It’s Our Turn Now: A New Era of Direct, Ongoing Dialogue with the EU (by Gerardo Giovagnoli)

by Gerardo Giovagnoli

The recent article by my colleague Lorenzo Bugli, published in this newspaper on Monday, August 3, prompted a series of reflections on my part.

Let me state upfront that I agree with his views on the referendum, and even more so on the fact that we can no longer afford to waste time, and that we are facing a truly historic turning point.

Since in his piece Bugli, whom I thank, refers to a proposal of mine, this gives me the opportunity to better clarify its rationale and scope.

As I stated during the communications item of the last Council session, the European Council’s decision to give the green light for the signing of the Association Agreement marked the end of the period in which we were largely waiting, watching events unfold in Brussels and elsewhere.

I used two metaphors in my remarks: the first was that of an airplane that had reached takeoff speed, the point beyond which the flight can no longer be halted except in an emergency, with an accident essentially inevitable if something goes wrong; the second was the image of being excluded from the cockpit, since the decision to approve the signing was made without us present.

Now, however, it is our turn.

It is our turn to fly through European skies, and we will be in the cockpit alongside the EU’s pilots.

This is because — and it is essential to understand this from the outset — the Association Agreement is not an agreement of automatic, passive incorporation of whatever is decided within the EU.

Our participation in the Agreement entails an active, ongoing role of interaction with European institutions.

The need to transpose the EU acquis and, from that point forward, to keep updating our legislative system so that it remains compatible with continued participation in the Single Market, is a key fact — an important one, but not the whole picture.

Given the repeated and seemingly pointed accusation that the Agreement entails a loss of sovereignty, it is worth dwelling at length on how relations with the EU are actually governed.

This is easy to do, because it is the text of the Agreement itself that sets out the bodies and mechanisms involved, in Part VII, Institutional Provisions, Chapter 1 – The Institutions of the Association, from Article 75 to Article 79, as well as in the following Chapter 2 – Consultation within the Framework of the European Union’s Decision-Making Procedure, Article 80 – Drafting of an EU Legal Act.

Let me summarize the most important aspects of these Articles, which identify the following bodies:

1. Art. 75, the Association Committee — made up of San Marino, the EU and Andorra (should it confirm its entry into force), and “has the power to examine any matter of a general nature covered by this Agreement that may arise between the EU and the Associated States.”
2. Art. 76, the Joint Committees — bilateral in nature, between San Marino and the EU, and they “ensure the effective implementation and proper functioning of the provisions of this Agreement. Within their respective Joint Committees, the Associated Parties exchange views and information on matters covered by this Agreement. Consultations within the relevant Joint Committee focus, in particular, on any point covered by this Agreement that raises difficulties of application or interpretation and that is raised by one of the Associated Parties.” “A Joint Committee adopts its decisions by mutual agreement between the Associated Parties. At the request of one of the Associated Parties, the competent Joint Committee shall hold an exchange of views. Amendments to a Protocol for an Associated State are adopted by decision of the competent Joint Committee, unless otherwise provided for in the relevant Protocol for the Associated State.”
3. Art. 78, the Association Parliamentary Committee, “as a forum for the exchange of views between Members of the European Parliament and members of the parliaments of the Associated States. Through dialogue and debate, it contributes to a better mutual understanding between the Associated Parties in the areas covered by this Agreement. The Association Parliamentary Committee is composed, on the one hand, of” [4] “members of the European Parliament and, on the other, of” [4] “members of the parliaments of the Associated States.” “The Association Parliamentary Committee shall meet alternately in the European Union and in one of the Associated States.”
4. Art. 79, the Association Consultative Committee of Economic and Social Partners, is “intended to promote dialogue and cooperation between the organizations representing the various economic and social components of civil society of the Associated Parties. This dialogue and cooperation cover all economic and social aspects of the relations arising from this Agreement. The Association Consultative Committee of Economic and Social Partners is composed of members of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), on the one hand, and of the economic and social partners designated by the Associated States, on the other.”

 

For each of these bodies, it is worth noting that the Presidency will rotate, meaning that for the same period there will be a leadership role for San Marino and for the EU (and for Andorra, should it join).

 

What does this mean?

 

It means that once the Agreement enters into force, we will step into a new chapter in the history of the Republic of San Marino: one in which we will have a direct dialogue with the European Union, and it will be a dialogue carried forward not only by the Government, but also by Parliament and by economic and social stakeholders.

