EU trade relations with South-Mediterranean partners in times of crisis or conflict
Aboushady, Nora / Tommaso Emiliani / Nancy Ezzeddine / Amir Magdy KamelExternal Publications (2025)
Euromesco Policy Study No. 39, Barcelona: European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed)
The Barcelona Process, launched three decades ago, aimed to establish a shared space of peace and prosperity including Europe and its Southern and Eastern Mediterranean neighbours. The European Union (EU) primarily facilitates trade relations
with Southern Mediterranean Countries (SMCs) through Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements (AA), which promote economic integration across the Euro-Mediterranean region. After three decades of cooperation, however, the outcome of the partnership remains relatively modest. With a few country- and sector-specific exceptions, the partnership has not substantially helped SMCs upgrade their trade structures, move beyond traditional sectors, or undergo structural transformation. More importantly, Euro-Mediterranean trade is not always resilient to crises and shocks. This is because (1) trade remains relatively low, and (2) the agreements are not always designed to accommodate flexibility and crisis response. Specifically, EU-Mediterranean agreements have not evolved substantially beyond traditional trade liberalisation. These agreements recreate the “core and periphery” model, in which multiple bilateral agreements connect the EU as a bloc with individual SMCs.
Furthermore, these agreements are relatively shallow in terms of both sectoral coverage and trade policy. They largely focus on liberalising trade in manufactured goods, employing tariff reduction as the primary trade policy instrument. Critical
sectors, such as agriculture and services, are largely excluded, and policy coordination in non-trade-related areas is generally missing [...].
