Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-15-Speech-3-009"
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"en.20020515.1.3-009"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in June 1999 the first Summit of Heads of State and Government between the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Río de Janeiro on the initiative of France and Spain. During this Summit, Spain offered to host a second one which was agreed at the time, and which furthermore would coincide with the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.
At the Madrid Summit, both regions wish to take a further step, in not only a quantitative but also a qualitative sense, which would consist of a better structuring of political dialogue and a broader range of issues for discussion, which would also cover those not relating to regional problems. We hope that this step forward will lead to the development of a common approach to world issues.
From an economic point of view we should begin by stressing that the European Union is very different from Latin America and the Caribbean in economic and social terms.
The population of Latin America and the Caribbean is greater than that of the Europe of the Fifteen – I am not talking about the enlarged Europe, since that will clearly have a larger population – and on the whole it is very young, that is to say it comprises very low age ranges.
Average per capita income in Latin America and the Caribbean is little over EUR 3 000 per year, while the average in the Union is seven times greater.
The bi-regional market continues to offer many opportunities for trade. Between 1990 and 2000 European exports have increased from approximately EUR 17 billion to EUR 54 billion, in other words they have almost trebled.
European imports from Latin American and Caribbean countries during that same period have increased from approximately EUR 27 billion to EUR 58 billion. In other words, they have doubled. Despite this spectacular increase in volume, imports originating from Latin America and the Caribbean have gone from 24% of the total in 1990 to just 12% of the total in 2000. In relative terms, trade between the two sides of the Atlantic is decreasing, but it is increasing within the American continent.
There has also been a considerable increase in direct European investment in Latin America and the Caribbean. The European Union is currently the biggest investor in the region. Investments have risen from EUR 66 billion in 1997 to EUR 122 billion in 1999, which represents almost 11% of all European foreign investment and almost two-thirds of European investments in non-OECD countries. This investment, Mr President, is a great reflection of the European Union’s confidence in and commitment to the whole Latin American and Caribbean region and without doubt makes a great contribution to the growth of economic activity and the creation of employment in that region.
Furthermore, and above all, the Europe of the Fifteen shares deep historical, political and cultural roots with Latin America and the Caribbean, which help in the development of a genuine identity and a genuine strategic partnership.
These common positions and values are creating important ties in terms of identity and solidarity and are encouraging both regions to exchange more and more of their own experiences and to combine their resources in order to resolve common problems.
Amongst the challenges which the European Union and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean must face is the need to modernise education systems, to create an economic and social climate favourable to sustainable development and to establish mechanisms for good governance.
Therefore, as planned, the Summit will take place in Madrid on the 17th and 18th of this month, that is, on Friday and Saturday of this week.
The promotion of a strategic partnership cannot be based purely on a common identity, whether this be historical, cultural or political, but must be the result of a shared interest in order to turn principles, values and objectives into practical mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation, so that the two regions can confront all the great challenges of this new millennium in a united fashion.
On the 17th and 18th in Madrid, the Heads of State and Government of the 48 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union who will attend the Summit – let us remember that this Summit of Heads of State and Government is the largest and broadest to be held in the Union, since we are talking about 48 Heads of State and Government – are going to try to give significant impetus to the strategic bi-regional partnership, which, as I said earlier, began in Río de Janeiro in 1999.
In each of the strategic pillars on which this partnership is based, the political, the economic and cooperation in the social, educational and cultural fields, both regions have wanted to take a significant step forward. I would like to make a special mention of the joint fight against terrorism, through compliance with all the international conventions in this field, as well as the application of all the relevant United Nations resolutions.
Efforts will continue to strengthen democratic institutions and the Rule of Law, paying particular attention to human rights and the strengthening of judicial systems, with a view to guaranteeing the equal treatment of all people before the law. Equally, account will be taken of the entry into force of the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court which, as the honourable Members are aware, has been ratified by many Latin American and Caribbean countries.
The intention is to strengthen political dialogue and consultation within the United Nations system, as well as other international fora, on the most important issues on the international agenda.
