The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Luís YAÑEZ-BARNUEVO GARCÍA (PES, ES) containing a recommendation to the Council on the negotiating mandate for an association agreement between the EU and the Andean Community. The r eport was adopted by 470 votes in favour to 29 against with 65 abstentions. It stated that the negotiating guidelines for the future agreement must not overlook the serious economic, political and social deficit that exists in most of the Andean countries, nor ignore the differences in development between the two regions or the nature of economic relations within the CAN itself.

The key points of the recommendation were as follows:

- the legal basis on which the new association agreement is to be negotiated should include Article 300(3), second subparagraph (under which the European Parliament must give its assent to the agreement);

- the Council must include in the negotiating guidelines clear signals of support to the CAN members in their efforts to deepen all aspects of regional integration, fostering an agreement between regional blocs which would certainly not exclude the differentiated treatment which the development of the integration process within the CAN requires;

- it must also include in the negotiating mandate the EU-CAN consensus on shared responsibility for fighting drug trafficking, and promote alternative employment and crops and market access for them, and specific control mechanisms designed to reduce the related crimes of money laundering and arms trafficking;

- as in the case of the accord with Central America (see INI/2006/2222 ), not only must the ‘democracy clause’, other social clauses and environmental clauses be included; the mandate must also refer explicitly to the specific mechanisms which ensure that they are applied and provide for an annual report to Parliament on the follow-up carried out by the Commission in this area;

- foreign investment is an essential element for the economic development of both regions and the Council must stress that European undertakings with investments in the CAN should be expected to apply the same standards as regards working conditions and investment as are observed in the EU, and that the legal security of investors should be guaranteed on the basis of private international law and with full respect for the principle of national sovereignty over natural resources;

-the Council must consider the objectives of support for Andean regional integration – in particular, integration of physical, transport, communications and energy infrastructures – into the objectives of the next mandate for European Investment Bank action in Latin America and Asia, so that EIB action would effectively complement the new agreement;

- as a demonstration of tangible, decisive support for the Andean regional integration process, there must be no question of making the conclusion of the EU-Andean Community agreement subject to prior completion of the WTO round negotiations.

The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Luís YAÑEZ-BARNUEVO GARCÍA (PES, ES) containing a recommendation to the Council on the negotiating mandate for an association agreement between the EU and the Andean Community. The committee emphasised the importance of clearly identifying in the mandate the central issues on which the agreement's political dialogue must focus: governability and democratic stabilisation; corruption, impunity, terrorism, narcoterrorism and its links to organised crime; peacekeeping and security; conflict management; poverty, social cohesion and migration. The other key points of the recommendation were as follows:

- the legal basis on which the new association agreement is to be negotiated should include Article 300(3), second subparagraph (under which the European Parliament must give its assent to the agreement);

- the mandate should also cover the EU-Andean Community agreement on shared responsibility for fighting drug trafficking;

- as in the case of the accord with Central America (see INI/2006/2222 ), not only must the ‘democracy clause’, other social clauses and environmental clauses be included; the mandate must also refer explicitly to the specific mechanisms which ensure that they are applied and provide for an annual report to Parliament on the follow-up carried out by the Commission in this area;

- as a demonstration of "tangible, decisive support" for the Andean regional integration process, there must be no question of making the conclusion of the EU-Andean Community agreement subject to prior completion of the WTO round negotiations.

- lastly, the specific features of the Andean region must be taken into account, starting from the premise that the training of human resources is a priority for overcoming poverty in the region. Thus, special attention must be given to education, research, science and technology, culture, public health and protection of ecosystems and biodiversity.

Mr Luis Yañez-Barnuevo García (PES, Spain) submitted, on behalf of the socialist group and pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the Rules of Procedure, a proposal for a recommendation to the Council on the negotiating guidelines for an association agreement between the European Union and its Member States on the one part, and the Andean Community and its member countries on the other.

He sets out the following recommendations in his proposal:

§ the negotiating mandate should explicitly state the legal basis on which the new Association Agreement is to be negotiated, namely Article 310 of the Treaty establishing the European Union, in conjunction with the first sentence of the first paragraph of Article 300(2) and the second paragraph of Article 300(3);

§ the negotiating guidelines should clearly state support for the Andean partners in their efforts to overcome the crisis caused by Venezuela’s withdrawal, prioritising an Agreement between regional blocks which will not, however, exclude such differentiated treatment as may be required in terms of the development of the integration process within the Andean Community;

§ the guidelines should identify the central issues on which the agenda and the political dialogue will focus, including the updating of objectives and focuses on issues like democratic governability, peace-keeping and security, and conflict management; the guidelines should also include fresh objectives such as reducing poverty, supporting social cohesion, migration and human exchanges, and open the way to fresh action on issues like the adoption of common positions in international fora and the United Nations, respect for human rights, etc;

§ the negotiating mandate should, in particular, include EU-ANC agreement on shared responsibility for fighting drug trafficking, its social and economic implications when implementing the measures proposed, and, in particular, those concerning market access for alternative crops, and the specific control mechanisms designed to contain and gradually reduce the related crimes of money laundering and arms trafficking;

§ the negotiating guidelines should provide for progressive access to European markets for Andean products under competitive conditions, avoiding any worsening of existing imbalances as a result of the future Agreement; the guidelines should therefore provide for special, differentiated and flexible treatment, within deadlines to be agreed, in terms of commitments given within the framework of regional integration and improved competitiveness achieved by the Andean countries, on the basis of support measures on the part of the Union and by technology transfer, the inclusion of national requirements in the rules on origin, and the establishment of cooperation and technical assistance programmes; all of which should go hand in hand with a legal environment which guarantees safety for investment and the parties’ economic and trade relations;

§ as a demonstration of tangible, decisive support for the Andean regional integration process, in particular, there should be no subordinating conditions of any kind, whether explicit or tacit, making the conclusion of the future EU-ANC Agreement subject to the prior completion of the WTO round negotiations, without prejudice to the Agreement’s including, in due time, those results of the Doha working programme which are compatible with the final goal of the EU-ANC Association;

§ the new Agreement’s provisions on development cooperation should take account of the specific features of the Andean region, and be based on the priority need for training of human capital in order to overcome poverty in the region; for this reason, particular attention needs to be paid to education, research, science and technology and culture;

§ the Commission should provide Parliament with exhaustive information, on a confidential basis if necessary, as to its recommendations concerning the negotiating mandate.