Deeper economic integration with theenlarged European Union - which accounts for a quarter ofglobal GDP and foreign direct investment - could become amain driver for economic development in the southernMediterranean countries. The planned Euro-Mediterranean freetrade area for goods is a first step into that direction,but additional measures are needed. Especially theliberalization of services trade and the comprehensivedomestic reforms this entails would strengthen the linkageswith global and European markets. This study analyzes theadjustment needs and policy options associated with deeperintegration between the two sides of the Mediterranean Sea.It puts specific emphasis on the dynamics of deeperintegration at the company level and their respective policyimplications. Besides a general discussion of deeperintegration and trade in services liberalization, the studycontains detailed assessments of individual sectors -especially the backbone services (e.g. transport,telecommunications, financial markets, electricity) andother sectors of relevance for deeper integration (tourism,IT-enabled services, distribution services). Even though thefocus is on regional integration, multilateralliberalization issues are factored into the analysis (e.g.the GATS, the WTO Doha Round) and options for the pursuit ofan "open regionalism" are explore.
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