Speaking in Strasbourg on Wednesday 30 May, Colombia's outgoing president, Juan Manuel Santos, thanked the European Union for its support in the negotiations and in the realisation of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC rebels.
The EU is "a faithful supporter" to Colombia, Santos said in a solemn statement to the European Parliament hemicycle. He listed the financial assistance of €575 million through the trust fund and the EIB loans that Europeans provide to Colombia to help it turn the page of the longest and most violent conflict on the South American continent (see EUROPE 11560).
Santos did not hide the fact that the road is still long, notably because the ELN guerrillas have not laid down their weapons and because drugs trafficking still rages. But Timochenko, the former FARC leader, voted during the first round of presidential elections on Sunday – the first elections "without the interference of armed conflict". And "that means everything", the Nobel peace prize winner stated. In his view, the biggest challenge for Colombian society is to be able now to settle conflicts "without violence, which you have done in Europe".
The second round of Colombian presidential elections, on Sunday 17 June, will see Iván Duque (39.1 % of vote), who is a critic of the peace agreement, run against Gustavo Petro, a former fighter and mayor Bogota (25.1 % of vote).
Santos said the free trade agreement with Colombia was "beneficial" for the two parties, as was the end of the obligation for Colombians to have a visa to enter the EU (see EUROPE 11444). Colombia is also on its way to becoming the 37th member country of the OECD.
European Parliament delegation at border between Colombia and Venezuela
Speaking to press, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said that a Parliament delegation would travel to the border between Colombia and Venezuela. "There are over a million Venezuelans in Colombia", he noted.
Santos said he was saddened by such a situation in a country with "destroyed democracy" and where the inhabitants are dying from hunger or the lack of care when Venezuela holds the biggest oil reserves in the world. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)