P6_TA(2007)0079

Negotiation of an EU-Central America Association Agreement

European Parliament recommendation of 15 March 2007 to the Council on the negotiating mandate for an association agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the countries of Central America, of the other part (2006/2222(INI))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the proposal for a recommendation to the Council by Willy Meyer Pleite on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, on the guidelines for the negotiation of an Association Agreement between the European Union and Central America (B6-0417/2006),

- having regard to paragraph 31 of the Vienna Declaration, which notes the decision taken by the European Union and Central America at the Fourth European Union-Latin America and Caribbean Summit, held in Vienna on 12 May 2006, to open negotiations on an Association Agreement, which includes political dialogue, cooperation programmes and a trade agreement,

- having regard to Title V of the Treaty on European Union,

- having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2001 on a global partnership and a common strategy for relations between the European Union and Latin America [1],

- having regard to its resolution of 27 April 2006 on a stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America [2],

- having regard to Rule 114(3) and Rule 83(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Development and the Committee on International Trade (A6-0026/2007),

A. whereas respect for democracy, the rule of law and full enjoyment of human rights by all individuals, along with full respect for the civil and political rights of the citizens of both regions, are the basic conditions for the development of the association between the parties, as was decided in Vienna,

B. whereas a guarantee of full enjoyment of fundamental rights for all citizens, particularly those who are disadvantaged, such as those belonging to indigenous peoples, and their more active social and political participation, are fundamental elements of the agreement,

C. whereas the guidelines for negotiation of the future agreement on economic association, political consensus and cooperation must accord with the parties' wish, as expressed in paragraph 31 of the Vienna Declaration, to conclude a comprehensive association agreement, in other words, one which restates the firm belief that the relationship with Central America, implies a political and economic partnership with the region and its various countries which takes into account the asymmetry and inequalities between the two regions and amongst the various Central American countries, and which therefore includes key provisions on development cooperation and social cohesion and will strive to bring about free trade,

D. whereas the creation of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) has been a decisive step in reinforcing the democratic legitimacy and political dimension of relations between the EU and Latin America, and particularly between the EU and Central America, and whereas that Assembly will be a permanent forum for political dialogue between the two regions,

E. whereas the guidelines for negotiation of the future agreement must take account of the economic, political and social circumstances which exist in most Central American countries, and the differences in development between the two regions, as well as the nature of economic relations in Central America: regional trade concentrated on a small number of countries, a high level of dependence on exports of traditional products and low levels of foreign direct investment by the EU in the region, and so on,

1. Addresses the following recommendations to the Council:

(a) expressly include in the negotiating mandate the legal basis on which the new association agreement is to be negotiated; that basis should be Article 310 of the EC Treaty in conjunction with the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) and the second subparagraph of Article 300(3);

(b) specify in the negotiating mandate that the objective of the Association Agreement between the EU and Central America includes the gradual liberalisation of trade in conditions of fairness and mutual benefit based on complementarity and solidarity, and political dialogue and cooperation, as well as consolidating democracy and the rule of law and full respect for human, civil and political rights, social cohesion, sustainable human development, and economic and social rights, not forgetting the cultural and environmental aspects of such rights;

(c) provide in the negotiating guidelines for the mechanisms required to ensure that the terms of the future agreement are in perfect accordance with the EU Treaty mandate, pursuant to which the contribution to sustainable human development, as defined in the 1996 United Nations Development Programme, promotion of international cooperation, the development and consolidation of democracy, and respect for human rights are basic objectives of the Union;

(d) identify in the negotiating guidelines, taking account of the vulnerability that is characteristic of Central American socio-economic, environmental and democratic development, the central issues on which the agenda and political dialogue will focus, including the updating of aims and objectives in such issues as democratic governance, combating terrorism, the maintenance of peace and security and conflict management; include further new issues such as the reduction of poverty, support for social cohesion, migration and human exchanges, the fight against crime and especially violent crime with transnational connections (trafficking in drugs, arms and people, and the activities of organised gangs such as "las Maras") and so on; and propose specific action for adopting common positions in international fora and at the United Nations in such a way as to achieve a genuine international political consensus between the two regions;

(e) provide for the appointment of members of the European Union — Central America Joint Parliamentary Committee, which will be set up under the new association agreement, from among Members of the European Parliament and the Central American Parliament, from the national parliaments not yet belonging to any regional chamber and from EuroLat, as a practical expression of support for the regional integration process in Central America and for the EU-LAC Bi-regional Strategic Partnership;

(f) include specific references in the negotiating guidelines to the appropriate involvement of civil society in the new political dialogue, by proposing the holding of periodic conferences with representatives of civil society in both the EU and Central America, granting those representatives observer status at interministerial meetings, and taking action to facilitate the representatives' active involvement in the relevant sectoral forums, committees and subcommittees at all stages in the discussion and negotiation of, and follow-up to, the process;

