On Friday 12 April, the Council of the European Union decided to officially conclude the association agreement between the EU and Central America, which was signed in June 2012 in Tegucigalpa (see EUROPE 10645/26), but for which the national ratification procedures were only finalised in January 2024.
The association agreement includes a political cooperation component between the EU and the Central American countries concerned (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) based on democratic principles, respect for human rights, the promotion of social and environmental standards and regional cooperation.
The trade section of the association agreement has been provisionally applied since August 2013 with Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, since October 2013 with Costa Rica and El Salvador and since December 2013 with Guatemala. The elimination of the main customs barriers and increased market access have led to a significant increase in bilateral trade, notes the European Commission in a press release.
See the text of the EU-Central America agreement: https://aeur.eu/f/bre (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)