A deeper Free Trade Area and its potential economic impact

This is the last of a series of ten papers jointly published by the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) which aim to address ten critical topics for Euro-Mediterranean relations. The papers have been commissioned with a view to formulating policy options on a set of issues which are central to achieving the objectives set out in the 1995 Barcelona Declaration and the 2008 Paris Declaration, as well as defining new targets for 2020 in the political, economic and social spheres.

This tenth paper focuses on one of the main objectives of Euro-Mediterranean policies: the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area. The paper analyses the commercial reciprocity between the Euro-Mediterranean partners in agricultural products and trade in services. Professor Alfred Tovias goes further and proposes the creation of a genuine Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area and examines the potential effects of a future liberalisation of agricultural products and services, namely the consequences in the labour and migration field. Finally, the author highlights a series of policy recommendations regarding Euro-Mediterranean trade relations.