ANDINA Agency
Lima, May 17, 2008
 
Andean Community (CAN) and European Union (EU) dignitaries today, at the “mini summit” held this morning, reached a “flexible framework agreement” for the association of the two blocs, President Alan García Pérez announced.

“As a result of the dialogue, I can already tell you that we have agreed upon a substantive instrument to be perfected on June 12, at what will be the final meeting of the negotiators.  Hopefully, at that time, we will be able to submit it to the European Union and the CAN group for approval,” he indicated, pointing out that the agreement consists of three areas. 

President García explained in detail that each of the four CAN member countries (Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador) may decide whether or not to join the agreement in each of the three areas (trade, politics and cooperation), according to its own possibilities, intensities, time periods and speeds.   

One of the areas of the “flexible framework agreement” is trade, he indicated, and there will also be flexibility on such matters as tariff reduction and the opening of economic trade spaces, among others. 

“Now we have definitely taken a basic step; the European nations and the four Andean countries are now in accord that we have a framework agreement,” the Peruvian President declared to the press. 

His announcement came the day after the Lima Declaration was approved at the Fifth Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union (LAC-EU), where the government leaders of both continents agreed to prioritize the negotiation agreements and bring them to a close in 2009.   

The Peruvian President stressed that Ecuador’s attitude toward the framework agreement was positive, while Bolivia expressed its reluctance.

“I saw a very progressive and positive Ecuador interact with Barroso, President of the European Commission; --stated García-- they summarized the proposal for a flexible framework agreement very clearly and, of course, Bolivia showed some reluctance and had some very different criteria.”

Nevertheless, he felt that Bolivia, also, accepted the new idea of a flexible framework agreement.

“I believe that it is beginning to be understood, little by little, that this agreement does not require the privatizing of any utility, as some other governments feared earlier.  The mandate given to the European Union and the context of the agreement have nothing whatsoever to do with privatizing drinking water.” 

To conclude, said the President, I personally consider that the best time to sign the agreement “would be tomorrow”.

“Things must be done rapidly because the speed of communication and of the economy does not permit much delay on the matter.”