A Joint Committee composed of representatives of the EFTA States and Egypt monitors and manages the application of the Agreement (Articles 37 and 38). The Parties may hold consultations and, in the absence of agreement, apply interim measures (Articles 39 and 40). An agreement between the European Economic Community and Egypt was signed in January 1977 under the aegis of the World Mediterranean Policy (GMP), launched in 1972. [2] The 1995 Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Framework paved the way for modest progress in EU-Egypt relations[3], which culminated in a new Association Agreement, signed on 25 June 2001 under the Barcelona Process and entered into force in June 2004. [4] An EU-Egypt Action Plan also entered into force in 2007. [3] In November 2010, the EU and Egypt signed a Protocol establishing a dispute settlement mechanism applicable to the trade parts of the Association Agreement.