1.

Makes the following recommendations to the Council: (a) hopes that the Strategic Partnership will mark a qualitative leap in EU-Mexico relations, both multilaterally in terms of issues of world importance and in strengthening the development of bilateral relations; (b) favours institutionalising annual EU-Mexico summits within the framework of the Strategic Partnership, as is already the case for those with the USA, Russia, China and Brazil; (c) trusts that the Strategic Partnership will give a new impetus to the EU-Mexico Global Agreement in its various aspects – political (including human rights), security, anti-drugs trafficking, environmental, cooperation (technical and cultural) and socio-economic; (d) wishes the trade chapter to be based on like-for-like treatment, solidarity, dialogue and respect for the specific characteristics of Mexico and of the EU; (e) reiterates its support for the Mexican Government and President Calderón in their vital work of cleaning up certain institutions of the State; believes this campaign is essential in order to stop corruption and ensure that society is not left unprotected; (f) believes that it falls within the sphere of its activities to fight feminicide in both regions, on a basis of dialogue, cooperation and the exchange of best practices; (g) trusts that the Strategic Partnership will lead to closer coordination of positions on crisis situations and issues of world importance, on the basis of shared interests and concerns; (h) wishes to see clear guidelines on how best to ensure close cooperation with a view to promoting effective multilateralism and reinforcing the UN’s capacities for preserving and consolidating peace and ensuring respect for human rights, while also tackling, in the framework of international law, common threats to peace and security such as trafficking in drugs and arms, organised crime, terrorism and human trafficking, in line with the Lima Declaration; (i) urges that the Strategic Partnership be seen as an opportunity to debate how to make the human rights and democracy clause function more effectively and to evaluate compliance with it – including through development of its positive dimension – given that human rights and democracy represent essential values, in all the agreements and for both parties; (j) expresses in this connection its support for the Mexican government in its contributions to the work of the UN and in its fight against drug trafficking, international terrorism and organised crime, especially in view of the increasing numbers of victims of drug trafficking and consumption; (k) trusts that the privileged mechanisms of political dialogue arising from the EU-Mexico Strategic Partnership will result in a real impetus for relations with and between the various regional integration processes, for the safeguarding of the values and interests of the Strategic Partnership itself, and for the strengthening of multilateralism in the area of international relations; (l) suggests that greater weight be given to the Mexico-EU Civil Society Forum and that its recommendations be taken into account wherever possible; (m) stresses the role of the Strategic Partnership as an instrument that should help reinforce cooperation between the parties in international forums, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, the G20 and the G8+G5, with a view to seeking solutions to the world financial crisis and launching a joint response aimed at restoring confidence in the financial institutions, in line with the San Salvador Declaration; (n) underlines the need, especially in the context of the world financial crisis, to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, given their vital role in the strengthening of the economic and social fabric and creating worthwhile employment; (o) stresses the importance of all bilateral agreements concluded between the EU and Mexico, especially the Global Agreement, which includes an FTA, and the Strategic Partnership; (p) highlights the positive effects that the application of the Global Agreement has had for both parties, with an increase in bilateral trade of more than 100 % being recorded; (q) underlines that the EU-Mexico Strategic Partnership will give fresh impetus to the bilateral relationship and will favour the expansion and improvement of cooperation programmes such as the Integral Support Programme for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (PIAPYME), the results of which will benefit both parties; calls in this context for an information campaign to be conducted to publicise all the programmes from which both parties will benefit within the framework of this deepening of their relations; point out that the Strategic Partnership will serve to further consolidate coordination between the two parties in the main multilateral forums and institutions; (r) recommends that Mexico should become a permanent member of the new financial and economic international architecture of the G20, given that, within this context, the bilateral strategic partnership with the EU will become even more relevant; (s) emphasises the need to establish common ground in order to devise an ambitious strategy for fighting climate change, with a view to the UN Conference on Climate Change to be held in 2009 in Copenhagen and the achievement of a global agreement; (t) urges that more coherent efforts be made to promote scientific and technological transfer, with a view to boosting real cooperation in fighting climate change and improving environmental protection; (u) wishes to see further progress in developing a comprehensive and structured dialogue on migration, both legal and illegal, as well as on the links between migration and development, in line with the experiences of both Mexico and the EU in that regard and with the Lima Declaration; (v) calls on the Joint Council, on the basis of the future developments clause provided for by Article 43 of the Global Agreement, to consider the timeliness of establishing, inter alia, an agreement on an immigration policy between the two parties, in particular as regards Mode 4 procedures; (w) calls for the reaffirmation of the commitments for attainment of the Millennium Development Goals and for renewed awareness of the need for close cooperation in the areas of social cohesion, gender equality, climate change, sustainable development, the fight against international terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime, food security, and the fight against poverty; (x) believes there must be a regular flow of information from the EU institutions and the Mexican government to the European Parliament, EuroLat and the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee on the state of play regarding the Strategic Partnership and on the monitoring of the actions taken under it;