I am delighted to be here today with our Andean partners to open these important negotiations to strengthen the relations between our regions. And I am particularly glad to be here today since I had to cancel my visit to your region which I had hoped to start next week – that was before a single false move changed my plans rather drastically...

Today marks an important step forward in our relations. In fact, the evolution of European Union - Andean Community relations has been one of steady progress. The European Union has supported the Andean Community ever since the adoption of the Cartagena Agreement. We continue being convinced that regional integration is the best recipe to bring stability, prosperity and wealth to the Andean region.

For the last thirty years, our relations have been organised around different instruments: in the seventies, we supported Andean integration with co-operation programmes. In the eighties we signed our first Co-operation Agreement, which was followed by a second Framework Co-operation Agreement ten years later. In the nineties, we decided to grant special "drug" preferences to the Andean countries. And since the Rome Declaration became the basis for our political dialogue in 1996 we have made considerable progress by launching the EU-Andean Community High Level Dialogue on drugs as well as signing the Precursor Agreements between the European Commission and each Andean country.

The Political Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement that we are about to negotiate will once again move our relations forward. It will set up a new framework for further relations between our regions, our business communities and our societies in general. And it should set the basis for a possible upgrading of our relations in the years to come, on the basis of the Doha outcome and provided there is a sufficient degree of regional integration in the Andean region.

For thus, the main objective of this new agreement is for us to support the Andean integration process. Rapid and substantial progress in the Andean process of regional integration in indeed essential for us to be able to move forward in our relations. The Andean process of integration is the "raison d'être" of the Andean Community. And it is also the result of decisions you yourselves have made. But above everything else, during the Madrid Summit last year the Heads of State and Government recalled that any move towards a more comprehensive Agreement (Association Agreement including a Free Trade Agreement) can only be considered after the completion of the Doha Development Agenda and provided the CAN progresses further with its own regional integration. This is because such an Association Agreement could not be feasible nor mutually beneficial if the Andean Community was not a common market - while the European Union already is a single market.

I do not claim that the European Union is perfect. You know as well as I do the various shortcomings that still exist in our regional integration process. And you are also aware of how long it took us to build the Union. I should therefore not mislead you about the real difficulties and challenges that lie ahead for the Andean countries in their integration process.

But I want to leave two clear messages with you: we share the same belief in integration. And we are ready to support your efforts because, from our own experience, we have learnt the importance and the benefits of doing things together and building on our common interest.

In a global world as ours, regional integration gives the necessary weight for countries to become active and influential partners rather than dependant spectators of global political, economic and social developments.

Regional integration contributes to stability and fosters democracy and respect for human rights. As you know, the EU attaches enormous importance to the respect for human rights, rule of law, democratic principles and conflict prevention. We are therefore extremely encouraged to see that Andean Ministers consider the implementation of the Lima commitment, the Andean Charter for Peace and Security and the Limitation and Control of the Expenditure on Foreign Defence, as a priority on the Andean Agenda - I am glad to say that the European Commission is supporting the Secretariat General of the Andean Community with a grant for this endeavour. I would like to encourage all the five Andean countries to ratify the Andean Protocol for Democracy. I speak as one who is convinced of these benefits through experience. Today's peace, stability and prosperity in Europe cannot be understood without recognising the commitment of the European Union Members to regional integration.

In economic terms, integration means development and growth. The realisation of a customs union and a common market are the most effective means of promoting growth in the Andean Community. You know as much as I do that only a well-regulated and large market attracts investments. Let me put it simply: a company contemplating investment in any one of your countries must be able, through this one establishment, to gain access to all 120 millions consumers of the Andean Community.

And as I already stressed when we last met in Vouliagmeni, integration also means social cohesion resulting from appropriate means of distribution. This is an essential element of the fight against poverty. We should work towards integrating civil societies and citizens in this integration project by raising awareness and looking for inclusive policies. With this objective in mind, we have scheduled a project in our 2004 programming aimed taking into account the position of the Andean civil society in the integration project.

The benefits of regional integration cannot, however, hide the obstacles for success. In the case of the EU, Enlargement, the Common Foreign and Security Policy or the Reform of our institutions has posed particular challenges. It is sometimes enormously difficult to integrate all different national interests and ensure that they all move in the same direction. If you will allow me, from a friendly point of view, I will mention some of the challenges that we see as crucial within the Andean Community for the relations between our regions.

We need to speed up the efficiency of our relations, especially as far as cooperation is concerned. As you know, we – the Commission - have gone through a very demanding process of external reform to be able to deliver our aid more expeditious and efficiently. But for our efforts to succeed we also need speedy and efficient reactions from the side of our partner countries. And, in particular, we will need the Andean Community to speak as much as possible with one voice. Let me give you one instance: we have for example reached agreement on regional co-operation project natural disasters. If we do not succeed in having the Financial Agreement signed very soon, the European financial regulation will oblige us to cancel our commitment of about € 10 million, which represents more than one third of the total allocation the European Commission has programmed for the period 2002-2006. Since 1999, both the European Union and the Andean Community have been committed to increasing Andean countries’ ability to reduce the consequences of natural disasters. It is therefore crucial to translate our political commitments into concrete actions.

I also want to underline our hope that the achievement of the Andean common market (and as a first necessary step the achievement of an Andean customs union) remains the key priority for the Andean Community. We welcome the "New Strategic Orientation of the Sub-regional Integration Process" that shows that the Andean Community is making efforts to formulate a comprehensive agenda for their integration process. But we hope that all energies will now be focused on the new Common External Tariff and that it will be finalised shortly and that all five Andean countries will participate. And as I have said beforehand, we are ready to help your efforts on this: an identification mission for the Commission project of trade related technical assistance is currently under way - we plan to commit this action, for € 4 million, this year. And projects for about € 15 million are currently in execution on customs rules, quality standards, competition law and statistics. Advancing the regional trade integration agenda is the best manner to prepare the ground for taking further steps at the next European Union-Latin America-Caribbean Summit in Mexico in 2004.

We have a busy and ambitious work programme leading up to the Mexico Summit of next year. For the next 3 days we have set ourselves the objective to have a first discussion on all articles of the agreement. And this is to be followed by a second round of negotiations in Ecuador during the second semester of 2003.

I am extremely glad - and proud- that we have been able to deliver on our commitment made at the Madrid Summit to negotiate this new Political Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement between the European Union and the Andean Community. And I would like to thank the team of officials on both sides who have made this possible.

Let us now work hard to continue along this positive route and try conclude the negotiations before the end of the year, with a view to signing the Agreement at the European Union-Latin America-Caribbean Summit in Mexico in 2004.

I wish you all every success in this endeavour.