Global Arab Network | Visiting EU Commissioner underlines close ties with Tunisia

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Visiting EU Commissioner underlines close ties with Tunisia

- Reda Darwish

Monday, 29 March 2010 23:31

European Commissioner for Enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle is on his first visit to Tunisia from 29-30 March. A Commission press release said he would meet several Tunisian ministers and hold a news conference on 30 March.

The Commissioner underlined his desire to strengthen relations between the EU and Tunisia: “The links between Tunisia and the EU are strong. I am convinced that we can further develop our bilateral relations, helped in by a number of positive factors, and in particular the stability enjoyed by the region. I intend to give a new impulse to our relations by working on the basis of the reciprocal trust and understanding that we enjoy in view of a constructive and ambitious dialogue looking towards the future.”

Tunisia was the first country of the southern Mediterranean to sign an Association Agreement with the EU in 1995, establishing cooperation in the political, economic, social, scientifici and cultural fields, and in the long term aiming towards a free trade zone between the parties.

In 2008, €73 million were allocated to support the implementation of the Action Plan agreed with Tunisia.

At the Association Council meeting in November 2008, Tunisia expressed interest in a strengthened partnership in the same spirit as the Advanced Status with Morocco. The EU has indicated its willingness to work actively on this.

In the same year, Tunisia managed progress in a large number of cooperation areas foreseen in the Action Plan: in particular, the economic, social and statutory reforms registered important progress and can be explained by the strong growth of the country’s economy and its exchanges with the EU. There was also an intensification of the EU-Tunisia dialogue within the framework of the various sub-committees and the working groups. Negotiations on the liberalisation of services and freedom of establishment began in March 2008, as did talks on the liberalisation of trade in agricultural products.

Global Arab Network

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