EU says Algeria violating agreement with bloc by halting trade with Spain

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - The European Union on Friday said that Algeria appears to be violating the EU-Algeria Association Agreement by blocking trade and stopping financial transactions with Spain.

“Trade policy is an exclusive EU competence, and the EU is ready to stand up against any type of coercive measures applied against an EU Member State,” said a joint statement from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

“However, the EU continues to favor dialogue first to solve controversies.”

On Thursday, Algeria started freezing all financial operations related to trade with Spain, essentially halting all commercial exchange between the nations, with the exception of natural gas.

Algeria made the move in response to Spain’s stance on the independence of Western Sahara.