The negotiations between the European Union and Monaco on a prospective Association Agreement have been long in the making. Now, the government has presented the findings of a report that considers the potential economic, legal and political impacts of such an accord.
For the past eight years, Monaco and the European Union (EU) have been slowly hashing out details for an Association Agreement, which would effectively make Monaco part of the internal market.
This seems straightforward enough, but there are concerns for the Monegasque regime over certain sovereignty issues given “its unique geographical, demographic and economic features”, according to government sources.
To gain a clear picture of the overall situation, Monaco’s government commissioned a prospectus on the economic, legal and political consequences – positive and negative – that an agreement with the EU could have on the Principality. Also considered in the study was a “possible failure of the negotiations in progress with the European Union”.
The government tasked the August Debouzy and Accuracy law firms and advisory services with the production of the report.
Two of the resulting documents, a summary report and an economic report, were presented at a meeting on Tuesday 25th that included numerous members of the Monegasque government, Monaco’s High Commissioner for European Affairs, Isabelle Costa, and Minister of State Pierre Dartout.
A WAY FORWARD?
In thanking August Debouzy and Accuracy for their work, as well as the team acting under the leadership of Costa, Dartout said, “We must continue to make progress in the negotiations that we are carrying out with the European Commission, while being more vigilant than ever on the issues that are essential for the Principality.”
Caution on the Monegasque side is tempered with a spirit of open-mindedness, though with little room for give when it comes to protection on certain internal matters.
The EU and Monaco are in accord on several points, such as human rights, security, multilateralism, climate and environment, and a rules-based international order.
Some sticking point remain, however, as explained in a Monaco Life article on the Principality’s current EU status.
The EU, for its part, also has ideas on how an agreement would look.
Statements previously made by EU spokespeople in relation to the Association Agreement include: “The European Union and the Principality of Monaco are like-minded close neighbours, sharing history, culture and language and have signed several agreements of cooperation. Since 2015, the EU and Andorra, Monaco, San Marino are negotiating an Association Agreement on their participation in the EU internal market. This would be a far-reaching agreement to be compared only with the European Economic Area Agreement with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.”
The full reports are available to download here.
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Photo credit: Stephane Danna / Monaco Communications Department