--- title: "Europe's Smallest Neighbours Step Closer: The EU's Landmark Deal With Andorra and San Marino" description: The EU has signed an Association Agreement with Andorra and San Marino, opening the single market to both. What it changes and what it means for you. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-10-22T11:17:13.716Z updated: 2026-10-22T11:19:07.940Z canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/eu-andorra-san-marino-association-agreement image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-39496667.webp categories: Good News, Culture & Society content_type: News region: Europe publication: Rich Woman Magazine about: - type: Place name: Andorra description: Principality in the Pyrenees between France and Spain, with about 89,000 residents. It uses the euro under a 2011 monetary agreement with the EU and signed an association agreement with the EU in October 2026. url: https://www.govern.ad sameAs: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra - https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228 - type: Place name: San Marino description: Republic surrounded by Italy, with about 34,000 residents. It uses the euro under a 2012 monetary agreement with the EU and signed an association agreement with the EU in October 2026. url: https://www.gov.sm sameAs: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marino - https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q238 --- On Monday 19 October, in Brussels, the European Union [signed an Association Agreement with Andorra and San Marino](https://richwoman.co/article/andorra-san-marino-eu-association-agreement). Two of the oldest and smallest states in Europe, one high in the Pyrenees between France and Spain, the other perched on a mountain inside Italy, have taken their biggest step towards the European family in a generation. The agreement ends more than a decade of negotiations. Talks with the two countries, which ran alongside separate talks with Monaco, began in 2015. The European Commission called the signing a landmark day, and the deal gives both countries access to the EU's single market under common rules and fair competition, without making them members of the Union. ## What the agreement does At its heart, the agreement brings Andorra and San Marino inside the rules that govern the EU's internal market, the area in which goods, services, capital and people move under shared standards. Both countries keep their independence and their own institutions, but they agree to apply the same rules as EU businesses where they take part in that market. The deal builds on ties that already exist. Both countries use the euro under monetary agreements with the EU, signed in 2011 with Andorra and in 2012 with San Marino, and both already have customs unions with the bloc. The new agreement absorbs those arrangements into a single, modern framework. It also reaches well beyond trade. The agreement sets up a framework for dialogue and cooperation in research and innovation, education, social policy, the environment, consumer protection, culture and regional cooperation. The Commission says it is designed to make trade easier, encourage investment and give citizens, businesses and public administrations greater legal certainty. The agreement also takes account of what makes the two countries different. Its terms reflect their small size and limited population, their geography and their close relationship with their neighbours, France, Spain and Italy. Financial services will be integrated gradually rather than all at once. ## Why this is good news for Europe At a time when Europe often hears more about division than about unity, this is [a rare story of countries choosing to come closer](https://richwoman.co/article/canada-eu-associate-membership). European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič described it as a political signal against fragmentation. Thomas Byrne, Ireland's minister for European affairs, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, said the deal would provide legal certainty, benefit people and secure future prosperity across the region. For two countries with a combined population of around 120,000, fewer people than live in Cambridge, the gain is a stable, rules-based place in the economy that surrounds them. Their businesses gain clearer access to around 450 million customers. Their students, researchers and young people gain closer links to European programmes and institutions. And the EU gains two partners that share its values and already use its currency. ## What happens next The signature is the beginning of the final stage, not the end. As this is a mixed agreement, which touches on powers held by both the EU and its member states, it needs approval through several national and European procedures before it takes full effect. Until those steps are completed, it remains a signed framework rather than a working extension of the single market. The agreement can be applied provisionally as soon as the ratification procedures in Andorra and San Marino allow. In Andorra, Prime Minister Xavier Espot's government has promised a referendum on the deal once the European Parliament has given its consent. The vote is formally consultative, but the government has said it will treat the result as binding. That vote will give Andorrans the final word on their country's future relationship with the EU. ## What it means for you If you live in the EU, the change will be gradual and mostly behind the scenes. Over time, you can expect products and services from Andorra and San Marino to meet the same standards as those from any EU country, and businesses on both sides to trade under clearer, more predictable rules. If you are a British reader, the agreement does not give you any new rights, as the UK is no longer part of the EU's single market. Nothing changes for [your next ski trip to Andorra](https://richwoman.co/article/meaningful-trip-to-andorra) or [your visit to the medieval towers of San Marino](https://richwoman.co/article/san-marino-by-train). Check the entry and customs rules before you travel, as you would for any trip. But [if your business sells to customers or works with suppliers in the EU](https://richwoman.co/article/major-trade-reset-signals-new-era-for-cross-channel-commerce), the agreement means two more economies operating to the same rulebook as the bloc, which can make cross-border trade simpler in the long run. If you care about Europe's future, the deal carries a message worth noticing. Two independent states, proud of centuries of self-government, have chosen to bind themselves more closely to their neighbours rather than stand apart. San Marino traces its independence back to the fourth century, and Andorra has existed as a co-principality since 1278. Their decision is a reminder that sovereignty and cooperation can work together. ## The smallest steps can carry the furthest Andorra and San Marino will not change the size of Europe's economy. What they change is the shape of its story. In a decade marked by departures and divisions, two of the continent's oldest nations have spent more than ten years negotiating their way in. When the referendum in Andorra and the ratification votes are complete, the European family will have grown a little closer, one mountain state at a time.