THE OPPORTUNITIES OF THE
ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT
AS A CITIZEN
Andorra will incorporate a large part of the acquis communautaire while taking into account the specific characteristics that make it unique, secure and prosperous. Through the Association Agreement, European standards are met in many areas, such as the environment, transport, consumer rights, market surveillance and trade, among many others.
The benefits and implications of the agreement affect all sectors of our daily lives. There are some more intangible elements, such as limiting noise, air quality or the safety of the products we consume, and other, much more concrete impacts, such as having fewer obstacles when studying, working or living in Europe or being able to benefit from the European programmes in which Andorra engages.
The free movement of people makes it easier for Andorrans to work, live or retire in any European country under the same conditions as nationals.
- A MORE EUROPEAN ANDORRA
- WORK, LIVE OR RETIRE IN EUROPE
- NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
- POSSIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN EUROPEAN PROGRAMMES
- A MORE MODERN AND EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION
- ACCESS TO THE SOLVIT INSTRUMENT
International studies
With the Association Agreement, Andorrans will have the same treatment as students from Member States when it comes to enrolling in European universities (apart from the Spanish, French and Portuguese universities we already have bilateral agreements with).
The Agreement provides for participation in European programmes, including Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, to which students or young researchers can apply.
New job opportunities
The free movement of persons, one of the principles of the Agreement, makes it possible to work or stay in a European country more easily and with fewer obstacles than is currently the case.
The Agreement incorporates the same system of coordination for EU social security. This means that, abroad, Andorrans can enjoy the same rights and duties as nationals of the country where they work, and upon return both the Andorran citizen and his or her family accumulate the social benefits contributed abroad.
Expanding the career path
The Agreement opens the door for professionals settled in Andorra to work in other EU countries and vice versa. The free movement of services will make it easier for young people’s career paths to be more international than ever before.
Like at home
The coordination of Social Security and the free movement of people and capital will allow Andorran pensioners to settle or reside in any European country under the same conditions as their nationals.
International studies
With the Association Agreement, Andorrans will have the same treatment as students from Member States when it comes to enrolling in European universities (apart from the Spanish, French and Portuguese universities we already have bilateral agreements with).
The Agreement provides for participation in European programmes, including Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, to which students or young researchers can apply.
New job opportunities
The free movement of persons, one of the principles of the Agreement, makes it possible to work or stay in a European country more easily and with fewer obstacles than is currently the case.
The Agreement incorporates the same system of coordination for EU social security. This means that, abroad, Andorrans can enjoy the same rights and duties as nationals of the country where they work, and upon return both the Andorran citizen and his or her family accumulate the social benefits contributed abroad.
Expanding the career path
The Agreement opens the door for professionals settled in Andorra to work in other EU countries and vice versa. The free movement of services will make it easier for young people’s career paths to be more international than ever before.
Like at home
The coordination of Social Security and the free movement of people and capital will allow Andorran pensioners to settle or reside in any European country under the same conditions as their nationals.
AS A BUSINESS
With the Association Agreement, Andorran companies will be able to do business outside Andorra more easily and directly than before. This will give them access to a market of around 450 million people, with new sectors and opportunities that are currently inaccessible.
On the other hand, operators in the internal market will be able to operate from Andorra with all the legal guarantees provided by the Agreement, thus increasing the number of foreign investment initiatives and creating new sectors of activity, which will lead to the creation of jobs, a reduction in dependence on a few sectors and new revenues for the state.
Agriculture and livestock
- More business opportunities: Andorra already guarantees very high animal health and food safety standards. Even so, the full homologation of Andorran regulations with European regulations will mean more opportunities for trade in food and agri-food products, as well as greater safety for consumers of products made in Andorra.
- Access to European quality labels: Andorran producers form a growing sector which has, despite modest production figures at the European level, expressed a desire to be able to market beyond Andorra. The European regulations introduced by the Association Agreement will facilitate the access and visibility of Andorran products on European markets thanks to quality labels. Moreover, the approval of these products is also an advantage for producers when it comes to entering (as they have already done) international prizes and competitions.
- Administrative simplification: the EU has technological control and warning tools to which Andorra has partial access. These tools guarantee consumer protection and simplify the administrative burden for both administrations and economic operators. With the Agreement, Andorra will be able to participate fully.
Financial sector
- Access to a much larger market than at present.
- Possibility of bidding for jobs and tenders in European countries on the same terms as national companies.
- The negociation on free movement of capitals has not yet started.
Industry and construction
- A much larger market than at present.
- Easier to offer work or services to EU countries, either on a one-off basis or for a longer period.
- Possibility of bidding for jobs and tenders in European countries under the same terms as national companies.
- More facilities for hiring qualified personnel from the EU through to the cooperation mechanisms provided for in the Association Agreement.
Most companies in the industry and construction sector in Andorra are SMEs (see opportunities for SMEs).
