pan-Euro-Mediterranean cumulation of origin system to be concluded in 2010;

6.  Considers that beyond 2010 the network of South-South bilateral and regional free trade agreements should be adapted to take account of current negotiations between the EU and its southern Mediterranean partners on liberalisation, services, the right of establishment and agricultural and fishery products, in order to ensure coherence in the process and facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive free trade area;

7.  Calls on the Euromed trade ministers to ensure that there is gradual liberalisation of trade in agricultural, processed agricultural and fishery products, bearing in mind the time needed to implement equitable tax reforms designed to offset the reduction in customs-related fiscal revenues and having due regard for the issue of sensitive goods;

8.  Draws attention to the need to strengthen the North-South partnership, in order to keep Euro-Mediterranean textiles and clothing production and trade competitive, and to promote SEMCs' activities with higher added value, based on creativity and innovation, and not only on business outsourcing;

9.  Stresses the need to assess and take systematically into account the social and environmental impact of liberalisation processes, particularly in terms of food security; stresses, further, that this impact may vary significantly from one sector to another and from one country to another; underlines the importance of including references to social, environmental and plant-health standards in future free trade agreements;

10. Stresses the need to foster investment security in the Mediterranean region, through a system which coordinates SME-targeted strategies and covers multiple fields: safeguards, financing, information and networking of SMEs;

11. Supports initiatives led by France and Egypt, who have started cooperation to launch a public-private partnership to finance a new business identification system in the Mediterranean region (common business bar code and database), which would help to rationalise commercial records; encourages the development of this initiative throughout the region;

12. Draws attention to the need to create a Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Development Bank, which would secure donors from both shores of the Mediterranean and would be able to attract the FDIs which the Euro-Mediterranean region needs;

13. Considers that the new proposal to establish a Euro-Mediterranean investment facilitation mechanism is a significant step towards centralising and disseminating information via a single network, which should enable economic operators to gain a comprehensive picture of trade and investment conditions in the region; emphasises that the instrument should complement existing networks;

14. Welcomes the creation of the 'Inframed' fund (established by the French 'Caisse des dépôts', the Italian 'Cassa depositi e prestiti', EFG Hermes (Egypt) and the Moroccan 'Caisse de dépôt et de gestion'), which was announced, in the framework of UfM, as a long-term investment fund to finance infrastructure projects;

15. Takes the view that, although the conditions for this are not yet in place, the free trade area should be complemented by the phased introduction, subject to conditions, of free movement for workers, whilst taking account of the situation on the European employment market and current thinking in the international community on the links between migration and development; stresses that it is important and necessary to reduce the cost of transfers of remittances by migrant workers so as to maximise their use in the local economy; considers that the granting of visas should be facilitated for the stakeholders in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, students, university staff and socioeconomic actors;

16. Takes the view that the UfM should step up existing forms of cooperation under Euromed in order to offer all partner countries the chance of participating in the EU's regional programmes and corresponding policies on the basis of priorities and objectives set by mutual agreement; points out that it is important to extend the scope of Community programmes further to encompass participation by partner countries, particularly in the fields of education, research and professional training (student exchanges, etc.);

17. Stresses the potential for the UfM to have a positive impact on the Barcelona Process; points out that the definition, within the framework established in Paris in July 2008, of significant projects in strategic sectors, such as the building up of new infrastructure, cooperation between SMEs, communications and the exploitation of renewable energy sources, will contribute to the development and facilitation of Euro-Mediterranean trade and investments; points out, further, that it will be essential to find a solution for peace in the Middle East; calls for meetings scheduled in the framework of the UfM to be held and for a permanent secretariat to be established in Barcelona;

18. Encourages the use of solar and wind energy in the Mediterranean region; welcomes the recent progress made with the DESERTEC Industrial Initiative to develop the vast potential for solar energy in the Middle East and north Africa; stresses that EU action in relation to the DESERTEC project must be coherent and make an active contribution to the development of north African and Middle Eastern countries;

19. Stresses that, in view of the situation in Palestine, specific measures should be taken to assist local people with a view to integrating this area into Mediterranean trade flows;

20. Asks the Commission to keep it fully informed about progress on the association agreement with Syria, the signing of which was recently postponed by Syria; considers, further, that despite some concerns bringing Libya into negotiations for an association agreement and, more generally, into the UfM could be conducive to peace and stability in the region; asks the Commission to keep it fully informed and involved and consult it at every stage in the negotiations;

21. Stresses the role of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) within the partnership as the democratic body which brings together parliamentarians from both shores of the Mediterranean around the three pillars of the Barcelona Process; calls for closer cooperation between the EMPA, the Commission and the Council in the economic field;

22. Considers the Road Map proposed by the Commission a viable instrument to revitalise the UfM in coming years, and, therefore, calls on the Euromed trade ministers to endorse it at their ministerial meeting on 9 December 2009; calls on the Euro-Mediterranean trade senior officials to monitor the implementation of the Road Map in coming years and propose any changes required, and asks to be kept informed of such measures;

23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Heads of State and Government and the parliaments of the Member States and of the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries and the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.

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