San Marino

San Marino is the oldest surviving republic in the world, a tiny landlocked state enclosed within Italy whose roots reach back to the year 301. With around 34,000 inhabitants, this microstate has preserved its independence and its republican institutions across seventeen centuries — a living testament to the endurance of self-government and freedom in Europe.

Though not a member of the European Union, San Marino is deeply woven into European life: it forms a customs union with the EU, uses the euro as its currency, and shares with the Union the same democratic values and a profound common heritage. Its relationship with Europe is now set to deepen decisively. After negotiations concluded in 2023, San Marino — together with Andorra — has agreed an Association Agreement with the European Union that, once ratified, will grant the republic far-reaching access to the single market, with the free movement of goods, services, capital and people, on a level comparable to Norway or Iceland.

A small republic with a long democratic memory, San Marino embodies a conviction dear to the European Democrats: that the European project is built not only by its largest members but by every people, however small, that shares its values — and that bringing Europe's neighbours closer to the Union, with rights and rules in common, makes the whole continent stronger.