The European Union (EU) does not seem to be in favor of the Algerian request to revise the clauses of the association agreement in force since 2005.
On a visit last Sunday and Monday to Algiers, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, distinguished himself by ambiguous declarations. He blew hot and cold. Rather than speaking in a clear manner, he preferred instead to point the finger at what he described as “barriers to European investment in Algeria”, when everyone knows that the Algeria-EU association agreement is very imbalance.
In a statement at the end of the audience granted to him on Monday afternoon by the Head of State, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the European diplomat considers that the trade balance is favorable to Algeria. “On the trade side: more than half of Algerian foreign trade is with our member states, with 56% of exports and 43% of imports. But we both know that we can do better,” he said. Josep Borrell evokes, in this sense, “limits” to which “we must start by finding a solution”. “I am thinking, for example, of the obstacles introduced since June 2022 (by Algeria) to trade with Spain, which must find a solution. I am also thinking of the constraints that hinder European investment in Algeria,
In a statement on the eve of his visit to Algeria, Josep Borrell had affirmed that “it is rather necessary to discuss again the implementation of the association agreement”. “It is rather the implementation of this agreement that should be discussed again.
How to exploit its full potential? We need to be more pragmatic and efficient, and that, in all areas. In 2015-2016, significant work was undertaken in this direction jointly by the EU and Algeria. The recommendations resulting from these exchanges are still relevant,” he argued.
And to add: “Like the Algerian authorities, we believe that there is enormous unrealized potential in this area. To exploit it, we need to improve the implementation of the current agreement. The rules it provides must in particular be fully respected, without discrimination. However, we are of course ready to listen to concrete proposals according to the rules laid down in the agreement and on the basis of what we are already doing with other partners”.
As a reminder, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered, in October 2021, the revision of the association agreement with the EU “so as to allow Algeria to benefit from the customs exemptions that it provides”. “I think that the association agreement with the EU is the result of a weakness of the Algerian state. The EU is inevitable and the association agreement with this community is necessary for many reasons.
Nevertheless, any economic agreement must be mutually beneficial,” he stressed. The Head of State had also cited examples of clauses unfavorable to Algeria. “For example, the increase in customs taxes imposed on certain products benefits the producing country in order to be able to export, but a mainly importing country must review these provisions in order to strengthen its economy and launch production,” he said. noted.
