European Parliament
David Martin  (S&D ),
in writing.
– I voted for this resolution, which stresses that, while country-specific commercial strategies should be welcomed, these agreements should not be to the detriment of regional integration. It also regrets that South-South trade remains very limited and notes, in this regard, that in 2009, only 6% of SMC imports originated in other Southern Mediterranean countries (SMCs), compared to 40% from the EU. The resolution encourages the new democratically elected governments to be more open than their predecessors towards trading with neighbouring countries.

