Press remarks by Commissioners Maroš Šefčovič and Valdis Dombrovskis at the signature ceremony on the association and monetary agreements with the EU and Andorra and San Marino

Today is a landmark day for the European Union and Andorra and San Marino.

By signing this Association Agreement, we open a new chapter of deeper partnership.

The Agreement is the result of many years of close cooperation, patient negotiations, and shared ambition.

It shows what we can achieve together as like-minded partners, soon to be associated.

Through this ambitious Association Agreement, Andorra and San Marino will participate in the EU's internal market and our cooperation will strengthen across a broad range of policy areas.

The specific characteristics of Andorra and San Marino have been fully taken into account, through adaptations and transitional periods for the implementation of parts of the EU acquis.

The Agreement, one of the most far-reaching deals offered by the EU to outside partners, will make a real difference to people's lives.

It will create new opportunities to study, work, and live across Europe.

And it will give businesses greater access to the EU's internal market, with the legal certainty of common rules and a level playing field.

The level of market access foreseen will be comparable to that of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein under the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

The Agreement will also incorporate the existing customs unions, and benefit from the Monetary Agreements with Andorra and San Marino.

At the same time, it establishes a coherent, effective and efficient institutional framework to protect the integrity of the EU's internal market.

To ensure that citizens and businesses can reap the benefits as soon as possible, we are committed to completing our internal procedures swiftly to move towards provisional application.

Today, we are not only signing a legal text.

At a time of geopolitical uncertainty and growing fragmentation, our answer is not isolation, but partnership.

By bringing our economies and societies closer together, this Agreement will strengthen our collective resilience.