EU, Syria move closer to signing association agreement

Nov 25, 2008, 18:41 GMT

Brussels - The European Union and Syria on Tuesday moved closer to signing an Association Agreement, which will eventually grant the Middle Eastern country access to the bloc's neighbourhood funds.

At a meeting in Brussels, officials from the European Commission and Syria said they had agreed on a series of technical updates to the agreement, which was initialled in 2004 but subsequently frozen as a result of the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The update takes into account the latest developments in Syria, as well as the fact that the EU has expanded to accommodate two new member states, Bulgaria and Romania, since the start of the talks.

EU external affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner singled out Syria's decision to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon and to hold indirect peace talks with Israel as 'recent positive developments' in the country's regional policy.

'The two sides ... agreed to meet again in Damascus on 14 December to initial the updated text, with a view to submitting it to their respective authorities for consideration and subsequent signature,' the EU commission said in a statement.

The EU already has such Association Agreements in place with all of its Mediterranean partners, expect Syria and Libya.

The text must now be endorsed by the EU's 27 national governments before it can be signed some time 'in the near future', officials said.

Once it comes into force, it will allow Syria to access EU funds and sign cooperation and trade agreements.