Lima, July 14, 2006.- On his return from Brussels, last evening, the Secretary General of the Andean Community, Ambassador Allan Wagner, hailed the declarations made by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, emphasizing and recognizing the efforts of the CAN Member Countries to move toward an Association Agreement between the two blocs.  

In effect, in a Declaration unveiled today, the European Commissioner expressed her “deep satisfaction over the excellent results of the meetings held these days” in Brussels” and over “the efforts and determination shown by the Andean Community Member countries” to conclude the assessment of the regional integration process.”

Wagner agreed with the European Commissioner that the satisfactory completion of the assessment exercise in Brussels this week “constitutes a key and essential step toward the attainment of the common strategic objective we set ourselves at the Guadalajara Summit and reiterated at the Vienna Summit.”

He went on to express his trust that the European Commission would ask for authorization from the European Union Council of Ministers in September to start the negotiation of the Association Agreement before the year comes to an end, in order to complete it at the next EU-Latin America Biregional Summit to be held in Peru in May 2008. 

The joint assessment was approved and the bases were established in Brussels for the negotiation of the Association Agreement, encompassing the political, trade and cooperation spheres, following a series of meetings from July 10 to 13, 2006, between high-level representatives of the CAN and EU.  The participants included the Secretary General of the CAN, high-level officials from the Andean countries and the Deputy Directors General of Foreign Affairs and of Trade of the European Commission, Hervé Jouanjean and Karl Falkenberg, respectively.

Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, after meeting with representatives of the Andean countries, including the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Bolivia, María Luisa Ramos, expressed her sincere hope that the future negotiation with the EU would strengthen and consolidate the links among the Andean countries.