Andean countries enter final
phase of preparations for the
Third Round of Negotiations with
the European Union
Lima, April 10, 2008.- Meetings
of the Negotiating Groups on
Political Dialogue and on
Cooperation marked the beginning
of the final phase of
preparations by the Andean
Community countries for the
Third Round of Negotiations to
reach an Association Agreement
between the CAN and the EU that
are slated to take place from
April 21 to 25 in Quito,
Ecuador.
In declarations made last night,
the Spokesman for the
Cooperation Pillar, Bolivian
Pablo Solón, stated that
important advances had been made
in the areas of the Political
Dialogue and Cooperation Pillars
and with regard to horizontal
matters that are essential to
the Association Agreement and
its institutions. “In the area
of Cooperation, we have
addressed issues having to do
with human rights, democracy,
freedom and security, among
other matters,” he explained.
He reported that the expectation
is to move ahead in the next
round with the chapter on social
development and on issues
concerning the knowledge society
and interconnectivity, as well
as with cooperation mechanisms.
“Cooperation mechanisms are a
key aspect of the negotiation of
this Cooperation Pillar because
it is our aim to obtain a
qualitative leap in the flow of
cooperation to the region,”
Solón stressed.
Leonardo Arízaga, spokesman for
the Andean countries in the
Political Dialogue Pillar of the
negotiations, for his part,
indicated that migration is an
important issue in the
negotiation of this pillar,
given the fact that 3 million
Andean citizens live in Europe
today. “Our aim is to discuss
matters that are essentially
political in order to contribute
to the integral treatment of the
subject, with emphasis on the
human dimension,” he went on to
explain.
He pointed out that the Andean
countries have put forward
proposals on the subject, as
well as on the strengthening of
multilateralism. They will
present a proposal in the Third
Round on the struggle against
poverty and social cohesion.
At the close of the meeting, the
two spokesmen, together with the
Spokesman for the Trade Pillar,
Eduardo Brandes, got together
with representatives of the
bodies and institutions of the
Andean Integration System --the
Andean Advisory Councils on
Labor, Business and Native
Peoples-- and informed them
about the advances made in the
negotiations.
In commenting on the
preparations for the Third
Round, Eduardo Brandes reported
that an initial exchange of
lists of product offerings had
been made, as planned, this past
March 18 and that work is
currently underway to exchange
lists of service offerings, as
well as to deliver the Road Map
to the EU.
