EFE Agency
Santiago, Chile, November 9, 2007

The Presidents of the Andean Community (CAN) Member Countries today ratified their commitment to continue their bloc negotiation of a political association, trade and cooperation agreement with the European Union, bearing in mind the existing asymmetries.  

The CAN Secretary General, Freddy Ehlers, confirmed this fact in Santiago, Chile, following a meeting among the presidents of Bolivia, Evo Morales; Colombia, Alvaro Uribe; Ecuador, Rafael Correa; and Peru, Alan García, that was held simultaneously with the Seventeenth Ibero-American Summit. 

The agreement between the four presidents stresses the need for the negotiation with the EU to take account of “the asymmetries and different speeds,” Ehlers explained to the newsmen. 

These words spoken today in the Chilean capital dispelled the doubts that had arisen because of the Peruvian President’s request to the EU that his country be allowed to negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement separately from the Andean bloc.   EFE