Mediterranean
Relations with the 12 Mediterranean countries with which the EU has association or cooperation agreements are being relaunched on the basis of a partnership declaration adopted by both sides in Barcelona in November 1995. This lays the basis for closer political cooperation and the EU's broadly-based efforts to promote development in the Mediterranean region which include industrial cooperation, encouraging direct investment and creating networks between universities and other social institutions
The declaration also sets the ambitious target of a free trade zone by 2010 between the Union and the Mediterranean countries represented in Barcelona: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian autonomous territories, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta.
Countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs)
The collapse of communism led to a surge in the relations between the Union and most of the CEECs, including the signing of association agreements, the so-called 'Europe Agreements'. Currently, there are nine such agreements. Six are in force involving Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, while those with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are awaiting ratification (a tenth has been initialled with Slovenia).
These agreements give the signatories associate status and cover both political and economic relations. They establish regular and intensive political dialogue, progressive economic integration and financial assistance. They are of unlimited duration and allow the CEECs up to 10 years to remove economic and commercial barriers, while Union restrictions on the import of their industrial goods was removed by 1 January 1995 with some exemptions.
Russia
The EU is Russia's largest trading partner by far, accounting for close to 40% of the latter's foreign trade. When the Russian and EU national parliaments have finally ratified it, future political and economic relations will be governed by a partnership and cooperation agreement signed in 1994. This establishes a political dialogue at all levels, regulates the trade in nuclear fuels, allows free EU investment in Russia with full repatriation of profits, liberalizes the activities of foreign banks in Russia, removes all EU quotas on Russian exports apart from certain textile and steel products and allows temporary Russian quotas on some EU imports.
At their meeting in Madrid in December 1995, the European Council asserted that good relations between the EU and a democratic Russia 'are essential to stability in Europe'. The Heads of State or Government said the EU would:
contribute to Russia's democratic reforms;
support Russia's economic reforms, her integration into the international economy, the development of trade and investment and the necessary conditions for the future establishment of a free trade area between Russia and the EU;
take into account Russia's concerns about NATO enlargement;
support peaceful settlement of disputes in the CIS area.
TACIS: the EU's future relationship with Russia is being vitally shaped by the TACIS programme, designed to help her make the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy. TACIS projects involve, among other things, help in the restructuring of State enterprises and private sector development, reform of public administration, raising agricultural efficiency and supporting improvements in the safety of nuclear power plants.
The new independent States (NIS)
Relations with these republics of the former Soviet Union are increasingly regulated by partnership and cooperation agreements whose scope is political, economic, commercial and cultural. They aim to pave the way for the integration of these countries into the wider European economy. In the last two years such agreements have been signed with Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Kazakhstan,Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The European free trade area (EFTA)
On 1 January 1994, the European Economic Area was born (EEA). Following enlargement of the EU on 1 January 1995 with the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, this joins together in one single market the EU's 15 members with three remaining members of EFTA, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (Switzerland is also in EFTA but has not signed the EEA Agreement).
Among other things, the EEA agreement grants the three partner countries the four freedoms of the single market - the free movement of goods, services, capital and people and requires them to adopt most EU policies on mergers, state aids, consumer protection, labour markets and the environment.
China
In 1995, China became the Union's fourth largest export market and its fourth largest supplier. Total bilateral trade reached around ECU 35 billion in 1994, with the EU's imports exceeding exports by around ECU 10 billion. China is the Union's largest supplier of textiles and clothing.
Korea
A framework trade and cooperation agreement was negotiated in 1995 to promote closer economic relations and exchanges of information and mutually beneficial investment. In addition, the EU is contributing to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization in support of the search for peace and stability in the region. Bilateral trade between the EU and Korea is in the region of ECU 15 billion.
Other Asian countries
The 25-nation summit in Bangkok between European and Asian leaders at the beginning of March 1996 was a major step towards widening and deepening the dialogue between the two regions. The meeting brought together the 15 EU members with the seven members of ASEAN as well as China, Japan and Vietnam. It will be followed by a similar meeting in the United Kingdom in 1998 and another in South Korea in 2000.
Other initiatives agreed in Bangkok include preparing an Asia-Europe investment promotion action plan, creating an Asia-Europe business forum, setting up an Asia-Europe environment technology centre to support joint research and development in this area and launching an Asia-Europe Foundation to promote cultural exchanges of all kinds between the different participating countries.
Asian countries are the largest beneficiaries of the Union's generalized system of preferences (GSP) scheme which has been in operation since 1971 and allows imports from developing countries to enter the Union either duty-free or at reduced tariff rates.
Australia and New Zealand
The political dialogue with Australia has been strengthened in recent years to the extent that there are usually two ministerial-level meetings a year between the two aides. A European Parliament delegation visits Australia every two years while an Australian parliamentary group visits Europe every year.
The EU is Australia's most important economic partner taking into account the volume of trade in goods and services and exchanges of investment. Meanwhile, bilateral cooperation covers science and technology, industrial cooperation, coordination of development aid in the Pacific region and energy and environmental matters.
Cooperation between the EU and New Zealand is based on preferential agreements, largely focused on agricultural products. Thus, butter and lamb imports into the EU from New Zealand have enjoyed preferential access for many years. In 1991, the two sides signed a scientific and technical cooperation agreement covering agriculture, biomass, biotechnology, environment, forests, renewable sources of energy and information technologies.
Developing countries
The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
Seventy ACP countries are signatories to the fourth Lomé Convention (the first was launched in 1975 and the present Convention runs until 2000) which frees 99.5% of their exports to the Union from customs duties and does not require them to make balancing concessions. Funds allocated for development aid totalled ECU 12 billion for 1990-95.
Latin America
All Latin American countries benefit from the generalized system of preferences while 14 countries are covered by specific regional economic and trade cooperation agreements. Trade between the EU and Latin America is worth more than ECU 45 billion and the region has been one of the fastest growing markets for European exports. Trade with the EU accounts for more than 20% of total Latin American imports and exports, but it is less than 5% of the Union's external trade.
Common foreign and security policy
World events are constantly challenging the Union to act with the determination and cohesion expected of a world entity of its population size and economic strength. The Treaty on European Union, which came into force in November 1993, responded by fixing as a Union objective 'the implementation of a common foreign and security policy including the eventual framing of a common defence policy'.
The Treaty says that the objectives of a CFSP are:
to safeguard the common values, fundamental interests and independence of the Union;
to strengthen the security of the Union and its Member States in all ways;
to preserve peace and strengthen international security, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter as well as the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and the objectives of the Paris Charter;
to promote international cooperation;
to develope and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.