Twelve years of political and diplomatic groundwork, more than eight years of negotiations, a succession of governments, meetings in Brussels, technical discussions and rounds of talks. Tomorrow, Monday 19 October, San Marino will sign the Association Agreement with the European Union. It is a step set to mark a turning point in relations between the Republic and Brussels, following a journey that officially began in December 2014.
The ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Berlaymont building in Brussels, the seat of the European Commission. The agreement will be signed by Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Luca Beccari and European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. The accord covers San Marino and Andorra, and aims to redefine the relationship between the two small states and the European Union, paving the way for closer integration into the single market.
This does not mean San Marino is joining the European Union. The Republic will retain its sovereignty and institutions, but will be able to take part more fully in the European internal market, under a framework of shared rules and specific provisions agreed during the negotiations.
The change will directly affect businesses, economic operators, professionals and citizens, with possible effects on the movement of goods, services and access to the European market. How the new provisions are actually applied will depend on the procedures set out for the agreement’s entry into force.
To understand the significance of tomorrow’s signing, one must go back to 16 December 2014. On that day, the Council of the European Union formally mandated the Commission to negotiate one or more association agreements with San Marino, Andorra and Monaco.
That decision was the outcome of a long preliminary phase of consultations, meetings and studies, aimed at devising a new formula capable of strengthening ties between Europe’s small states and the Union.
The first official step in Brussels came on 18 March 2015, with the ceremony marking the opening of negotiations, attended by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who at the time also served as Vice-President of the European Commission.
From that moment, a complex negotiation process took shape, carried forward through numerous rounds of talks, meetings between delegations and in-depth discussions covering the various sectors involved in the association.
The negotiations continued for years, aiming to strike a balance between access to the European internal market and the particular characteristics of San Marino — a small state with its own legal system and an economy closely tied to that of Italy.
The first major breakthrough came on 12 December 2023. In Brussels, during a joint press conference, Maroš Šefčovič, Luca Beccari and Andorra’s Head of Government Xavier Espot officially announced the successful conclusion of the negotiations.
After more than eight years of discussions, the parties had reached agreement on the substance of the accord. What remained was to finalize the legal texts and complete the subsequent institutional steps required before signing.
On 26 April 2024, the European Commission adopted proposals for decisions on the signing, provisional application and conclusion of the agreement. A few days later, on 7 May, another press conference at the Berlaymont marked the completion of the legal drafting of the texts.
Since then, the process has continued on the institutional front, leading up to tomorrow’s appointment.
The signing will thus mark the culmination of a long negotiation, though it will not automatically coincide with the agreement’s full entry into force. After the signing, each side will still need to complete the steps required under its respective institutional procedures.
For San Marino, meanwhile, it will be a day the government has chosen to share with the entire population.
A large screen will be set up at the Kursaal in Città (San Marino City) to follow the Brussels ceremony live. The initiative, promoted by the Congress of State, will be open to citizens, institutional representatives, political forces, business associations, trade unions, civic groups and young people.
The doors of the hall will open at 12 p.m., while the live broadcast — via the European Commission’s audiovisual platform and San Marino RTV — will begin at 12:45 p.m.
At 1 p.m., the public will be able to follow the speeches by Beccari and Šefčovič, the signing of the agreement and the press conference that follows.
Once the ceremony concludes, the floor will pass to Captains Regent Gerardo Giovagnoli and William Casali, who will deliver an official address to the public via a live link from Palazzo Pubblico.
A celebratory toast is planned for 1:30 p.m., accompanied by a small buffet open to all those present.
It will therefore be a day split between Brussels and San Marino: on one side, the signing that closes the long negotiating process begun in 2014; on the other, public participation on Mount Titano in a moment that opens a new chapter in relations between the Republic and the European Union.