Trade and commerce
- Access to a much broader market than the current one.
- Fewer obstacles when doing business with Europe.
- More facilities for doing business with neighbouring economic operators thanks to the free circulation of goods and capital.
- The Association Agreement does not eliminate borders (customs formalities will still be necessary) but brings into line Andorran legislation to European legislation. This, in practice, means an easing of the customs formalities to be carried out since Andorra is no longer a third country of the European Union.
- Andorra will have reinforced consumer protection and a market surveillance system that will bring greater solidity and confidence to the commercial sector.
- By not beeing a Third State anymore and forming part of the European single market, many of the hurdles that some commercial sectors currently face with Community suppliers will disappear.
Tourism and services
- Access to a much larger market than at present.
- Easier to offer work or services to EU countries, either on a one-off basis or for a longer period.
- Possibility of bidding for jobs and tenders in European countries under the same terms as national companies.
- More facilities for hiring qualified personnel from the EU thanks to the cooperation mechanisms provided for in the Association Agreement such as the Eures job exchange.
Most companies in the tourism and services sector are SMEs (see opportunities for SMEs).
Graduates professions
- Possibility of establishing and providing services in any Member State of the European Union under the same conditions as the rest of European professionals.
- Liberal professionals will have a stronger regulatory framework than the current one.
- Guaranteed reciprocity eliminates discrimination based on nationality.
- Access to single market tenders.
- Access to groups and committees of European experts.
- Access to administrative dysfunction resolution mechanisms (IMI, SOLVIT)
- Access to the Eures job exchange (more possibilities to apply for jobs outside Andorra or to find professionals with specific profiles from EU countries).
- The creation of new sectors of activity and the revitalization of the economy will lead to new business opportunities for qualified professionals.
- Possibility to participate in projects with European funding and to benefit from the European programs of which Andorra is a party.
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Andorran companies will have more facilities when operating outside the Andorran territory, since they will receive the same treatment as European companies.
SMEs represent 99% of companies in the European Union. For this reason, the EU has launched several action programs to make them more solid and improve their access to financing. Among others, the European norms allows:
– A reduction in bureaucracy and an improvement in the administration’s response to the needs of SMEs.
– Modernization of public procurement regulations so that SMEs have more options to access public tenders and better opportunities to propose joint offers.
– Actions aimed at facilitating SMEs’ access to financing
– Favourable treatment of SMEs in competition policies, for example through flexibility to access aid.
– Participation in European assistance networks for SMEs such as the European network for companies or Solvit, and other information services.
– Support for innovation and research through numerous tools, such as the techweb portal for SMEs or the Gate2growth initiative, among others.
AS AN ASSOCIATION
Possibility of networking more easily than at present with other Andorran associations, through the cooperation chapter of the Association Agreement.
New opportunities to access funding for certain projects through participation in European programmes.
AS A COUNTRY
Opening the door to economic diversification
The main objective of the Association Agreement is to introduce a European legal framework that will make economic diversification genuinely possible. Opportunities for activities in new sectors, which until now have been stalled due to the lack of a legal framework or insufficient regulation, can now be explored and developed. The Agreement in itself is not sufficient to diversify the economy, and equivalence with European standards alone is not enough. The emergence of new opportunities and sectors will depend to a large extent on the entrepreneurship of Andorran and foreign operators willing to pursue innovative business proposals.
A more sovereign Andorra
Andorra will maintain its sovereignty on key issues such as taxation, security and foreign policy. Furthermore, the Association Agreement adds the possibility for Andorra to participate in the drafting of European Union rules and to sit with the EU on the Joint Committee established by the Agreement. This ensures a dialogue between Andorra and the EU on all the areas covered by the Agreement, a situation that does not exist at present and which constitutes a gain in sovereignty and visibility at an international scale.
Andorra, a reliable partner with a European label
Andorra has been incorporating the content of European regulations into its laws for years, since the country’s environment requires it. But legislating like Europe does not mean being equivalent. The Association Agreement guarantees, both for Andorrans and international partners, the equivalence of regulations with the European Union and generates a confidence that the government and the country’s political, social and economic stakeholders are working hard to achieve.
Access to European programmes and funding
The draft Association Agreement incorporates a specific section on cooperation with the EU outside the four freedoms. It addresses cooperation in other areas, materialised mainly through participation in European programmes. The Agreement will establish how Andorra’s participation will be calculated financially and the areas it will cooperate in. As this has an economic cost, we will have to be strategic in determining which programmes the Principality will take part in, but this is undoubtedly one of the most interesting elements of the Agreement.
A modern and efficient administration
The implementation and management of the Association Agreement will require modern and efficient administrative structures. Indeed, one of the main conclusions of countries with similar agreements with the EU, such as Liechtenstein, has been improvements in the efficiency and professionalisation of their administrations.
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