Despite the objections of those who lament a loss of national sovereignty, the truth is exactly the opposite: we will finally have a voice, and although it may not be the most influential one, it will nonetheless be the first in our history to be expressed directly in Brussels, rather than through an intermediary.

 

This has never happened before.

 

A voice that is, in reality, a chorus, because as described above, every recognized stakeholder in the country will have a role to play.

And there is still the most significant piece of the interaction with European institutions to mention: Article 80 describes the so-called “upstream phase,” which concerns the process by which European Union acts are formulated.

 

Below is an excerpt from this lengthy Article, which — given its importance — effectively deserves to be treated as a Chapter in its own right.

 

“CHAPTER 2

CONSULTATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE EUROPEAN UNION’S DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURE

ARTICLE 80

Drafting of an EU legal act

1. As soon as the European Commission begins drafting

an EU legal act in an area governed by this Agreement, the Commission shall inform the Associated

States and shall consult their experts informally in the same manner and within the same timeframe

as it consults experts from EU Member States when formulating its proposals.

2. When it submits its proposal to the Council of the European Union and to the European Parliament, the

European Commission shall transmit a copy to the Associated States.

3. At the request of one of the Associated Parties, a preliminary exchange of views shall take place within

the Joint Committee or through any other appropriate method, formal or informal. At the request of

one of them, the Associated Parties shall consult each other again on important points before the

act in question is adopted. The Associated States shall inform the European Commission, where appropriate, of

their reactions and may point out their respective specific situations.”

 

This is a highly significant Article because it makes clear that our relationship with the EU cannot be compared to that of a superior giving orders to be executed. Rather, it resembles a negotiated arrangement — a framework in which San Marino too will be one of the gears, however small, within a sophisticated mechanism of multi-level consultation, shared decisions and appropriate timing.

Such a scenario, as I have explained elsewhere, stems directly from Article 8 and the related Declaration 3 of the Treaty on European Union, which I quote in full:

 

“TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION (TEU)

Article 8

1. The Union shall develop a special relationship with neighbouring countries, aiming to establish an area of prosperity and good neighbourliness, founded on the values of the Union and characterised by close and peaceful relations based on cooperation.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Union may conclude specific agreements with the countries concerned. These agreements may contain reciprocal rights and obligations as well as the possibility of undertaking activities jointly. Their implementation shall be the subject of periodic consultation.

 

Declaration on Article 8 of the Treaty on European Union

The Union will take account of the particular situation of small-sized countries which maintain specific relations of proximity with it.”

 

In short, starting January 1, 2027 — if the date suggested as possible by Secretary of State Beccari for the Agreement’s entry into force is confirmed — we will enter the era of direct, continuous, multi-level interaction between San Marino and the EU. Not, then, a stop-and-start or top-down relationship, but a genuine extension of our institutions and of our economic and social stakeholders, who will be in constant, natural connection with Brussels.

 

This is why I proposed updating the role of the Joint Commission, the body that over the past three years has kept the entire country united in the run-up to the signing, so as to adapt it to the operational needs of the Agreement: namely, to continue providing an institutional venue — not merely a political one — where the various components of our society can draw on and provide information, generate innovations and flag issues to the EU, within an already well-established, cohesive setting: a transmission belt in constant motion.

Whatever it is called — the Implementation Commission or the Joint Association Commission — the important function of the body entrusted with this task will be to spread awareness of this new moment, one that will not be fleeting, in which the Council, the Congress of State, trade unions and employers, as well as the public administration and others, will each have a role to play in the functioning — and therefore the success — of the Agreement.

We will need skills and preparation to navigate this new way of governing the country, one in which interaction with the EU will be essential, above all in identifying new areas for development.

This is undoubtedly an extremely positive prospect for many talented young people who will be able to find in the Republic a place to put their skills to good use and be rewarded for it, since San Marino will be able to engage with the quality and stimulus that the EU offers.

 

P.S.: For those who wish to explore the topic further by consulting the original texts directly, I am publishing the link to the Grand and General Council’s webpage where you can find the document I submitted, which offers guidance through the more than 2,000 pages of the Agreement, including all its Annexes, by way of summaries.

(https://shorturl.at/2tsSn)