Andorra PM Confirms Public Consultation on EU Association Agreement

Andorra's head of government, Xavier Espot, reaffirmed on Friday in Barcelona that a politically binding public consultation on the EU association agreement is planned, to follow European Parliament ratification, though no date has been set.

Speaking to around 200 students, young lawyers, and other attendees—many of them Andorran—at the event "Andorra and the European Union: Legal and Political Analysis of the Association Agreement," hosted by the Jean Monnet European Studies Chair and the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) at Universitat Abat Oliba CEU, Espot and Secretary of State for EU Relations Landry Riba outlined the pact's opportunities, safeguards, and challenges. Espot positioned it as the optimal path to preserve Andorra's current position while fostering economic diversification, competitiveness, and prospects for young people. He framed the agreement within a long-term modernization effort, spanning successive governments irrespective of political leanings, that has moved the country beyond reliance on retail, tourism, and finance.

This includes fiscal reforms, sectoral EU deals on customs, veterinary standards, and monetary policy, double taxation treaties, and enhanced anti-money laundering measures. Access to the EU single market would allow Andorran firms to compete equally with EU operators, join public procurement, overcome technical barriers, and develop high-value industries. Riba called it "absolutely vital" for diversification, enabling regulatory alignment for projects currently impossible in Andorra.

Espot emphasized advantages for youth, such as seamless study, work, residence, and retirement rights across the single market, plus access to EU research, innovation funding, and networks to bolster domestic high-value sectors. The agreement entails adopting specified EU acquis, creating new administrative bodies, and annual implementation costs of about €3 million. Espot stressed it leaves intact Andorra's identity, sovereignty, tax system, foreign policy, and border controls.

Audience queries addressed taxation (outside the pact's scope), banking, worker rights, state firms like FEDA and Andorra Telecom, and housing. Espot clarified the text imposes no housing restrictions, with national policies intact; the government has built a public rental stock of 500 units from zero over four years, and the EU supports limits on non-resident property purchases.

Next steps involve the EU Council finalizing the text's legal form and content, followed by signature, European Parliament approval, the Andorran consultation, and Consell General ratification. The session opened with vice-rector Juan Francisco Corona and closed with ELSA Barcelona president Miquel Ángel Català Gascón. Espot was joined by Youth Minister Mònica Bonell and Ambassador to Spain Eva Descarrega.