PURPOSE: to conclude a Political Dialogue and
Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member
States, of the one part, and the Andean Community and its Member
Countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela), of the
other part.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the
act only if Parliament has given its consent to the
act.
BACKGROUND: on 18 March 2003, the Council authorised
the Commission to open negotiations for a Political Dialogue and
Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member
States, of the one part, and the Andean Community and its Member
Countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela), of the
other part.
The
Agreement was signed on 15 October 2003.
The Agreement should be approved on behalf of the
European Union.
CONTENT: under this proposal, the Council is invited
to adopt a Decision seeking to approve, on behalf of the European
Union, the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the
European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the
Andean Community and its Member Countries (Bolivia, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela), of the other part.
Scope and objectives of the
Agreement: the Agreement focuses
solely on political dialogue and cooperation and does not
contain a trade component.
The main objectives of the Agreement are to strengthen
EU-Andean Community relations by:
- developing political dialogue and reinforcing
cooperation,
- creating the conditions under which, building on the
outcome of the Doha Work Programme, a feasible and mutually
beneficial Association Agreement, including a free trade agreement,
could be negotiated between the parties.
The Agreement institutionalises and strengthens the
political dialogue based until now on an informal arrangement known
as the Rome Declaration (1996) and broadens cooperation to include
new areas such as:
- human rights,
- conflict prevention,
- migration,
- the fight against drugs and terrorism.
Special emphasis is placed on cooperation in support
of the process of regional integration in the Andean
Community.
The Agreement builds upon and will replace the 1993
Framework Cooperation Agreement between the two regions as well
as the Rome Declaration when it comes into force.
Venezuela: due to the
mixed nature of the Agreement, Member States had to ratify it. By
January 2013, the 15 EU Member States that signed it and all Andean
Member Countries had ratified the Agreement, except for Venezuela
which withdrew from the Andean Community in 2006.
The Agreement has not been concluded until today due
to the internal political and institutional crisis the organization
went through since the departure of Venezuela in 2006.
Andean community (CAN):
in 2011, the CAN initiated a process of structural reforms with the
objective of increasing its cost-effectiveness and efficiency,
re-focus on trade and economic integration, the interconnection of
electricity grids, and the social aspects of integration (free
movement of people, promotion of the Andean identity). It has also
promoted greater convergence and complementarity with other
regional organisations particularly Unasur.
In 2013, the EU signed a multi-party
Free Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru, which has recently
been extended to Ecuador.
With the conclusion of the Political Dialogue and
Cooperation Agreement, the EU will complement the multi-party
agreement and provide a framework for regional policy dialogue in
areas of mutual interest.
Readmission: the
Agreement also contains a readmission clause in article 49 that is
important in the context of the short stay visa waiver
agreements.
N.B: due to the enlargements that took place after the
signing of the Agreement, a Protocol taking into account the
accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia,
Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic
to the European Union needs to be adopted.