Madrid, 17/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The second EU/Latin America/Caribbean Summit adopted a "political declaration" in Madrid on Friday, constituting the "Commitment of Madrid" to the a strategic partnership between the two regions in the fields of politics, economics and co-operation. This declaration is developed in a document of a hundred or so paragraphs on the "common values" of the two continents, ranging from human rights to the development of multilateralism, passing by disarmament and the fight against terrorism. The Summit also approved an "evaluation report" on developments in relations since the first summit of Rio in June 1999. The declaration already announces that the next summit will be held in Mexico on 2004, and that as early as the second half of 2002, a meeting of senior officials will have to prepare a ministerial meeting devoted to co-operation, to be held in Costa Rica end-2002.
Other than the differences between the EU and the Central American and Andean countries on the conclusion of new association agreements (see page 9), the Summit took the form of a relative coming together of minds, including on classifying FARC among the terrorist organisations (see below) and the fight against terrorism in general. Here are the main points raised in the debates and declarations:
Terrorism: the United Kingdom introduced this "dominant topic of the debates", according to Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had opened the summit by calling for "concerted action at international level, absolutely essential to tackle terrorism, the greatest threat to our shared values".
In their political declaration, the Heads of State and Government say they are "resolved to strengthen individual and collective measures to combat terrorism is all its forms", while assuring that they remain "wholly convinced that the fight against terrorism has to come in the respect of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the Rule of Law".
Democracy and human rights: consolidation of the Rule of Law, democracy and the fight against social inequalities had an important place in the debates. The declaration thus reaffirms "the attachment (ofy both sides) to all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development and fundamental freedoms", and the need to "consolidate democratic institutions", "firmly supporting the principle by which national judicial systems must be independent and impartial". The declaration condemns "all crimes against humanity" and considers "it important to enhance co-operation in identifying, arresting, extraditing and penalising any person guilty of these odious crimes", welcoming the creation of the International Criminal Court. The declaration pleads in favour of "policies destined to promote the respect of the dignity and wellbeing of migrants". Trying to defuse a dispute that was beginning to find prominence in the Latin American press, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué made a point of stressing before the press that Spain was not intending to limit visas for Argentinean or Caribbean immigrants "beyond what already exists".
Co-operation: This first debate on co-operation in social, cultural, educational, science and technology fields was introduced by Italy (on cultural diversity), Portugal (on technology gap), Argentina (on education), Colombia (on social cohesion), Costa Rica (on sustainable development). It was a "very broad, frank and informal" debate Piqué told the press, noting that there had been "great convergence of views on the need to respect the cultural diversity of our populations and regions".
The declaration welcomes the implementation of the Alfa Programme in the field of higher education, the new @lis programme for the dissemination of information technologies, and the launch of a sponsorship programme announced by the Commission (see EUROPE of 13 and 14 May, p.11). The declaration calls for the implementation of the "2002-2004 Action Plan for the creation of a common European Union-Latin America and Caribbean area of higher education" and the action plan adopted by the ministers responsible for science ad technology in Brasilia in March. Economically-speaking, the two sides undertook to encourage growth and combat poverty, by co-operating to "improve the effectiveness of public bodies, the promotion of regional integration processes, dynamism (…) SMEs and the development of infrastructures". They also undertook to "promote flows in trade and investments (..) through a more open, safer, non-discriminatory and more transparent legal environment".
Fight against drug trafficking. The declaration confirms the commitment taken by both parties to fight together "against the scourge of illegal drugs and drug-related crime, corruption and organised crime, by improving coordination mechanisms" and by "preventing their use for financing terrorism and criminal activities". The declaration on common values reaffirms the "shared responsibility" of producer and consumer countries and the need to discourage unlawful crops by providing commercial outlets for alternative crops, in order to ensure the communities concerned have a "decent quality of life". Both parties should assess the results of the cooperation mechanisms in the fight against drugs, including the last meeting held in Madrid in March this year.
Multilateralism and trade. Both parties confirm their commitment in favour of the UN's multilateral system and their determination to coordinate their positions for the forthcoming summits in Rome, on food, and Johannesburg, on sustainable development. They recognise that, in order to fight against inequality, "one must improve the rules and functioning of the international trade and financial system and also create real possibilities of market access". Brazilian President Enrique Cardoso hammered this home during the intervention, criticising "globalisation that promises opportunities but which does not seem able to resolve asymmetrical situations that make inequality and exclusion endure". He highlighted the "concerns" with regard to "protectionism", which finally turns into an instrument for defending the privileges of the richest countries". "Developing countries are faced with insurmountable barriers for their most competitive products", he said, citing farm subsidies, industrial surtaxes, tariff peaks, discriminatory measures and quotas.
International policy. Both parties welcome the efforts of the Argentinean authorities "for implementing a sound, global economic programme that will allow negotiations to be carried out successfully with the International Monetary Fund and other financial organisations".
According to the now ritual solution conceded to Cuba for condemning the American embargo, the declaration reaffirms the rejection "of all measures of a unilateral kind and with extraterritorial impact, contrary to international law and to the commonly admitted rules of free trade".
Finally, participants firmly "encourage Guatemala and Belize to seek together to reach a peaceful, honourable and definitive settlement to their territorial conflict", and invite "all parties concerned by the political crisis in Haiti to double their effort to strengthen democracy and create conditions that will be propitious for rapid and integral resumption of cooperation" with the international community.