In terms of economic and commercial issues we must stress that on 25 April we were able to successfully complete the process of negotiating an association agreement between the European Union and Chile. This is a free trade agreement between the two parties. It is truly innovative in economic terms, unquestionably the most advanced of all those reached between the European Union and other third countries and there has been no hesitation in describing it as a fourth-generation agreement. It is perhaps the free trade agreement that has dealt with the highest number of issues and included the highest number of considerations and there is no doubt that this opens the way for other agreements of this type, both in that region and in other parts of the world. We should remember, however, that in that region we are trying to establish a free trade agreement between two regions of economic integration – the European Union and Mercosur – and therefore the agreement reached with Chile sets a precedent for something truly historic; the establishment of a free trade agreement between two common markets or between two regions of economic integration.
Since it is relevant here, I would also like to mention the recent approval by the General Affairs Council of a proposal for future European Union relations with the Andean Community and with Central America which opens the way for the consideration of the creation of free trade areas between the European Union and both regions and in order to intensify not only cooperation but also political dialogue, which is an added value which did not exist previously in the agreements with these countries.
We all know that the difficult internal situation being experienced by certain South American countries is hindering the complex negotiations for a partnership agreement between the European Union and Mercosur which I referred to earlier. The truth is that the Summit wishes to acknowledge the results of the negotiation, in which the political, institutional and cooperation chapters have been completed and the small amount of progress which has been made in the fields of commerce and the measures for facilitating commerce so that we do not abandon this important project of a future free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.
Both regions – I am referring to the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean in general – have committed themselves to working together to ensure the success of the World Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August, as well as adopting a mutual commitment to succeed in something very important on which the Latin American countries have a great deal to say, that is the Millennium Round, with the commercial issues recently launched in Doha.
Education, culture and access to knowledge are undoubtedly important keys to success in the 21st Century. I would like to highlight the launch of the @lis Programme for cooperation with Latin America in relation to the information society, recently approved at the meeting of science and technology Ministers in Seville and the ALCUE programme in the field of scientific and technological cooperation and a new programme of post-graduate grants intended to help 4 000 students from the other side of the Atlantic to benefit from the advantages of studying at European universities.
The profound changes which took place in European and in the Americas during the 90s and the mutual desire to establish a general framework for bi-regional relations were the prime motives for staging the Río Summit. At the end of that Summit, the Heads of State and Government adopted two important documents: the Río Declaration, which established the general principles to be applied to relations between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and a second document, designated as an Action Plan, which identified the 55 priority areas in the political, economic, cultural, educational and social fields, amongst others, which should form the basis for a strategic bi-regional partnership between the two sides of the Atlantic.
Finally, Mr President, I would like to repeat that at this Madrid Summit, which, as I have said, we expect to be attended by 48 Heads of State and Government, a bi-regional process based on a strategic partnership will be consolidated. I am convinced that at the end of the Summit we will be able to celebrate the progress made on a process which begun just three years ago.
Through this Madrid Summit, the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean are committing themselves to deepening this partnership so that both regions can together confront the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new 21st Century.
In Madrid, the Heads of State and Government propose to adopt three documents: an evaluation report recording what has been achieved since the Rio Summit, a document presenting the increasingly numerous common positions and values we share, and, finally, a political declaration which, as well as announcing the consolidation of our strategic bi-regional partnership, will list the firm commitments made at the highest level by both regions in the political, economic and cooperation fields and which go further than the measures adopted at the first Summit.
Until 1999, relations between the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean had been based on a mainly sub-regional approach. Political dialogue and cooperation were designed for the various sub-regional realities, in other words, dialogue was subdivided. We established the San José dialogue for Central America, the dialogue with the Andean Community, Mercosur, Icaricom, and apart from certain exceptions, such as Mexico and Chile, which had a particular specific relationship, practically all the dialogue centred on differing sub-regional units.
The Rio Summit had the merit of introducing this new bi-regional approach, which has undoubtedly added weight to relations between the European Union and the sub-regions and individual countries.
With a view to this second Summit, the Spanish Presidency has worked intensively to make substantial progress on the three strategic dimensions I have mentioned. Furthermore, we must stress that we have wanted this strategic relationship between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean from now on to be the framework or benchmark on which the European Union’s relations with each of the subregional areas or individual countries of Latin America and the Caribbean will be built.
From the point of view of political dialogue, the European Union’s priorities in relation to Latin America and the Caribbean, during the short period between the Rio Summit and today, have essentially been the strengthening of democracy and the Rule of Law, the defence of human rights, the fight against drug-trafficking, as well as the promotion of regional integration and coordination between the different positions of both regions in relation to the international agenda within the framework of international organisations and conferences."@en1
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