EU en Algerije willen betrekkingen verbeteren (en)
In Luxembourg on Tuesday the EU and Algeria held their fifth political dialogue meeting since the Association Agreement came into force in 2005.
The meeting was chaired by Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation, Miguel Angel Moratinos, and his Algerian counterpart, Mourad Medelci.
The two sides assessed the political, economic and human aspects of the past five years of relations, and agreed to "work with more ambition and greater commitment" to strengthen that relationship, as stated by Minister Moratinos at the end of the meeting.
With regard to the development of political dialogue, both sides issued a very positive appraisal and stressed the multiplicity of meetings at different levels that take place regularly in Brussels, in Algiers and in international forums. In this context, they agreed to establish a subcommittee for dialogue devoted to security and human rights.
As for the economic, trade and financial aspects, the Spanish Presidency of the EU noted the efforts made towards trade diversification, while the Algerian side stressed the work carried out to dismantle tariffs and pointed to the need for more stable European investment in their country (the EU-Algeria Association Agreement envisages the creation of a free trade area in 2017).
The two sides decided to jointly examine how they can improve economic and financial relations, and to that end agreed to hold two seminars between now and year's end, which will aim to identify problems and seek solutions.
As regards the human aspect, they discussed how the two societies may best develop within a community of interests through the free movement of people, visa policy and readmission agreements for undocumented immigrants.
Other issues of common interest were addressed, such as the economic crisis, institutional changes in the EU entailed in the Treaty of Lisbon, and regional and international challenges they must face together, including combating terrorism and establishing a security zone in the Sahel, the preparation of the Euro-Mediterranean and EU-Africa summits scheduled for November, the peace process in the Middle East and other issues relating to the Maghreb and Western Sahara.