MEDITERRANEAN FREE TRADE ZONE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN - WHERE DO WE ARE?

The Free Trade Area (FTA) is trans-national geographic area in which they are culled from all the countries participating in the trade barriers that prevent or restrict the free movement of goods.
Worldwide there are already free trade areas, such as Mercosur in South America and NAFTA in North America. But there is also the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) in Europe.

The creation of an FTA in the Mediterranean basin was established during the Ministerial Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona in November 1995 providing for the implementation in stages by 2010, through agreements to trade, tariff and customs between the EU and Mediterranean countries (PTM) and PTM between them, to remove obstacles to free movement of goods, take measures to liberalize trade in services and allow the free establishment of foreign companies, facilitate technology transfer and increase the efficiency of production .
A study conducted by the Institut de la Méditerranée stated that the FTA would lead to a growth of maritime traffic by over 16% compared to the evolution trend.
Already, the European Union is the main maritime partner for a large number of MNCs, particularly those of the Maghreb (Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya).
Italy, in particular, it ranks third after Germany and France in trade between the Mediterranean and EU countries.
The Mediterranean third countries represent a market of over 250 million consumers, a fast-growing market and its proximity to Italy.
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership created by the Barcelona Declaration, adopted in 1995 by the then fifteen EU member states and twelve countries of the south and east shores of the Mediterranean (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority) provides extensive collaboration, extending beyond the strictly economic sphere to include areas such as security policy and human rights.
Under the FTA, will be eliminated duties and taxes for almost all industrial products, whether from the European countries than Mediterranean partners. But does not arise from free trade in agricultural products, while the gap between North and South of the Mediterranean to Europe's advantage.
the European Union with the establishment of the FTA would take a leading role in global geopolitical balance, with an 'increased influence from the free movement of goods, services and capital. The FTA would put Europe in a position of equality, as areas of influence, with the U.S. that already dominate the American Free Trade Area (FTAA).
To say free trade will be phased-out tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in manufactured products, while trade in agricultural products will be progressively liberalized through reciprocal preferential access among the parties.
For issues related to the maritime sector, we note that:
- Member countries are committed to the principles of international maritime law and, in particular, the freedom to provide services in international transport and free access to international cargoes
- They will tend the harmonization of customs rules and procedures in the field;
- Elimination of unwarranted technical barriers to trade in agricultural and related measures relating to phytosanitary and veterinary standards and other legislation on foodstuffs;
- To create interoperable, efficient transport routes between the EU and its Mediterranean partners, as well as between them, and free market access for services in international maritime transport;
- To preserve fish stocks and Mediterranean environmental, you endorsed a policy of joint action to promote fish farming and the efficient control of marine pollution;
However, the proposed Free Trade Area is perceived, especially in the MNCs, as an option is not completely "free", given the 'exclusion of the free movement of people and agricultural products from the PTM.
There are concerns due to imbalances in socio-economic and commercial relations between the two realities that will be published in future FTAs, which will have to live in EU countries, that is the largest shopping complex on the planet, with a global exchange of approximately 40% of world trade and 10 PTM with trade amounting to about 2% of world trade.
With the exception of Syria and Algeria, benefited from exports of 'hydrocarbons, trade balances of PTM are all in deficit.
Libya is the only country to which Italy is the main provider, but the land of Gaddafi is the only coastal state to be excluded from the agreements in Barcelona because of an embargo which hit Italian exports to this country.
In the Euro-Mediterranean FTA, will gather the 10 PTM with a population of 250 million inhabitants and a 27-EU 's with 495 million inhabitants, the two demographic realities have strong differences of GDP per capita, ranging from € 2,850 / year of a Moroccan to 59,700 of Luxembourg.
GDP per capita so low is synonymous with a very weak purchasing power that makes non attractive those markets and encourage young people to emigrate to Europe.
In addition, the strong population increase in 2025, according to UN projections, will bring the population to 328 million of the 10 MNCs. result in the formation of a vast area of social exclusion, made up of millions of young people not having work locally attempted to emigrate to Europe. A huge problem that only an 'effective action for cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean can be avoided.
The European Parliament resolution of 19 February 2009 on the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean, has reiterated the necessity of renewing and deepening of relations between the EU and Mediterranean partner countries, but also highlighted the limitations and shortcomings of policies implemented to date and, in particular the disappointing of the Barcelona Process.
It noted that the closer relations between the EU and Mediterranean countries have seen an important increase in trade between those countries without, however, these increases were not accompanied by the necessary upgrading and modernization of the infrastructure.
He shared the choice to improve a multilateral framework by identifying a number of major projects to be implemented using the new tools of the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean (Euromed hours), noting, however, the lack of integration strategies economic and territorial cohesion within the Mediterranean basin to support those projects.
In short, something has been done, but the targets set for 2010 have not been fully achieved.

Rear Adm. (CG) r. Franco MAGAZZU '

La Spezia, January the 15th 2011