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RELATIONS WITH THE EU

The European Union and the Republic of Mauritius

The European Union and the Republic of Mauritius have a long-standing and solid partnership based on shared values such as respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and a strong commitment to promoting a rules-based global order. Annual EU-Mauritius Political Dialogue provides the opportunity to discuss common global challenges and further strengthen the partnership.  

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the EU has mobilized rapidly all its forces to respond to the priority needs of Mauritius to address the sanitary, economic and social impact. 

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Political Relations

Mauritius is engaged in close political dialogue with the EU as provided under Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.  

The first annual Political Dialogue with the Government of Mauritius took place in 2011. The latest Political Dialogue took place on 11 November 2021.

Economic Relations, Trade and Investment 

Trade

Mauritius (together with the Seychelles, Madagascar and Zimbabwe) signed an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) with the EU in 2009. The agreement has been provisionally applied since May 2012. The Comoros ratified the ESA EPA in February 2019 and began applying the Agreement immediately. 

EPAs are reciprocal and go beyond conventional free-trade agreements. It opens EU markets fully and immediately, allowing long transition periods for partner countries to open up partially to EU imports while providing protection for sensitive sectors.

The ESA iEPA is a development-oriented agreement that provides duty-free, quota-free access for all ESA-EPA exports to the EU from the first day of application of the EPA. For their part, ESA-EPA countries are progressively reducing their tariffs to zero for 80% or more of their EU imports, in line with the individual schedules annexed to the EPA. Under the EPA, Mauritius has liberalized 96% of its tariff lines. The last round of tariff cuts has been implemented by Mauritius beginning 2022.

To protect certain sensitive agricultural markets and industries in ESA-EPA countries and to maintain tax revenues, the ESA-EPA countries will not remove import duties for some agricultural and non-agricultural processed goods. Some products excluded from liberalisation for Mauritius are: Live animals and meat, edible products of animal origin, fats, edible preparations and beverages, chemicals, plastics and rubber articles of leather and fur skins, iron & steel and consumer electronic goods.

On 2 October 2019, the EU started negotiations with five Eastern and Southern Africa partners (so-called ESA: the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe) to deepen the existing Economic Partnership Agreement. More information on the negotiation rounds, reports and initial textual proposals are available on https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=2110

In 2020, despite the pandemic, the European Union (EU) has remained the main trading partner of the Republic of Mauritius with 24.7% of total trade.

 

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Find product-by-product information on:

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for all EU countries and for more than 120 export markets around the world at https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/home

 

Fisheries 

The EU and Mauritius have also built a solid partnership in the area of fisheries with successive sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements. These provide EU vessels with fishing opportunities in the waters over which the Republic of Mauritius exercises its sovereignty or jurisdiction.  

In this context, the EU provides Mauritius with the following financial contribution: 

  • Payment of access rights to the EEZ.
  • Support the sector to promote its development and strengthen the national administrative and scientific capacity. 

Promoting Human Rights, Gender Equality and Good Governance 

The EU is committed to respecting fundamental rights within the European Union and advancing and consolidating human rights in its external action. 

The EU and Mauritius partnership is founded on a strong commitment to promoting shared values and common interests, including democracy, the rule of law, accountability, as well as rules-based global order with the United Nations at its core.  

In this context, the EU provides support to national authorities, institutional partners and human rights defenders to promote the rights of women and children, people with disabilities, the elderly and LGBT+.  

Advancing women's leadership and economic empowerment is a priority of the EU and Mauritius. The EU and Mauritius launched a high-level policy dialogue on gender in 2018 as a joint commitment to further promote gender equality and women empowerment. 

Environmental Protection and Climate Change 

The EU supports Mauritius in implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The EU and Mauritius launched the high-level policy dialogue on climate change in 2018 in an effort to join forces to implement the Paris Agreement. They work together to promote climate-smart agriculture and the transition of businesses to a green economy.  Mauritius benefits from the EU GCCA + initiative with the 'Climate-smart agriculture for small holders' project.  

Mauritius is one of the seven African countries participating in the EU Switch Africa Green initiative promoting a green transition based on sustainable consumption and production. A sustainable tourism project is still ongoing. 

The EU has also recently signed new grants with institutional partners and NGOs to protect coastal and marine biodiversity, restore forests and promote the farm to fork strategy in agriculture in Mauritius and Rodrigues. 

The EU Response to COVID-19

The EU and its Member States (Team Europe) have rapidly mobilised in their efforts to assist the Government in addressing immediate needs, strengthening the health system and building preparedness for future crises and plan for the next economic recovery. 

Health sector

The EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mauritius aims at reinforcing the health to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and to any public health emergency that may emerge in the future. It also aims to reinforce the resilience and the efficiency of the health sector in general.   

Economic recovery 

Beyond the sanitary crisis, there is a need to prepare for global recovery and to build resilience to future crises. Team Europe is engaged in strengthening the business environment and investment climate, providing assistance to Small and Medium Enterprises, women and young entrepreneurs, and promoting a green recovery. 

See also