France seeks EU review of Algeria’s alleged trade deal breaches
Paris accuses Algeria of blocking almost all French imports and halting urea shipments, and wants Brussels to examine possible measures.
France has asked the European Commission to examine whether Algeria has breached its trade agreement with the EU. Paris alleges that Algeria has imposed a near-total block on imports from France and stopped sending urea to the country.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the agreement provides for measures when either side fails to meet its obligations. France wants the Commission to assess immediately whether those provisions could be used.
The EU-Algeria Association Agreement took effect in 2005. It opened up trade and removed tariffs between Algeria and EU member states.
The request brings a dispute between Paris and Algiers to the EU level. Relations, long complicated by France’s colonial rule, have deteriorated in recent years after French President Emmanuel Macron backed Morocco in its dispute with Algeria over Western Sahara.
Algeria also passed legislation designating French colonization as a state crime. France condemned that move as hostile.
