Lima, June 7, 2005.- Andean Community Secretary General, Ambassador Allan Wagner Tizón, declared today that the regional integration movement has been incorporated as a key element of the future cooperation strategy between the European Union and the CAN, together with other aspects of common interest that will help reinforce the strategic alliance between the two regions.

So said Wagner as he opened the “Regional Consultation Workshop on the conceptual document about the European Union – Andean Community Cooperation Strategy for 2007 – 2013” today, together with the Head of the European Commission Delegation in Peru, Mendel Goldstein, at the Andean organization’s headquarters.

The Secretary General hailed the decision made by the European Commission to take up the conceptual lines of its cooperation with the CAN through the efforts of a team of consultants and by conducting consultations within the EU and the CAN themselves, such as the workshop opened today in Lima.

He reported that the key elements of the Strategic Design for Andean Integration have been incorporated into the document submitted by the European Union for consultation as the central areas for the future CAN – EU cooperation strategy.

In this connection, he indicated that the cooperation approach presented in the conceptual document is extremely important for reaching the targets set by the Andean Presidents at the Quito and Cusco Summits and, more recently, by the Meetings of Foreign Ministers and of the CAN Commission. These bodies have adopted by consensus a new vision of the Andean countries’ development: a comprehensive, internationally competitive and socially inclusive development.

He emphasized that given the megadiversity of the Andean countries, their huge energy potential and the energy crisis that is apparently looming, the cooperation should center on the environment and energy areas.

The Head of the European Commission Delegation, Mendel Goldstein, for his part, pointed out that the following priority areas were being considered for future CAN – EU cooperation: Defense and the promotion of democracy, regional integration, social cohesion, respect for the environment, and the war on drugs.

The “Regional Consultation Workshop on the conceptual document about the European Union – Andean Community Cooperation Strategy for 2007 – 2013” was attended by intellectuals, opinion leaders and other sectors of civil society of the CAN Member Countries.