Press release of the European – Andean Community Ministerial Meeting
Vilamoura, February 24, 2000

1. The Foreign Ministers of the Andean Community and of the European Union met in Vilamoura on February 24, 2000 during the course of the IX Institutionalized Ministerial Meeting of the European Union and the Group of Rio.

2. At the meeting, which was held as part of the mechanisms for political dialogue between the Andean Community and the European Union provided for in the 1996 Declaration of Rome, opinions were exchanged with regard to the political and economic situations in the two regions and the status of bi-regional relations and their prospects.

3. The Ministers also noted with satisfaction the positive development of the institutionalized and specialized dialogue with the Andean countries in their war on drugs and the cooperation received in that area, based on the principle of co-responsibility. They underscored the importance of development assistance as an essential mechanism for supporting the fight against poverty, and pointed up the free-flowing economic relations between the two regions that rest basically on the Generalized System of Preferences, with positive social effects.

4. The Ministers emphasized the accomplishments of the last Mixed Subcommittees on Trade and Industry and on Science and Technology. They were extremely pleased that the III meeting on chemical precursors and the IV High-Level Meeting on Drugs will be held in Lima shortly.

5. The Ministers drew attention to their priority interest in strengthening the political, economic, social and cultural relations between the two regions and bringing them into line with the challenges posed by the XXI century. They accordingly exchanged ideas about how to strengthen those links and about the Andean initiative to hold consultations on the negotiation of an Association Agreement that would take into consideration the level of development of the countries of the two regions and the need to maintain the existing system of preferential access to the European market granted in the framework of the war on drugs.

6. In this context, the parties agreed to ask the European Commission and the Andean Community General Secretariat to prepare a study diagnosing the current state of economic and trade relations between the two regions and their prospects within the framework of the Andean initiative. They decided, as well, to examine the progress and results of that study in the existing bi-regional forums.

7. The Ministers reaffirmed their intent to contribute to the growth of the multilateral trading system and to launch a global cycle of negotiations as soon as possible.

8. The Ministers reviewed recent political developments in the Andean region, underscoring their unwavering commitment to safeguarding and promoting participatory democracy and to the full and unrestricted operation of democratic institutions, pluralism, and the government of law.

9. The Ministers expressed their support for the consolidation of democracy in Ecuador, urging the international community to cooperate, with the needed urgency, with the Ecuadorian government in solving the serious problems confronting that country.

10. The Ministers expressed their satisfaction at the initiative of the Colombian Government, in the context of the peace negotiations, of sending a mission of government and insurgency spokesmen to Europe. They recognized that this mission has enhanced the credibility of the peace process and encourage the parties to move ahead with this process toward specific achievements as soon as possible.

11. Taking up the initiatives that have been put forward, the Ministers reaffirmed their support for the balanced and rapid implementation of the conclusions of the Summit of Rio de Janeiro and assumed the steadfast commitment to persevere in this effort.