How Does the EU Agenda Influence Economies outside the EU? The Case of Tunisia

Abstract

Economic and commercial relations between the countries of the southern Mediterranean and the European Union (EU) have been profoundly affected by the recent ‘EU Initiative for the Mediterranean’ and conditioned by the creation of European Monetary Union (EMU). The paper discusses the costs, benefits and prospects of these two processes in terms of their economic consequences on the countries of the southern Mediterranean, and in particular on the Tunisian economy. The association agreement between the EU and Tunisia is assessed in the light of its medium-period implications and of the EU’s enlargement to include the countries of Eastern Europe. With regard to EMU, the paper discusses the influence and effects exerted by introduction of the euro on the Tunisian economy.