Syria gears to ink accord with EU

Syria is now technically ready to ink the EU-Syria Association Agreement and modernizing legislations must be accompanied by financial and administrative reform, Minister of Finance said Thursday.

Al-Thawra newspaper quoted the Minister Mohammed al-Hussein on Friday as telling the launching gathering of a project with the European Commission in Syria to modernize the ministry finance that, "Syria is technically ready to sign the partnership accord with the EU." He noted the impact of the EU- Syria partnership on the state resources after customs duties removal would only be in the first years, but in the long run, the agreement would become profitable for the state resources mainly that it would aid regulating these resources.

Syria and the European Commission have launched on Thursday a project to modernize the ministry of finance with Euro 8 million and includes developing tax administration and general finance reform as well accounting and making customs procedures and rules meet the EU criterion.

Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Hussein said at the opening of the project that it "aims at upgrading the institutional environment at the ministry to match international criterion." He called upon national experts and employees at the ministry to make the utmost use of the European expertise in this domain in framework of the project pledging the ministry's readiness to guarantee all means that make the project a success.

The minister warned that modernizing legislative taxes that has been made would not contribute to tax and finance sector reform unless it was accompanied by an organizational and administrative reform at the ministry.

For his part, Head of the EU mission in Damascus Frank Hesske said the aim of the project is to improve the Syrian government role in economy." This will be through reforming its general finance system and therefore facilitating Syria's contribution to the Euro-Med free trade zone," Hesske said.

He noted that the project would boost the formation of all the ministry policies and make use of its capabilities noting that the tax system would be modernized and directed according to the social market economy.

The project would be executed in three years and would be implemented by Syrian experts and three resident experts from the EU who have experience in taxes and customs of the EU member states.