Opening Remarks of Mr. Olaf Köndgen

How different approaches in dealing with the Euro-Med challenge were demonstrated to me lately in a quite surprising way. In a neighboring Arab country, a high ranking ministry official whose main professional concern is economic planning asked me, whether the Konrad Adenauer Foundation could finance a study on the fiscal impact of the partnership agreement with the EU. Since the country in question had already signed a partnership agreement, the revelation, that high level policy makers did not have precise ideas of what the economic results of their signature would be, came as a shock to me. One can only hope, that the respective decision-makers will be able to cope with whatever the budgetary and fiscal challenges to their national economy may be.

The EU and Lebanon have been negotiating for a couple of years and – for valid reasons –no agreement has been signed. For the Lebanese industry in particular and the economy at large, a lot is at stake, due to the adjustment and adaptation process automatically following the conclusion of a partnership agreement. Will the industrial output drop as a result of rising competition from Europe and how can this be prevented? Better access to European markets require large scale investments in high technology at home. How can the necessary Euro-fitness be achieved to make the Lebanese industry competitive?. The creation of an attractive investment climate including a very determined fight against corruption is as necessary as the upgrading of the relevant government services. One of the major challenges of the Euro-Lebanese partnership agreement will be discussed in detail today. Next to an introductory summary of where the negotiations stand, specialists will answer the question of how the fiscal system can be gradually and efficiently adjusted to the challenge of decreasing revenues from tariffs on trade.

No matter what the challenges are, it is important to note, that there is an understanding, that joining the free trade area will serve Lebanese interests if done within a well prepared legal context and with the skillful management of the transition phase. To this end, this workshop hopes to contribute.

Last but not least, I thank our partner, the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies for its dedication and expertise. LCPS and the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation have been cooperating since 1996 and its certainly no overstatement to say that all our joint projects have been very successful due to the resourceful and efficient staff of the LCPS.