Brussels, 27/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten began, on Monday, an official visit to Latin America with an official visit to Colombia. While there, he should meet Colombian President Andrés Pastrana on Tuesday in order to take stock of the peace process in Colombia and prepare the meeting of the "support group" for the peace process, to be held in 30 April in Brussels, under the aegis of the Inter-American Development Bank. Several weeks after the visit to Colombia by the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, Mr Patten is expected to confirm the EU's support for the social aspects of the Colombian plan. He should speak of the implementation of the plan whose military aspects and projects for chemical eradication of drug crops are challenged by the European Parliament in particular. The EU could give a favourable response to the requests received from the Colombian guerrilla organisations, the FARC and the ELN, that would like European observers to attend eradication operations, a Community source stated last week.