Dispute Settlement in EU Free Trade Agreements with Arab Countries

Abstract

The dispute settlement mechanism in FTAs is necessary as they provide means to settle disagreements on interpretation or compliance with treaty obligations. The dispute settlement mechanism help ease tensions among FTA parties and maintain healthy relationships among trading partners.

The dispute settlement process in the EU association agreements with Tunisia, Israel, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt is short and similar in drafting. Only one article in each of these association agreements address dispute settlement.

Keywords: EU, Association Agreement, FTA, Middle East, Jordan, dispute settlement, WTO, free trade

JEL Classification: F19