Council greenlights EU deal with Andorra and San Marino
The Council authorised today the signature and provisional application of the agreement between the EU and Andorra and San Marino. The deal is a comprehensive association agreement covering several policy areas. It responds directly, on the one hand, to the EU’s objective of developing a special relationship with neighbouring countries and, on the other hand, to Andorra’s and San Marino’s stated interest in building closer relations with the EU.
I welcome this association agreement with Andorra and San Marino, which will pave the way for a stronger, mutually beneficial and forward-looking partnership. The agreement safeguards the EU’s single market and will provide legal certainty, benefit people and secure future prosperity across the region and Europe as a whole. (Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European affairs and defence of Ireland)
The association agreement includes the following key elements:
- the participation of the two countries to a homogenous extended internal market under equal conditions of competition and respect of the same rules as the rest of the EU
- financial services are also included: access to the internal market in this area will be progressive and will depend on a successful audit of the robustness of the two countries’ regulatory and supervisory frameworks, with a role for European Supervisory Authorities in the evaluation and monitoring
At the same time, the association agreement will establish a framework to develop and promote dialogue and cooperation in areas of common interest, such as research and development, education, social policy, the environment, consumer protection, culture or regional cooperation.
The agreement takes also into account the particular situation of Andorra and San Marino, as well as their specificities arising from their relations of proximity with their neighbouring EU member states, their geography, their size and their relatively small populations.
Next steps
Pre-signing of the mixed agreement by the member states is foreseen to take place in September. The European Commission will then sign the agreement on behalf of the EU. Following the signature, the Council will request the European Parliament’s consent before the file returns to the Council for the formal conclusion of the agreement.
Background
Based on the negotiating directives adopted by the Council in December 2014, the Commission opened negotiations on an association agreement with the Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco and the Republic of San Marino in 2015. In September 2023, Monaco and the Commission decided to suspend negotiations. However, negotiations continued with Andorra and San Marino and were successfully concluded in December 2023. On 26 April 2024, the Commission put forward its proposals for a Council decision on signing and provisional application and a Council decision on the conclusion of the agreement.
