TheEuropean Union-Mediterranean Free Trade Area (EU-MED FTA, EMFTA), also called theEuro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area orEuromed FTA, is based on theBarcelona Process andEuropean Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). TheBarcelona Process, developed after the Barcelona Conference in successive annual meetings, is a set of goals designed to lead to afree trade area in the Mediterranean Region and the Middle East.
ARegional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferentialRules of Origin was signed in June 2011 to allow identical rules of origin across the region. The convention covers the EU, theEFTA, theEU customs unions with third states (Turkey,Andorra,San Marino), theEU candidate states, the partners of theBarcelona Process and possibly at a later stage all of theEuropean Neighbourhood Policy partners.[1] The convention was in force from May 2012 and is the last step taken in the Barcelona Process so far.
TheAgadir Agreement of 2004 (FTA betweenJordan,Tunisia,Morocco,Egypt) was seen as its first building block. Further steps were envisioned into the European Neighbourhood policy (ENP) Action plans negotiated between theEuropean Union and the partner states on the southern shores of theMediterranean Sea, mostly withArab League member states.
The initial aim was to create a matrix ofFree Trade Agreements between each of the partners and the others. Then a single free trade area was to be formed, including theEuropean Union.
EU associated | OtherBarcelona Conference partners | Prospective partners | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||
| TurkeyCU | CU 1996 | FTA 1992 | FTA 2004 | FTA 2005 | FTA 2006 | FTA 2009 | FTA 2010 | FTA 2004 | FTA 1997 | FTA 2005 | ||||||
| Morocco | AA 2000 | FTA 1999 | FTA 2004 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | |||
| Algeria | AA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | |||||
| Tunisia | AA 1998 | FTA 2005 | FTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | |||
| Egypt | AA 2004 | FTA 2006 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | ||||
| Jordan | AA 2002 | FTA 2002 | FTA 2009 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | |||
| Lebanon | AA 2006 | FTA 2005 | FTA 2010 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | FTA 2002,GAFTA 2005 | |||
| Syria | AA | FTA 2004 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | ||||
| Israel | AA 2000 | FTA 1993 | FTA 1997 | CU 1994 | ||||||||||||
| PA | AA 1997 | FTA 1999 | FTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | CU 1994 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | ||
| Libya | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | ||||||
| GCC | FTA | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | |||||
| Mauritania | ||||||||||||||||
| Iraq | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | FTA 2002,GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | GAFTA 2005 | ||||||
