Andorra la VellaThe head of government, Xavier Spotwent to Brussels this Tuesday to meet with the executive vice-president of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Economic Cooperation and Telecommunications of San Marino, Luca Beccari. The meeting was held a few days after the completion of the technical and legal review of the draft Association Agreement between Andorra, San Marino and the European Union, and with the aim, precisely, to symbolize the end of this stage and the start of the analysis phase of the text by the States. This fact has meant the publication of the English version of the agreement “Essential work to guarantee the coherence and future interpretation of the agreement”, the head of government emphasized during the joint press conference offered by the European Commission.
The translation of the text into the official languages of the EU, by the European Union, and into Catalan, by Andorra, will now begin. “Today’s political meeting allows us to make the content of the agreement available to all citizens”, said Xavier Espot, who pointed out that once the translation into Catalan is completed, communication events will be intensified even more and explanation of the text with the aim that the Andorran population has elements for the public consultation scheduled for next year.
In relation to the draft Agreement, the Head of Government has emphasized that it will allow “strengthening Andorra’s position at international level, granting nationals and companies new rights and opportunities linked to participation in the internal market”. With the bet for rapprochement with Europe, Espot has also highlighted that the Government has shown the will to “tighten ties with the EU” and has been convinced that the Agreement allows states with a small territorial dimension to develop an active role, as an associated state, in European construction.
The executive vice-president Maroš Šefčovič has also expressed himself in the same line, who has reiterated that the agreement reached is one of the most ambitious that the EU has granted to associated countries.
