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Agriculture in the Syrian-EU Association Agreement |
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The seminar, which was the first activity of the 2005 Agricultural Policy Forum promoted by the NAPC with the support of the FAO Project GCP/SYR/006/ITA, focused on the agriculture-related implications of the Syrian-EU Association Agreement initialed in Brussels on 19 October 2004 within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The Association Agreement (AA), whose terms were bilaterally negotiated by the EU Commission and the Syrian Government, has been submitted to the political authorities for final approval and ratification: it foresees the creation of a free trade area between the EU and Syria, contributing to the establishment of a larger Euro-Mediterranean area by the envisaged date of 2010. The most substantial provisions of the AA cover trade in goods and services, tariff dismantlement on agricultural products, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, intellectual property rights as well as dispute settlement mechanisms in line with WTO regulations. Mr El Hindi, sent to Brussels by the Syrian Government as agriculture negotiator, briefed the attendants on the agriculture-related aspects of the AA, with particular reference to raw and processed materials as well as fish products. With the support of the NAPC, Mr Hindi will follow up the developments of the agreement, expected to expand Syrian market access as well as to further develop cooperation between the country and Europe. |
A seminar on “Agriculture in the Syrian-EU Association Agreement”
was delivered by Mr Atieh El Hindi, Director of the National Agricultural Policy Center (NAPC), and Mr Loic Lallemand Zeller, EU Delegate in Syria, on 23 March 2005 at 10,00 at the Center’s premises.