Madrid, 17/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The EU/Chile Association Agreement is "one of the most significant recent achievements in the EU-Latin American relations" said European Commission President Romano Prodi in Madrid on Thursday evening at the Foro Nuevo Economia on the fringes of the EU-Latin American Summit, ahead of the announcement of the signing of the Association Agreement by himself, President Lagos and Spanish Prime Minister Aznar. In terms of trade, the outcome of the negotiations "is the most ambitious and innovative ever achieved for a bilateral agreement by the EU and I gather also by Chile", added Prodi. At the same forum, Commissioner Chris Patten also said that the Agreement reflected the EU's serious political commitment to be present and active in Latin America, saying he was convinced that the Agreement would give a new impulse to the EU's current round of negotiations with the whole of Latin America.