"San Marino will join the European Single Market in 2026".
The goal for the Republic of San Marino for the Association Agreement with the European Union is approaching. Two days ago, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovičz, was present in the halls of the Palazzo Pubblico as the official speaker for the Captains Regent's inauguration ceremony, and he gave the message that the signature by the commission will arrive by the end of the year.
"Šefčovičz's words confirm not only that we are close to the finish line, but also how the level of relations has grown. It is not just a trade agreement, but a true partnership, and that will be the platform on which future relations with the EU will be developed,' observes Luca Beccari, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, International Economic Cooperation and Digital Transition, who comments with Il Sole 24 Ore on the steps forward.
After the signing, which is likely to come at the European Council at the end of the year, the text will have to be ratified: the forecast is for early spring. "But it depends on the method of ratification," explains Beccari, 50, who also has an economic background in the central bank, "which could be either exclusive, and then only the European Parliament will vote, or mixed, and then all the national parliaments will have to express themselves, and in this case the timeframe will be longer. But the agreement would still start, in the mode of 'Provisional Enforceability': "When the Customs Union was approved in 1992 it was triggered immediately, although ratification was finalised in 2003". But in any case 'there are no obstacles, we have received approval from all the countries, and I myself have met the EU foreign ministers. This is a European practice that is evaluated in the Council'.
Made-to-measure
.After ten years of negotiations - the agreement was signed in 2023, and also includes the Principality of Andorra, while the Principality of Monaco withdrew during the course of the negotiations - and the now imminent go-ahead of the European Council, the visit of the European Commissioner is seen in San Marino as a seal: "Our State is fully entering the European Single Market, although without becoming a member of the Union. A tailor-made model - that of the association - which recognises the legal, constitutional and dimensional specificities of San Marino, and enhances them within a context of common rules".
In particular, with the agreement, San Marino will be able to participate in 25 sectors of Community law, including: the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital, competition and State aid, indirect taxation and customs cooperation, public procurement, consumer protection and food safety, technical standards, market surveillance, environment and statistics. All this, it is stated, while keeping issues such as defence, immigration, foreign policy, agriculture and the EU budget out of the agreement.
