Source: Press Division, Office of the President of the Republic of Ecuador
Guayaquil, October 14, 2008

During the press conference following the Special Meeting of the Andean Council of Presidents, the President of the Republic of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, ruled out that the obstacles today to bloc-to-bloc negotiations between the Andean countries and those of the European Union mean the end of the Andean Community (CAN), and committed himself to integration as “an important instrument for the wellbeing and development of our nations.”

"The European Union wants to negotiate as a bloc.  Bloc-to-bloc negotiations are more efficient than individual ones, but there is an opening today for bilateral negotiations.  This does not necessarily mean the end of the CAN, for Decision 598 allows for bilateral negotiations, so long as they do not affect Andean jurisprudence and the region’s other Members, which should be consulted,” the Head of State emphasized. 

He went on to state that even so, it obviously weakens the integration process.  "Considering the case with the United States, whose free trade tradition is much stronger than that of Europe, --if the term “strong” can be used here-- it is inconsistent for us to put so much emphasis on trying to negotiate as a bloc when the United States, which is far more inflexible in this matter, permitted bilateral negotiations.  Obviously, there were other groups and other governments were involved.” 

Correa also noted that the weakening of the Community started at the moment when two of the four countries that comprise the CAN signed free trade agreements with the northern country, but emphasized that “the starting point in Peru and Colombia’s negotiations with the United States is completely different from that of Bolivia and Ecuador.”

"CAN is a subregional bloc within the regional integration movement called UNASUR, and the integration processes --both CAN and MERCOSUR-- should converge with UNASUR,” the President stated, after describing the series of obstacles the European Union has had to overcome since its creation was first proposed. 

"Twenty-seven countries, each with its own languages, regions, and cultures, have been integrated into a European Union and have overcome far greater obstacles, like different relative levels of development and different forms of government: monarchies, republics, socialist countries, and extremely liberal countries, etc.   If they were able to surmount all of this, we certainly can.  But the key to their success lay in their political will, and here we have reconfirmed our political will to move ahead with our integration and that will enable us to rise above any obstacle,” the President pointed out.

Correa concluded by explaining that “the end purpose is not only bloc integration, but also the wellbeing of our nations, and integration can well be the best instrument to be found in a globalized world for guaranteeing that wellbeing of our citizens.”