EU member states have approved the signing and provisional application of an association agreement with Andorra and San Marino.
The Council of the EU authorised the signature of the deal on Thursday, describing it as a comprehensive association agreement covering several policy areas.
Under the agreement, Andorra and San Marino would take part in a “homogenous extended internal market” — meaning closer alignment with the EU’s internal market rules and competition conditions — under the same rules as the rest of the bloc.
The deal also covers financial services, with any access to the EU internal market in that area to be introduced gradually and dependent on an audit of the strength of each country’s regulatory and supervisory systems.
Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European affairs and defence, said the agreement would “provide legal certainty” and “safeguard the EU’s single market.”
What happens next
EU member states are expected to carry out pre-signing of the mixed agreement in September, after which the European Commission will sign on behalf of the EU, the Council said.
The Council will then seek the European Parliament’s consent before the agreement returns to the Council for formal conclusion.
Negotiations on an association agreement with Andorra, Monaco and San Marino began in 2015, following Council negotiating directives adopted in December 2014.
Talks with Monaco were suspended in September 2023, but negotiations with Andorra and San Marino continued and were concluded in December 2023.
