Syria asks to delay signing of EU partnership agreement

Oct 18, 2009, 16:30 GMT

Damascus - Syria on Sunday asked to postpone the signing of an economic partnership agreement with the European Union, following disputes over provisions covering human-rights and political reform.

At a press conference in Damascus, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah al-Dardari said his country needed 'more time to study the ... agreement,' calling the 20-day period he said the EU had proposed for consideration 'inadequate.'

Syria had been due to sign the agreement, which would pave the way for its full participation in the European Neighbourhood Policy, in Luxembourg on October 26.

All other countries along the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean have signed similar agreements with the European Union.

Syrian and EU diplomats drafted an agreement in 2004, but negotiations snagged over provisions introduced by the Netherlands making 'respect for human rights ... one of the essential elements' of the agreement.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem has repeatedly raised objections to those provisions, calling them 'political conditions.'

Relations between the European Union and Syria are now governed by a more limited cooperation agreement signed in 1997. The European Union has allocated Syria more than 280 million euros of aid since 1995.

A broader agreement would bring about closer political, security and economic cooperation between Syria and members of the European Union.