6th Euromed Trade Ministerial Conference

Ministers agreed further that their overall objective remains the establishment of Euromed Free Trade Area by 2010 but they acknowledged that they are still far from achieving their final objective. They said that the aim should be to establish a free trade agreement which provides for significant and progressive liberalisation of trade in goods and services, contributes effectively to the sustainable development of the region, particularly in rural areas, and includes strong legally binding provisions on trade and economic regulatory areas.

They also agreed to start the drafting of a single regional convention on preferential rules of origin for the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean area in order to replace the current network of protocols. They agreed that this work will be undertaken by the Pan-Euro-Med working group.