Brussels, 24/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 23 November, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini announced that when Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos comes to Brussels on Wednesday 2 December, the European Union and Colombia will sign a visa waiver agreement for Colombians visiting the EU (see EUROPE 11187).
“The agreement will allow Colombia's citizens to travel more easily to the Schengen area, thus facilitating two important elements of our partnership - people to people contact, and business activities”, Mogherini stated at the end of her meeting with Colombia's foreign minister, Maria Angela Holguin.
Mogherini and Holguin also discussed European support for the peace process. During a meeting with the press in Brussels on Tuesday 24 November, Eamon Gilmore, the special envoy of the high representative (see EUROPE 11403), said he was optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement between the Colombian government and the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia (the FARC) by 23 March 2016 (see EUROPE 11396). Gilmore spoke of the trust and determination of the Colombian president to achieve this, and said that much progress had been made. Gilmore visited Colombia on 11-13 November and met members of the Colombian government and representatives from civil society, but no representative from the FARC (see EUROPE 11424).
Gilmore also said that the EU was ready to help Colombia should there be success in the negotiations. The EU is therefore preparing a trust fund, but no amount has yet been announced. “This is not just financial support but technical support”, he said. Some EU member states could therefore share their experience on managing a post-conflict period. This is especially the case for Ireland, Gilmore's country, for which he served as foreign minister, and is also the case for Croatia. The conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC, which has now lasted over 50 years, has claimed at least 220,00 lives and displaced 6.2 million people, Gilmore stated.
During their meeting, Mogherini and Holguin also spoke about cooperation between the EU and Colombia on security and defence issues. Colombia is taking part in the EU's naval operation against piracy off the Somali coast (EUNAVFOR Atalanta) and could soon take part in other EU-led crisis management operations, once the participation framework agreement has been ratified by the Colombian congress. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)