The Association Council between Algeria and the European Union will hold a session in Brussels on Monday discussing recent developments. Meanwhile, report on the state of EU-Algeria relations was published saying that between March 2017 and April 2018, the EU and Algeria demonstrated their desire to deepen their political dialogue and cooperation in all partnership areas.
During the recent stage, dialogue has been stepped up through many high-level visits, in particular in the sectors of security, fight against terrorism, and energy. Progress has also been achieved in numerous areas ranging from justice, agriculture and fisheries to research and civil protection, in a bilateral or regional framework.
High Representative Vice-President Federica Mogherini indicated that since the March 2017 Association Council, relations have been stepped up on both bilateral and regional questions, and asserted the partnership is progressing and consolidating.
"We are also building a relationship of trust with regard to security, aimed at regional stability and the fight against terrorism, to the benefit of our citizens," she indicated.
Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiation Johannes Hahn stated that EU is ready to continue support for reforms, in particular those aimed at diversifying the Algerian economy.
"We are confident that the EU support will help to improve the business climate and develop entrepreneurship. It is in Algeria's interest and in the EU's interest too. We hope that this cooperation, which is aimed at strengthening the Algerian economy, will help us to overcome our trade differences and will pave the way to more European investment that will create jobs in the country," asserted Hahn.
The report identifies the progress made by Algeria and the European Union in the areas of mutual interest identified by their Partnership Priorities since they were adopted in March 2017 including: governance and fundamental rights, socio-economic development and trade, energy, environment and climate change, as well as strategic and security dialogue, and the human dimension, migration and mobility.
In December, Algeria and the EU indicated they were satisfied with the implementation of the various phases of the program to support the implementation of their partnership agreement launched in 2009.
During a forum dedicated to presenting the outcome of the first half of the third phase and launching the fourth phase of this program, Minister of Industry and Investment Mohammed ben Moradi, Director of Cooperation with the European Union and European bodies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ali Maqrani, and Head of EU Delegation to Algeria John O'rourke agreed that the results of this program were "convincing".
Ben Moradi said launching the fourth phase of the program voices the joint will to promote dialogue and rapprochement between the two parties.
For his part, Maqrani explained that the program was "very important" given the technical support programs made between the parties.
The two sides agreed that EU would become Algeria's first economic partner, particularly in investment, but trade has dominated bilateral relations in favor of the EU.
O'rourke said that the positive results achieved by the program so far encouraged both sides to start a new phase. He further highlighted the various projects implemented in the framework of partnership and revealed other projects being finalized in several sectors, such as higher education and national security. He expressed EU’s will to work with Algeria to diversify its economy.
Concerning the next phase of the program, O'rourke explained that the social and economic developments of Algeria should undergo concrete initiatives and proposals aimed at creating jobs, modernizing the labor market and strengthening the technical and organizational capacities of the country.
