Fenech meets Hungarian foreign economy minister

Fenech said euro-med collaboration was necessary to incentivise economies in order to generate jobs and increase wealth on both sides of the Mediterranean particularly following the international economic crisis and the recent uprisings in the North African region.

“The recent upheavals in the area have had a bearing on trade and investment flows in the Mediterranean. It is hoped that the long term effects of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions will be positive in terms of democracy, governance, social distribution and thus of sustainable economic development,” Fenech said.

“The creation of new jobs has never been more crucial. It is therefore very important that projects and initiatives under the new work programme will focus to promote partnerships and investment and to foster entrepreneurship and start-ups among small and medium sized enterprises in the region.”

The ministers also exchanged their views agreements on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAAs).

ACAAs are a specific type of mutual recognition agreement based on the alignment of the legislative system and infrastructure of the country concerned with those of the EU. The conclusion of an ACAA is the end result of extensive dialogue and assistance in the fields of technical regulations and standards for industrial products. The adoption of the EU system by other third countries will contribute to the elimination of technical barriers to trade, thereby increasing the accessibility of third countries’ markets to products from the EU and vice versa.

Malta is proposing to host a centre of excellence in Malta to promote the convergence of standards and the conclusion of ACAAs with Mediterranean partner countries in a growing number of industrial sectors.