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Re:The Treaty on friendship, partnership and cooperation between Italy and Libya. New prospects for cooperation in the Mediterranean? One should ask the question what the added value is of such a bilateral treaty with a country which has not signed any agreements with the EU within the framework of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy and is only an "observer" in the Union for the Mediterrenean. Of course each Member State is free in agreeing such bilateral treaties, but it does undermine the general EU's external policy and the common values which are at the basis of the Neighbourhood Policy to some extent. Yet, if this ITA-LIB bilateral treaty would be a first step towards integrating Libya more in other regional cooperation structures, its added value would be a bit more than signing a treaty which aims at increasing business opportunities for Italian companies in Libya.
One should ask the question what the added value is of such a bilateral treaty with a country which has not signed any agreements with the EU within the framework of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy and is only an "observer" in the Union for the Mediterrenean. Of course each Member State is free in agreeing such bilateral treaties, but it does undermine the general EU's external policy and the common values which are at the basis of the Neighbourhood Policy to some extent. Yet, if this ITA-LIB bilateral treaty would be a first step towards integrating Libya more in other regional cooperation structures, its added value would be a bit more than signing a treaty which aims at increasing business opportunities for Italian companies in Libya.
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