Lima, Oct. 4, 2006.- The Andean Community has proceeded to reinforce actions that will not only strengthen Andean integration, but will also contribute to the forthcoming negotiation of an Association Agreement with the European Union, the Acting Secretary General of the CAN, Alfredo Fuentes Hernández, announced yesterday.

He explained that the CAN is taking action on defining a starting point for the tax phase-out on products originating in the EU; customs valuation decisions and agreements on special customs systems; and perfecting the Community regime on the international road transportation of goods.  "These are crucial issues for the future negotiation, on which advances have been made as foreseen,” he stressed.  

The Acting Secretary General of the CAN made these statements in his presentation yesterday in Santiago, Chile on "Prospects for the Andean Community in its Relations with the European Union” during the Seminar “European-Latin American relations from the Vienna Summit to the Lima Summit.”

Also participating in the Seminar, which was organized by the Latin American Centre for Relations with Europe (CELARE) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, were the Secretary General of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), Didier Opertti; the Director of the Mercosur Secretariat, José Ernesto Büttner; the representative of the Interparliamentary Commission of Mercosur, Jorge Giorgetti, and the European Affairs Officer of the Central American Secretariat for Economic Integration, Rubén Nájara, among other high-level representatives of integration organizations.

The Acting Secretary General maintained that the Andean Community and the European Union share a conviction that the greatest benefits of a forthcoming biregional association will be obtained from priority actions to reinforce regional economic integration; improve regional governance and security; and promote social cohesion and sustainable development, all of which will enhance Andean integration programs.