Andorra la VellaThe head of government, Xavier Espot, held a meeting this afternoon in Brussels with the executive vice-president of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, to discuss the state of progress of the aspects related to the Association Agreement. According to the representative of the European Commission, the deadlines initially planned for the completion of the legal review of the text will have to be extended. This fact, consequently, would also affect the date of the consultation to be held in Andorra. The executive vice-president of the Commission wanted to remember that this is a usual procedure for international texts of this scope.
“We had all considered a shorter calendar, but it is clear that an instrument like this, unique within the internal market, requires the right amount of time,” the head of government stressed. He also reported that the Executive Vice-President has been cautious and has not advanced any date for the completion of the process of concluding the Agreement, which will not take place until the reviews of the Council of the EU have been completed and have been validated by the Commission, Andorra and San Marino. At the same time, the 27 member states must also determine the legal nature of the Agreement (mixed or not).
“This delay does not at all affect the clear will of this Government to submit the draft Association Agreement to a popular consultation, which will be politically binding and which will allow the Andorrans to decide whether or not they want this agreement”, reaffirmed the Head of Government, Xavier Espot. He also recalled that the public consultation can only be organized on the basis of a definitive text.
The meeting is part of the schedule of regular meetings held by the head of government and the executive vice-president since the negotiations were concluded last December.