Leading a parliamentary delegation to Bogota, the chair of the European Parliament's international trade committee Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) hailed progress in Colombia's implementation of the multipartite free trade agreement between the EU and three Andean countries (including Peru and Ecuador) on Monday 12 February, but he also underlined the challenges to be met on sustainable development, including workers' rights and dialogue with civil society.
"Implementation of the trade agreement is on the right track but there is room for improvement, especially in the dialogue between civil society and the Colombian government", Lange stated, as reported by the Efe news agency, after a meeting between his delegation, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos and Trade Minister María Lorena Gutiérrez.
Lange particularly hailed the rise in the number of work inspectors, saying he hoped it would enable workers' conditions to be improved in the country.
Gutiérrez underlined the rise in imports and investment from the EU in Colombia, but also the diversification of Colombian supply exported to Europe, especially in the agricultural domain.
Highlighting the advantages of the agreement for European and Colombian SMEs, Gutiérrez and Lange announced the creation of a one-stop shop to help them export and invest in their respective region, and to resolve procedural difficulties.
In addition, Lange hailed the peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas that was signed in November 2016, saying it was "a great success" for giving more security to investors.
On Tuesday, the delegation was due to meet members of the Colombian Congress and Colobmia's Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, as well as the country's High Commissioner for Peace Rodrigo Rivera. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)