has argued, however, the empirical realities of DCFTA implementation wholly transgress espoused norms concerning poverty eradication and social prosperity in the Maghreb. The premature liberalisation involved in these agreements would not only result in livelihood disruption in the manufacturing base but (via agro-processing industries) would also severely impact on poorer peoples reliant on agricultural production. Moreover, the imposition of strict regulatory standards in terms of the EU acquis communitaire would not only burden SMEs with costly criteria but would also in many cases dilute their comparative advantage vis-à-vis European counterparts. In short, roll-out of the DCFTA free trade agenda would undermine rather than help to obtain the normative – – drivers which ostensibly stand at the heart of European policy. In this scenario, it becomes incumbent for North African elites, in particular, to seek meaningful alternatives to the continued implementation of premature liberalisation in the Maghreb. By contesting the norms embedded in the moral economy of EU-Maghreb relations, local elites might win greater policy space for a wholescale re-imagination of fair and just economic relations between the partners. Again and perhaps paradoxically their success in this matter would likely benefit – – Europeans themselves in the longer term. Indeed, the premature imposition of free market stringents on the North African region would not only be detrimental to the livelihoods and of people in countries such as Tunisia and Morocco, but could in the longer term provoke more social instability, more political turbulence, and ultimately greater resentment and hostility towards those in the European metropole. Abandonment of the DCFTA agenda would likely serve both sides. References Ayadi, R. and Favielli, A. 2011. A new framework for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation on micro, small and medium-sized enterprise support. CEPS Policy Brief. No. 239. 10th May 2011. Chang, H-J. (2002) Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem Press
has argued, however, the empirical realities of DCFTA implementation wholly transgress espoused norms concerning poverty eradication and social prosperity in the Maghreb. The premature liberalisation involved in these agreements would not only result in livelihood disruption in the manufacturing base but (via agro-processing industries) would also severely impact on poorer peoples reliant on agricultural production. Moreover, the imposition of strict regulatory standards in terms of the EU acquis communitaire would not only burden SMEs with costly criteria but would also in many cases dilute their comparative advantage vis-à-vis European counterparts. In short, roll-out of the DCFTA free trade agenda would undermine – rather than help to obtain – the normative drivers which ostensibly stand at the heart of European policy. In this scenario, it becomes incumbent for North African elites, in particular, to seek meaningful alternatives to the continued implementation of premature liberalisation in the Maghreb. By contesting the norms embedded in the moral economy of EU-Maghreb relations, local elites might win greater policy space for a wholescale re-imagination of fair and just economic relations between the partners. Again – and perhaps paradoxically – their success in this matter would likely benefit Europeans themselves in the longer term. Indeed, the premature imposition of free market stringents on the North African region would not only be detrimental to the livelihoods and of people in countries such as Tunisia and Morocco, but could in the longer term provoke more social instability, more political turbulence, and ultimately greater resentment and hostility towards those in the European metropole. Abandonment of the DCFTA agenda would likely serve both sides. References Ayadi, R. and Favielli, A. 2011. A new framework for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation on micro, small and medium-sized enterprise support. CEPS Policy Brief. No. 239. 10th May 2011. Chang, H-J. (2002) Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem Press
moral%20economy%20and%20EU%20pursuit%20of%20DCFTAs%20in%20North%20Africa.docx