San Marino Eu Association Agreement

16. Dezember 2020

Report on a recommendation from the European Parliament to the Council, to the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the Association Agreement between the European Union and Monaco, Andorra and San Marino, 11 February 2019 Press release of the Council of the European Union on the adoption of the negotiating mandate for one or more association agreements with the European Union of 16 December 2014 however, it has an open border with the EU, although some random police checks are carried out, and has a customs union with the EU (since 1991, including agricultural products since 2002). [1] [2] San Marino and the EU have also reached an agreement on the taxation of savings. [1] The Council`s conclusions represent a significant breakthrough in relations between San Marino and the EU, as they strengthen the political will to start negotiations for the implementation of an association agreement that would allow San Marino to become more integrated into the European internal market. Today, in a more globalised and troubled international context, small European states face more complex challenges: this situation has demonstrated the need for a new model of relations with the EU, which aims to move beyond the status of `third countries` which today constitutes more than in the past a limit for development. For these reasons, San Marino, Andorra and Monaco, with different timetables and assumptions, have taken independent paths to overcome this condition and reach an agreement with the European Union that could guarantee greater integration into the internal market. Since membership of the EEA is currently only open to EFTA or EU member states, the agreement of existing EFTA Member States is necessary to allow micro-states to join the EEA without becoming EU members. In 2011, the then Norwegian Foreign Minister, who is an EFTA member state, stated that the accession of micro-states to EFTA-EEA was not the appropriate mechanism for their integration into the internal market because of their different requirements as large countries such as Norway, and suggested that a simplified association was better suited to them. [6] Espen Barth Eide`s successor, Espen Barth Eide, responded at the end of 2012 to the Commission`s report on whether micro-states had sufficient administrative capacity to fulfil the obligations arising from EEA membership. However, he stated that Norway was open to the possibility of micro-states joining EFTA if they decided to apply and had not made a final decision on the matter. [7] [8] [9] [10] Pascal Schafhauser, Liechtenstein`s EU mission adviser, said that Liechtenstein, another EFTA member state, was ready to discuss the accession of micro-states to the EEA, provided that their accession did not interfere with the organisation`s functioning. However, he suggested considering the option of direct membership in non-EFTA and EU micro-states. [9] In general, the EU, in its agreements with third countries, aims to ensure a balance between benefits and obligations.