By Fernando Arroyo León
EFE Agency
Quito, April 25, 2008

Representatives of the Andean Community (CAN) and the European Union (EU) agreed today in Quito at the conclusion of the Third Round of Negotiations between the two blocs that the way has been opened to an ambitious Association Agreement.

Although the ground still to be covered is not free from obstacles and differences between the two blocs, both the CAN and the EU ratified their will to move firmly ahead with the negotiations in order to reach an Association Agreement as soon as possible.

The fact is that the talks during the Quito Third Round centered on “asymmetries,” and sought to bring out the differences in interests and positions between the two blocs and within the Andean Community.

"I am convinced that we are going to be able to resolve these problems, because one of the most important characteristics of these negotiations is the will of all parties to reach this Agreement,” the European spokesman in the Quito Round, Spanish citizen Rafael Gelabert, told EFE.

Gelabert stressed that to his way of thinking “the difficulties are not extraordinarily large, but are similar in scope to those commonly to be found in any ambitious regional negotiation,” like that in which the EU and the CAN are engaged; therefore, “it is not surprising to find differences at particular moments in time.”

The European delegate cited as an example the understanding that was reached among the negotiators during the Quito Round to overcome those differences and that, therefore, he was hopeful that the agreement could be concluded “as scheduled” –in other words, during the second half of 2009.

Even so, Gelabert noted that there could be a change in that timeframe because the two parties are more interested in strengthening the substance of the negotiation, than in the speed of the process.

For his part, Freddy Ehlers, the Secretary General of the Andean Community, stated that the “agreement is being negotiated” and that “there will be no definite deadline” until it has been sealed.

”This is a project in which each country’s positions will be expressed” and “it will not be approved unless it is fully favorable to ” the 27 countries belonging to the European Union and the four members of the Andean Community, namely Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, he went on to add.

The CAN Secretary General underscored the recognition during the Quito Round of “the differences among each of the countries, which today are called asymmetries.”

That recognition of asymmetries is of key importance for advancing the negotiations, according to Ehlers, who reiterated that this Agreement “will not function unless” all of the countries involved “benefit from it.

More than one hundred Andean and European delegates exchanged positions and offers with regard to the three pillars underpinning the negotiations, namely, Political Dialogue, Cooperation and Trade.

Another of the aspects that became clear at the Quito meeting is that the CAN-EU negotiations go beyond the sphere of trade. For that reason, other matters were advanced in the Negotiating Committee on Cooperation, like social cohesion, employment, health, education and training, indigenous peoples, refugees and food security.

Under the Political Dialogue pillar, guidelines were defined for “good governance,” the “constitutional state” and institutional strengthening and an examination was made of agreements on Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Insofar as Trade is concerned, both blocs agreed to improve their offers and the EU stated that, in response to the CAN’s request, it would consider making the consolidation of the Generalized System of Preferences enjoyed by Andean products in the European market, known as GSP Plus, the starting point for the negotiations.

Ecuador’s head negotiator, Méntor Villagómez, told Efe that in order to move ahead rapidly, a Fourth Round of Negotiations has been scheduled for July 7 to 11 in Brussels.

Furthermore, a "mini-round" is planned for next June, to deal with the chapters on Services, Investments, Intellectual Property and Trade and Sustainable Development that were not addressed at the Quito meeting. EFE