Decision 667
General framework for the negotiation of the Association Agreement between the Andean Community and the European Union

       THE ENLARGED MEETING OF THE ANDEAN COUNCIL OF FOREIGN MINISTERS AND THE COMMISSION OF THE ANDEAN COMMUNITY,

 

       HAVING SEEN: Articles 1, 3, 50, 51, 52 and 86 of the Cartagena Agreement codified through Decisions 563 and 598 of the Enlarged Meeting of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the Commission of the Andean Community; and

 

       WHEREAS: It is essential to bolster the unity of the Andean Community, bearing in mind the proposals of all the Member Countries to undertake the successful negotiation of the Association Agreement with the European Union;

 

       The main objective of the Association Agreement between the Andean Community and the European Union should be to improve the quality of life of the citizens of both integration systems, in a search for comprehensive, fair, supportive and complementary development that will reinforce the regional integration processes;

 

       Decision 598 regulates the general framework for Member Country negotiations with third countries;   

 

DECIDE:

 

       Article 1.- The Andean Community recognizes the existence of different levels of development and economic approaches among the Member Countries, which shall be taken into account in the joint negotiation of an Association Agreement between the Andean Community and the European Union and of the right to express the differences and to negotiate different levels of coverage and depth, as the case may be, of the subjects and commitments of that Agreement. 

 

       Article 2.- The existing asymmetries between the Andean Community and the European Union and within the Andean Community shall be recognized and reflected in the commitments assumed by the Parties, while ensuring Special and Differentiated Treatment for Bolivia and Ecuador.    

 

       Article 3.- The commitments stemming from the Association Agreement shall be implemented under the following guidelines:

 

i.     When the subjects negotiated are binding on all Member Countries, the commitments assumed may be implemented through Andean and/or national regulations and legislation, as the case may be;   

 

ii.    When the subjects negotiated are not binding on all Member Countries, the commitments assumed may be implemented using the procedures provided for in the Cartagena Agreement, as applicable, while safeguarding the Andean legal system in relations among CAN Member Countries 

 

       Signed in the city of Lima, Peru, on the eighth of June of two thousand and seven.