The EURO-MEDITERRANEAN INTERIM ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT is an agreement on trade and cooperation, between the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The EU and the State of Palestine signed the agreement in Brussels on 24 February 1997.
It was signed in order to create a link between the European Union and the Palestinian people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with consideration for the common values that both groups share. Both parties wanted to establish lasting relations based on partnership and reciprocity.
The objectives of this Agreement were:
– To provide an appropriate framework for a comprehensive dialogue, allowing the development of close relations between the parties;
– To establish the conditions for the progressive liberalization of trade;
– To foster the development of balanced economic and social relations between the parties through dialogue and cooperation;
– To contribute to the social and economic development of the West Bank and Gaza Strip;
– To encourage regional cooperation with a view to the consolidation of peaceful coexistence and economic and political stability;
– To promote cooperation in other areas which are of reciprocal interest.
The agreement was made of several protocols and a Final Act:
- Protocol on the arrangements applying to imports of agricultural products originating from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip into the European Community
- Protocol on the arrangements applying to imports of agricultural products originating from the European Community into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
- Protocol concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation.
The Final Act consists of the Joint Declarations and the Declaration by the European Union.
References:
eur-lex.europa.eu. (n.d.). EUR-Lex – 21997A0716(01) – EN – EUR-Lex. [online] Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:21997A0716(01) [Accessed 23 Nov. 2022].
Europa.eu. (2022). EUR-Lex – 31997D0430 – EN – EUR-Lex. [online] Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A31997D0430 [Accessed 23 Nov. 2022].
Written by: Giudi Aligi
