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.

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