Pedro González / Atalayar
Relations between the European Union and Algeria are certainly not at their best. On Friday, the EU initiated dispute settlement proceedings against the North African country, whose authorities have been asked to hold consultations to address restrictions imposed on EU exports and investments.
These restrictions were put in place in 2021, and were subsequently aggravated following the diplomatic conflict with Spain, which was motivated by the Spanish government’s turnaround on the Sahara. The EU considers that, by imposing these trade restrictive measures, ‘Algeria is not respecting its trade liberalisation commitments’ under the EU-Algeria Association Agreement, signed in 2002 and in force since 2005.
Although the initiation of the procedure in itself represents the friction between the two parties, the EU prefers to appeal to its desire to “engage constructively with Algeria”, noting that the consultations that are expected to take place will result in the elimination of restrictions that affect various market sectors, from agricultural products to motor vehicles. In particular, the European Commission denounces “a system of import licensing by Algeria that has the effect of an import ban”. In addition, Algiers has imposed a subsidy conditionality on the use of local inputs for car manufacturers, as well as a limit on foreign ownership for companies importing goods into Algeria.
The Commission’s trade spokesman, Olof Gill, during a press conference, avoided referring to the dispute as an extension of the Spain-Algeria dispute, pointing to the EU as a whole as being harmed by the restrictions imposed by Algeria. However, Spain is one of the countries most affected, as the North African country has closed the import of marble and ceramics products, one of the main aspects of trade between the two countries, and has imposed specific restrictions on the movement of capital with Spain.
Despite the fine words of the EU spokesperson, it is clear that the initiation of this procedure by the EU against Algeria demonstrates that efforts to resolve disputes amicably have been unsuccessful. When the EU takes such action, it always justifies it with the aim of protecting the rights of EU exporters and companies operating in the country complained of, in this case Algeria, and which are being seriously harmed. In European eyes, the measures adopted by the government of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune also harm Algerian consumers, who have an “unduly restricted supply of products”.
The EU is so far Algeria’s largest trading partner and accounts for the largest share of Algeria’s international trade (50.6 per cent in 2023). But, total EU exports have only decreased from €22.3 billion in 2015 to €14.9 billion in 2023. In the case of Spain, the value of exports to Algeria in the first quarter of 2022 was 472.9 million euros, compared to just 245 million euros in the same period of 2024.
This is the second procedure that the EU has initiated against Algeria since the Association Agreement entered into force. In the not so distant 2020 Algiers unilaterally imposed various tariffs in addition to banning the import of cars. Talks were held between the two sides and a satisfactory agreement was reached. The EU advocates that the same should happen now, but if a solution is not reached, Brussels would request the constitution of an arbitration commission, a step that would clearly show the impossibility of reaching an amicable agreement.
© This article was originally published in Atalayar, with whose permission we reproduce it
