Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
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The Euro-Mediterranean free trade area (EU-MEFTA) is based on the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The Barcelona Process, developed after the Barcelona Conference in successive annual meetings, is a set of goals designed to lead to a free trade area in the Middle East by 2010.
It is envisioned that a FTA with Rules of Origin with Pan-Euro-Mediterranean cumulation will be created. It will cover the EU, the EFTA, the EU customs unions with third states (Turkey, Andorra, San Marino), the EU candidate states, the partners of the Barcelona Process and possibly at a later stage all of the European Neighbourhood Policy partners. [1].
The Agadir Agreement of 2004 (FTA between Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt) is seen as its first building block. Further steps are envisioned into the ENP Action plans negotiated between the European Union and the partner states on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon is currently in negotiations to join Agadir.
The initial aim is to create a matrix of Free Trade Agreements between each of the partners and the others. Then a single free trade area is to be formed, including the European Union.
The Agadir Agreement is seen also as a stepping stone to the formation of a Great Arab Free Trade Area [2]. The Arab League has recently announced that the Agadir Organization is expected to include all 22 Arab Members to finish with an Arab Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) by 2015, and expects the Arab League to become a powerful Economic Organization by 2025.[citation needed]
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[edit] Partners
[edit] Prospective partners
- Syria
- Libya (member of the Arab Maghreb Union)
- Gulf Cooperation Council
- Iraq
- Mauritania (member of the Arab Maghreb Union)
[edit] FTA Progress
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| EU | FTA 1973 | CU 1996 | AA 2000 | AA 2005 | AA 1998 | AA 2004 | AA 2002 | AA 2006 | AA | AA 2000 | AA 1997 | FTA | |||||
| EFTA | FTA 1973 | FTA 1992 | FTA 1999 | FTA 2005 | FTA 2002 | FTA 2005 | FTA 1993 | FTA 1999 | |||||||||
| Turkey CU | CU 1996 | FTA 1992 | ? | FTA 2005 | FTA 2006 | ? | ? | ? | FTA 1997 | FTA 2005 | |||||||
| Morocco | AA 2000 | FTA 1999 | ? | Agadir 2004 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir | ||||||||||
| Algeria | AA 2005 | FTA | |||||||||||||||
| Tunisia | AA 1998 | FTA 2005 | FTA 2005 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir | ||||||||||
| Egypt | AA 2004 | FTA 2006 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir | ? | ||||||||||
| Jordan | AA 2002 | FTA 2002 | ? | Agadir 2004 | FTA | Agadir 2004 | Agadir 2004 | Agadir | FTA | FTA | FTA | FTA 1 | FTA | ||||
| Lebanon | AA 2006 | FTA 2005 | ? | Agadir | Agadir | Agadir | Agadir | FTA 2005 | FTA 2002 | ||||||||
| Syria | AA | ? | FTA | ? | |||||||||||||
| Israel | AA 2000 | FTA 1993 | FTA 1997 | CU 1994 | |||||||||||||
| PA | AA 1997 | FTA 1999 | FTA 2005 | FTA | CU 1994 | ||||||||||||
| Libya | FTA | ||||||||||||||||
| GCC | FTA | FTA 1 | FTA 2005 | ||||||||||||||
| Mauritania | |||||||||||||||||
| Iraq | ? | FTA | FTA 2002 | ? | |||||||||||||
| SADR | |||||||||||||||||
1 So far are concluded FTAs with Kuwait and Bahrain.
██ instrument and year of entry into force ██ instrument and year of provisional entry into force ██ in negotiations ██ no diplomatic relations with Israel or SADR
[edit] Comparison with other regional blocs
| Regional bloc 1 |
Area (km²) | Population | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member states 1 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in millions | per capita | ||||
| EU | 3,977,487 | 460,124,266 | 11,723,816 | 25,480 | 25 |
| CARICOM | 462,344 | 14,565,083 | 64,219 | 4,409 | 14+1 3 |
| ECOWAS | 5,112,903 | 251,646,263 | 342,519 | 1,361 | 15 |
| CEMAC | 3,020,142 | 34,970,529 | 85,136 | 2,435 | 6 |
| EAC | 1,763,777 | 97,865,428 | 104,239 | 1,065 | 3 |
| CSN | 17,339,153 | 370,158,470 | 2,868,430 | 7,749 | 10 |
| GCC | 2,285,844 | 35,869,438 | 536,223 | 14,949 | 6 |
| SACU | 2,693,418 | 51,055,878 | 541,433 | 10,605 | 5 |
| COMESA | 3,779,427 | 118,950,321 | 141,962 | 1,193 | 5 |
| NAFTA | 21,588,638 | 430,495,039 | 12,889,900 | 29,942 | 3 |
| ASEAN | 4,400,000 | 553,900,000 | 2,172,000 | 4,044 | 10 |
| SAARC | 5,136,740 | 1,467,255,669 | 4,074,031 | 2,777 | 8 |
| Agadir | 1,703,910 | 126,066,286 | 513,674 | 4,075 | 4 |
| EurAsEC | 20,789,100 | 208,067,618 | 1,689,137 | 8,118 | 6 |
| CACM | 422,614 | 37,816,598 | 159,536 | 4,219 | 5 |
| PARTA | 528,151 | 7,810,905 | 23,074 | 2,954 | 12+2 3 |
| Reference blocs and countries 2 |
Area (km²) | Population | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Political divisions |
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| in millions | per capita | ||||
| UN | 133,178,011 | 6,411,682,270 | 55,167,630 | 8,604 | 192 |
| Brazil | 8,514,877 | 187,560,000 | 1,576,728 | 8,584 | 27 |
| Canada | 9,984,670 | 32,507,874 | 1,077,000 | 34,273 | 13 |
| Germany | 357,050 | 82,438,000 | 2,521,699 | 30,579 | 16 |
| Japan | 377,873 | 128,085,000 | 3,910,728 | 35,757 | 47 |
| China (PRC) 4 | 9,596,960 | 1,306,847,624 | 8,182,000 | 6,300 | 33 |
| India | 3,287,590 | 1,102,600,000 | 3,433,000 | 3,400 [1] | 35 |
| Russia | 17,075,200 | 143,782,338 | 1,589,000 | 8,900 | 89 |
| USA | 9,631,418 | 296,900,571 | 11,190,000 | 39,100 | 50 |
| 1 Including data only for full and most active members 2 The first five states in the World by area, population and GDP (PPP) regions administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan). ██ smallest value among the blocs compared ██ largest value among the blocs compared During 2004. Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database |
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