Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

A political agreement reached last night in Brussels between European Parliament negotiators and the Danish Presidency, on behalf of the EU member states, regarding the new Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), was announced. A statement from the Socialists and Democrats group said, "The GSP is the EU's main trade policy instrument for supporting developing countries by unilaterally raising or lowering import duties on goods exported from their economies." The statement, a copy of which we received, added, "After four years of negotiations, the updated GSP will be more effective for more than 60 developing countries, contributing to economic growth, promoting sustainable development, strengthening good governance, and supporting poverty reduction. The revised framework expands sustainability requirements, notably by incorporating the Paris Agreement, and strengthens incentives for partner countries to respect human and labor rights."

For the Socialists and Democrats group, one of the main priorities throughout the negotiations was preventing the misuse of the GSP as a tool for migration management. The European Commission's initial proposal risked introducing readmission cooperation as a criterion for withdrawing trade preferences. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Progressive and Socialist Alliance negotiators, the final agreement ensures that any readmission review will be a last resort, subject to clear safeguards and rigorous procedures. Furthermore, the European Parliament will gain a stronger oversight role and greater access to essential information.

This outcome preserves the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) as it should be: a development tool that supports sustainable economic growth.

The provisional agreement reached last night still requires formal approval from both the European Parliament and the Council. Bernd Lange, the European Parliament's rapporteur on this issue, said:

"The renewed GSP clearly has a distinct imprint on special and differential treatment: we have added several international human rights and environmental conventions to the list of international treaties that participating countries must ratify. Thanks to our perseverance during numerous rounds of negotiations, we have managed to negotiate a series of stricter criteria that must be met before GSP preferential tariffs are withdrawn from countries that continue to fail to cooperate on the readmission of irregular migrants. With today's agreement, we are sending a clear message to two billion people in more than 60 countries: in this climate of rising geopolitical tensions, nationalism, and protectionism, the EU is committed to being a reliable, dependable, and consistent partner." Raphaël Glucksmann, Shadow Rapporteur for the Social Democratic Alliance, added: “After more than four years of hard work, we finally have a new regulation for the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The new system will be a greater incentive for change in beneficiary countries, strengthening sustainability efforts. This reform brings more transparency and accountability and strengthens the role of civil society.” The statement concluded: “The EU GSP gives developing countries access to the EU market with low or zero tariffs, boosting their exports and supporting poverty reduction efforts. The EU GSP has existed since 1971, and its last reform was in 2014. The existing system was extended pending agreement on this updated regulation.”