Resumption of Algeria-EU Parliamentary Consultations

Consultations between the Algerian-European Union Joint Parliamentary Committee resumed, weeks after the European Union’s regulation crisis against Algeria. It was decided to hold the first official meeting between the two bodies next November, as confirmed by the head of the committee from the Algerian side, Sid-Ahmed Tamamri.

Tamamri told Echorouk that the next meeting between the two parties will be in the Belgian capital, Brussels, and comes after the dismissal of the former head of the Italian committee, Andrea Cozzolino, who was involved in the bribery scandal with the Moroccan Makhzen system, and the appointment of Slovenian Matjaz Nemec as the new head of the committee from the European side.

The Algerian side, according to Tamamri, is preparing a heavy political and economic agenda to present to the Parliamentary Committee of the European Union, the most important of which is the emphasis on the need for coordination between the two parties within the framework of the joint consultations and not through illegal platforms, to avoid repeating the scenario of the regulations abusing Algeria, added – the speaker – in addition to other files such as political coordination in the file of immigration and the movement of people, and political unification of visions regarding the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

In the economic sector, the Algerian side will open next November the partnership file with the European Union, to reconsider its clauses on a win-win basis, work to achieve a trade balance between the two parties, and at the same time emphasize Algeria’s commitments in the field of energy.

The security situation will also be strongly discussed between the two parties, especially regarding the file of security coordination between Algeria and the European Union, and files related to the Sahel countries and the vicinity of Algeria, such as Libya and Mali, according to Echorouk’s interlocutor.

In a related context, Tamamri confirmed that the meeting to be organized next November will be preceded by a preparatory meeting between the two committees next September, during which Algeria will present the most important axes that will be put on the table for discussion between the two parties.

This comes at a time when a statement issued by the lower chamber of Parliament revealed a vision conference that took place on Thursday evening, between the Chairman of the Algeria-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, Si-d Ahmed Tamamri, and his counterpart from the European Parliament, Matjaz Nemec, who attended his first meeting since he was elected as chair of the delegation for relations with Maghreb countries, including EU-Algeria Joint Parliamentary Committee.

A statement by the Council said: “The representative of the European Commission welcomed this meeting, expressing his readiness to strengthen relations between the two parliamentary institutions, and that he will do his best in the future to work together for the next session’s good preparation.”

The source added, “MP Sid-Ahmed Tamamri congratulated his Slovenian counterpart on his election to chair the delegation of relations with the Maghreb countries in the European Parliament, stressing the importance of joint work between the two parties, giving the committee its status and giving priority to the language of dialogue and consultation.”

On the other hand, the Algerian MP touched on the regulation issued by the European Parliament last May, which is completely rejected by Algeria, and stressed the need to use the space of the joint parliamentary committee to express positions, and the two parties agreed to continue the bilateral work in early September to give enough time to come up with proposals and recommendations and to provide an opportunity for preparation for the second session of the committee.