A trade agreement between Tunisia and EU is imperative - Alfred Sant

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant told the European Parliament that a trade agreement between the EU and Tunisia is imperative. Not because sensational events of the recent past must be repeated. But because in the creation of convergent institutions north and south of the Mediterranean, Tunisia occupies a principal role.

Dr Sant, reacting to a proposed trade agreement between the EU and Tunisia, said there should be consensus  on this agreement, beneficial to both sides. Convergence of institutions is an interactive process which cannot be finalised overnight. Believing that convergence will happen just as a result of rapprochement with Europe, is an illusion.

The arrangements by which we try to detail the tax systems that Tunisian authorities should apply, can serve to undermine Tunisia's flexibility to enhance its endowments and attract direct investment. The institutions at north and south of the Mediterranean, still do not converge, are still incompatible. This is not like judging whether institutions of the north or of the south are "best". This is a question of saying things as they are.

 "However across the divide of those signing the agreement, institutionally and economically, we are not operating at the same level. In agriculture, what trading concessions we concede to Tunisia, weak though they seem from the south of the Mediterranean, are perceived from the north as undermining the livelihood of farmers." concluded Dr. Sant.

Following the terrorist attacks of 18 March 2015 in Tunis and 26 June 2015 in Sousse, tourist arrivals in Tunisia dropped substantially, hitting the already struggling economy hard, and the EU Council announced that it wants to take exceptional and temporary measures to support the Tunisian economy.  The EU Commission proposed, as an emergency measure, to expand the duty-free quota for Tunisian olive oil imports by 35,000 tonnes annually, over a period of two years. Olive oil is Tunisia's main agricultural export, and one-fifth of its total agricultural workforce depending on olive oil production.

from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/1RrfLrp
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