Lebanon and the European Union (EU) may sign an economic association agreement before the end of July, an EU official said on Monday.
But Lebanonese Economy and Trade Minister Basil Fuleihan, fresh from an intensive round of negotiations with the European Union, declined Monday to commit to the deadline, said the Daily Star newspaper.
“I will not commit to a date because I do not want to be pressured,” Fuleihan told reporters in an informal chat on Monday, “but we have achieved significant and substantial progress in our negotiations with the EU.”
The EU-Lebanese association agreement mainly covers the phasing out of tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods.
Negotiations over the liberalization of services have been postponed until Lebanon starts talks with the World Trade Organization by the end of the year, said the paper.
The EU-Lebanese association agreement is part of the Euro-Med economic partnership to create a free trade zone among the 15-member EU and 12 Mediterranean countries by 2010.
Rene Milas, charge d’affaires at the European delegation in Lebanon, said that Lebanon and the EU were close to concluding the six-year talks as early as July.
“The negotiations are very close to conclusion,” said Milas.
“The agreement should be signed before summer, preferably before the end of July, when the EU breaks for summer recess. Only small details pertaining to text details remain.”
“We should sign directly and start necessary steps for ratifying the agreement very quickly,” he added.
Fuleihan returned from Brussels last Thursday, concluding the latest round of negotiations that saw a breakthrough in the contentious field of agriculture, which had delayed the negotiations since their start in 1995.
But Fuleihan said outstanding issues pertaining to tariff reductions on agriculture goods and country of origin rules still needed fine-tuning and could prolong the negotiation process.
“We are not in a hurry to sign this agreement to get a fat aid check from the EU,” said Fuleihan, referring to the amount of aid that could be expected out of the agreement. “We want to finalize this agreement to open new markets for Lebanon.” – Albawaba.com
