Algeria - Other International Organizations & Institutions
I. The relations between Algeria and European Union,
and the euro Mediterranean space
- The Algeria-EU Association Agreement:
The Association Agreement between Algeria and the European Union, signed in April 2002, entered into force on 1st September 2005. This agreement is comprehensive in nature, covering in the same time political, security, economy, trade, financial cooperation dimensions and humanitarian aspect of Algerian relations within European Union.
The Agreement established a common organizational structure at several levels, consisting of the Partnership Council, the Partnership Committee, seven sectoral subcommittees and an informal dialogue on migration and mobility issues. These bodies meet alternatively in Algiers and Brussels once a year. The Algerian and European sides also established two high-level dialogues on regional security, counter-terrorism and energy issues.
Within the framework of technical and financial cooperation, the two parties implement several cooperation and technical assistance programs, financed by the budget allocated by the European Union to Algeria.
These programs are designed, taking into account the national development priorities in economic, scientific, social and cultural issues. They aim to enable Algerian institutions and departments to raise the level and quality of their services in order to support the economic and social development, enhance the competitive capabilities of the national economy, improve the attractiveness of the national market to foreign investors, especially Europeans, the diversification of the national economy and promoting non-hydrocarbon exports…etc
Algeria is the third supplier of gas to the European Union, accounting for about 12% of its total imports of this energy.
On the trade front, the European Union remains Algeria's main trading partner with a volume of exchanges amounting to 37.3 billion dollars in 2021, compared to 28.2 billion dollars in 2020.These exchanges account about half of our foreign trade.
The Association Agreement reserves an important part for scientific cooperation between Algeria and EU. In this context, Algeria participates in several EU programs open to partner countries, such as ERASMUS+, H2020 program and Europe Horizon and PRIMA initiative.
Algeria and EU have also signed an Agreement on scientific and technological cooperation which aims to encourage, develop and facilitate the cooperation activities between the two parties in the field of technological development, in accordance with article 51 of the Association Agreement.
- Euro-Mediterranean space:
At the level of Euro-Mediterranean regional cooperation, Algeria attaches great importance to consolidating cooperation relations with its partners on both sides, whether within the framework of the Western Mediterranean 5 + 5 Dialogue or through its active participation in the activities of the Union for the Mediterranean, of which it is a founding member since 2008.
- Western Mediterranean Dialogue 5+5
Within the framework of the Western Mediterranean 5 + 5 Dialogue, which has been an important space for Algeria since the launch of its initiative in Rome in 1990, our country actively participates in various sectoral cooperation initiatives that culminated in holding several ministerial meetings in strategic and important areas, such as foreign affairs, defense, interior, Migration, and ministerial meetings dealing with cooperation in the economic field and in no less important sectors, such as the fields of energy, finance, investment, water and climate, ... etc.
The 5+5 Dialogue framework for the Western Mediterranean is characterized by its informal nature, as it does not have Headquarters or Secretariat, on the one hand, and the limited number of its members (5 from the north and 5 from the south), on the other hand, which allows for better coordination and more efficient and effective cooperation.
- Union for the Mediterranean
Algeria is a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) that was launched in 2008, in Paris, which includes 42 member States.
Algeria participates in most of the activities organized by the UfM Secretariat. In this regard, Algeria has participated in several sectoral UfM Ministerial Conferences whose main objective is to launch regional projects that will benefit the peoples of the Mediterranean.
Algeria's participation in the implementation of the development projects of the Union for the Mediterranean is limited to those involving the member States with which Algeria maintains normal relations.
- Parliamentary cooperation between Algeria and the European Union
The parliamentary dialogue between the Algerian Parliament (both Chambers) and the European Parliament dates back to nearly thirty years within the framework of the dialogue mechanism, this Parliamentary cooperation constitutes an important tributary to our country's diplomatic apparatus in that it contributes to the convergence of views with European partners and to the promotion of national positions on the most important international and regional issues. In this regard, Algerian parliamentarians participate in several frameworks for parliamentary dialogue with the European and Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assemblies.
- European Parliament
The parliamentary dialogue between the Algerian Parliament (both Chambers) and the European Parliament dates back to nearly thirty years of existence, which held 16 sessions alternately between Brussels and Algeria. This dialogue dealt with several areas of cooperation, including the political, economic and cultural aspects. This dialogue mechanism was upgraded, in June 2018, when the two parties agreed to establish a "Joint Parliamentary Committee" (CPM) consisting of 13 members of parliament from each side.
In addition to the dialogue with the European Parliament Algerian Parliamentarians participate regularly to the activities of the following parliamentary assemblies:
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (APM)
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (AP-UpM)
- Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Association (ARLEM)
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (APCE)
- Dialogue with NATO
Algeria joined the NATO Mediterranean Dialogue in March 2000 with the aim of participating in the implementation of collective security in the Mediterranean region according to a comprehensive and integrated approach with other Euro-Mediterranean initiatives on regional security.
Algeria views this dialogue as a factor of rapprochement and understanding between the member States of NATO and the countries of the southern Mediterranean to enhance security and stability in the region.
Algeria is working through targeted cooperation processes to deepen the Mediterranean dialogue of NATO with the aim of laying the foundations of collective security on the basis of the indivisibility of security in the Mediterranean, an approach that it has been defending since the Helsinki Conference of 1975.