Brussels, 15/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - The EU/Central America and EU/Andean Community political and cooperation dialogue agreements were signed on Monday in Rome by the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, who is also EU Council President, and the Foreign Ministers of the Central American countries (Costa Rica, Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) and Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela). Texts must now be ratified by the European Parliament and the national parliaments.
Concluded in October, these agreements update the treaties currently in force without including trade liberalisation as the Central American and Andean countries had initially hoped. According to the terms agreed during the last EU/Latin America Summit in Madrid in May 2002, they nonetheless aim to "create conditions" for an association agreement including free trade, founded on the results of the Doha WTO negotiations.
The new agreements extend cooperation to the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration. They mainly include a readmission clause for the repatriation of illegal immigrants, at the request of the country of destination, and measures to assist in border controls.
The agreements also institutionalise the political dialogue mechanisms. This dialogue was launched in 1984 between the EU and the Central American countries in the context of the San José process, which contributed to peace in the region. It was set in place in 1996 between the EU and the Andean Community, with the signing of the Rome Declaration.
Cooperation is mainly geared to strengthening regional integration, preventing natural disasters and consolidating rule of law. A Civil Society Forum devoted to integration in Central American is to be held on 29 January 2004 in Brussels.