Bogotá, September 21, 2007

The First Round of Negotiations for the establishment of an Association Agreement between the Andean Community and the European Union was held in Bogotá, Colombia, from September 17 to 21, 2007.

It was co-chaired by Camilo Reyes, General Coordinator of the Andean Community Negotiations and Joao Aguiar Machado, Chief Negotiator of the European Commission. The Negotiating Groups on Political Dialogue, Cooperation and Trade were headed on the part of the CAN by Andean spokesmen Leonardo Arízaga, Pablo Solón and Eduardo Ferreyros, respectively; and for the European Commission, by Rafael Gilabert and Rupert Schlegelmilch. Its Secretary General, Freddy Ehlers, and Director Generals Adalid Contreras, Alfredo Fuentes and Ana María de Reátegui represented the CAN General Secretariat.

The Andean Community and the European Union expressed their satisfaction at the advances made in the meetings of the negotiating groups, which laid the conceptual bases and adopted the principles for the next rounds. 

They underscored the fact that the Association Agreement is not a free trade agreement (FTA) because its characteristics are substantially different from those of an FTA --such as its having three pillars: political dialogue, cooperation and trade, for example. 

These pillars of the Association Agreement are closely interrelated and all enjoy the same importance and priority, their purpose being to reach an agreement that is beneficial to the populations of the two regions. 

They stressed the enormous importance in these negotiations of the issue of asymmetries and expressed their strong desire to help overcome such asymmetries and differences in development between the two blocs and within them, as well. 

The CAN and EU agreed to hold the Second Round of Negotiations for the establishment of an Association Agreement in Brussels on December 10 to 14, 2007.

The two parties agreed in the Group of Cooperation to give special importance to economic and social development, particularly the struggle against poverty, social cohesion and the welfare of the most disadvantaged sectors.  They also agreed to work together on the design of positive, joint, efficient and planned cooperation as reflected in the pertinent mechanisms and instruments.   

The Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement signed in 2003 is an important point of reference for both the Cooperation and the Political Dialogue pillars in the negotiation of the Association Agreement. 

A basic element of the efforts of the Group on Cooperation is the need to overcome asymmetries at the biregional level, both between the countries and within them.  For the two blocs, it is necessary for the Cooperation pillar to reflect the existence of solidarity between the regions in a two-way relationship that respects the sovereignty of the States in defining their development policies, the orientation of the cooperation in accordance with existing asymmetries and needs, and the adoption of mechanisms to guarantee binding commitments. 

In the Group on Political Dialogue, the CAN and EU agreed to strengthen the chapter of the Association Agreement on political dialogue to make it more effective, in order to deepen and diversify relations between the countries and their integration processes. 

They also identified as possible topics for the Association Agreement the strengthening of democracy, the struggle against poverty, social cohesion and sustainable human development, with a recognition of the asymmetries and differences in development between the parties and within them. 

Insofar as the Second Round is concerned, the two parties agreed to target the definition of objectives and mechanisms.  They will accordingly exchange the proposed texts of specific articles before that Round is held.

The delegations in the Group on Trade stated that they were pleased with the progress made in this First Round of meetings of the fourteen negotiating subgroups and of the Group, and added that in the light of the commitments adopted, important advances can be expected at the Second Round of Negotiations. 

The CAN and EU exchanged views on the general objectives of the Group on Trade and on the structure of the commercial part of the Association Agreement, and established guidelines for its fourteen subgroups, so that they can each define their own objectives, the scope of those objectives, the issues to be addressed and the timetable for their work.  

The CAN and the EU assumed several commitments in order to ensure that they embark upon the Second Round of Negotiations duly prepared.  It was agreed, for example, to exchange information about their base tariffs --the Starting Point for the CAN’s Tariff Reductions and of the tariffs applied by the EU-- on November 14, 2007.  They also committed to, on that date, propose tariff negotiation methods and modalities.   

The two delegations agreed, as well, to keep up two-way communication between the Groups on Trade and on Cooperation, because of their close interrelationship. 

Lastly, the delegations were in agreement on the need to set up more appropriate mechanisms, in order to keep the Parliaments and civil society informed about the progress of the negotiations.