Brussels, 28/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - An "advisory group" for EU/Chile negotiations, composed of around twenty representatives from the main Chilean companies, Chile's worker confederation and parliamentarians, was formed on Monday in Santiago da Chile. The mission of the advisory group will be to "accompany the work of the various groups and to help us by its experience in the task of negotiation", said Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear, cited by the EFE Agency in Santiago. "The group will not replace the contacts that already exist between negotiators and the different representatives of the sectors involved", Chile's Ambassador to the EU, Alberto van Klaveren, told EUROPE. "It is not a question of systematically consulting the group on sensitive matters. We wish to preserve the autonomy of negotiators and all decisions will, at the end of the day, be taken by the Chilean government", he continued. He went on to say that the "group will be of a general, more political character. We are mainly counting on parliamentarians to follow up the work of the lobby with the EU". The advisory group should meet at the invitation of the government, probably every month. Its members will include the vice-president of the CMPC paper industry, Eliodoro Matte, the president of Compañia Sud Americana de Vapores, Ricardo Claro, the president of the Sociedad de Fomento Fabril, Juan Claro, or the president of the Banco del Desarollo, Vicente Caruz, states the EFE Agency.
We recall that the sixth round of negotiations for an association and free trade agreement between the EU and Chile should be held during the first week of October in Brussels. During the last negotiating session, the EU and Chile exchanged offers of tariff dismantling. The EU proposed to liberalise 93% of agricultural products and 100% of industrial products over ten years (see EUROPE of 13 July), without, however, specifying the periods of liberalisation for wines and spirits, for which imports from Chile represent EUR 240 million. "This offer was welcomed with relative optimism", noted Ambassador Alberto van Klaveren, noting that the European offers for fishing and wine provoked "frustration" on the Chilean side, in so far as it is considered in Santiago that the Chilean offer is more generous whereas the European offer largely includes products that are already liberalised. "But we know that this is a departure position for negotiation", said Alberto van Klaveren. The theme of negotiations should be tackled during the visit by the Chilean President to Brussels, on 13 September.