(g) also allocate a key role to supporting the fight against impunity and corruption, and provide actions and programmes to strengthen democratic institutions in Central America;

(h) provide in the negotiating guidelines for additional support from the EU for Central American integration and the reform and consolidation of its legislative framework and its institutions — including the General Secretariat, Central American Parliament and Central American Court of Justice —, with the aim of improving their effectiveness, representativeness and legitimacy, in particular as regards the customs union, the free movement of persons, common policies, harmonising legislation and creating their own funding mechanism;

(i) include the aims of supporting regional integration — in particular, the integration of physical, transport, communications and energy infrastructures — among the aims of the forthcoming mandate for the European Investment Bank's operations in Latin America, so that the Bank's activity effectively complements the new agreement;

(j) work with the countries of Central America to support their efforts to counter the illegal production and trade in drugs; part of those activities should involve extending aid programmes to farmers for introducing alternative crops, the marketing of which the EU could help effectively to ensure;

(k) ensure the inclusion and application of the democracy clause in the guidelines for the Association Agreement and establish mechanisms to safeguard the continuity of the system of employment and environmental incentives under the scheme of generalised preferences (GSP) [3], including the GSP Plus scheme, by means of clauses of a social or environmental nature; make express reference to the practical mechanisms that will enable them to be applied, and provide in particular for an annual report to Parliament on the follow-up carried out by the Commission in this area;

(l) take into account the fact that the GSP, including GSP Plus, is an autonomous EU regime benefiting the Central American countries on the basis of their levels of development;

(m) take account, with regard to the provisions on development cooperation in the new agreement, of the particular features of the Central American region and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the region, and start from the premise that the training of human resources and cultural and educational exchange are a priority for overcoming poverty in the region, so as to give special attention to education, research, science and technology and culture, also promoting an increase in exchanges in these areas;

(n) point out that the Association Agreement between the EU and Central America should be based on achieving the MDGs and also on the fight to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities, which the EU has set as priorities for cooperation;

(o) ensure that cooperation and the economic instruments available to the EU will also be used to promote and preserve the environment in the Central American region;

(p) pay particular attention to tourism projects in Central America with a view to ensuring that they are developed sustainably, given that tourism provides an incentive for economic growth;

(q) also promote three-way and bi-regional cooperation — especially with the Caribbean — and the policy of South-South cooperation, once the association agreement has entered into force;

(r) promote a suitable support framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their creation as an essential element for economic development, job creation and social well-being; consider what measures could be implemented to combat unemployment in the field of SMEs (including fiscal measures) and develop support programmes for those enterprises in the area of research;

(s) support small-scale producers and SMEs in general, and urges that investment be made in small businesses since the opening-up of the European markets will essentially benefit larger-scale producers who are able to satisfy European sanitary and phytosanitary standards;

(t) conclude a comprehensive and balanced Association Agreement based on three pillars: a political and institutional chapter reinforcing democratic dialogue and political cooperation, a cooperation chapter promoting sustainable economic and social development, and a trade chapter eventually establishing an advanced FTA with a broad agenda including, in addition to the gradual and reciprocal liberalisation of trade in goods and services, investment, public procurement, the protection of intellectual property rights, cooperation regarding competition and trade defence instruments, trade facilitation and an effective dispute settlement mechanism;

(u) provide in the negotiating guidelines for gradual and reciprocal trade liberalisation, (under terms and conditions characterised by justice and mutual benefit based on complementarity and solidarity) progressive access to European markets for Central American products under competitive terms and conditions, so as to prevent the agreement from aggravating existing asymmetries; accordingly, provide for special, variable and flexible treatment as regards the timetable that is established, depending on the commitments and improvements in the competitiveness achieved by the Central American countries, including EU support measures to promote changes in the production sector and the competitiveness of the Central American economies, such as technology transfer, the inclusion of requirements for home-country content in rules on origin, and the drawing-up of cooperation and technical assistance programmes, while at the same time promoting a stable legal environment and clear ground rules to guarantee the security of the parties' investments and economic and trade relations;

(v) regard a Euro-Latin America Interregional Comprehensive Partnership Area as a priority strategic objective for the EU's external relations in an international context characterised by increased interdependence, economic growth and the emergence of new economic powers;

(w) join Parliament in asking the Commission to launch, as a matter of urgency, a trade sustainability impact assessment, which should be a preliminary step in the negotiation of a trade agreement, and to request that the Commission inform Parliament about initiatives taken in this regard;

(x) in particular, do not include any express or tacit subordination making conclusion of the future EUCentral America agreement conditional on prior completion of the round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), without prejudice to incorporating in the agreement in due course the results of the Doha working programme that are compatible with the ultimate aim of the EU-Central America Association, all this being a demonstration of tangible and decisive support for the regional integration process in Central America;

(y) commit to the establishment of a Euro-Latin America Interregional Comprehensive Partnership Area in full compliance with the new WTO transparency mechanism and the rights and obligations arising out of the WTO, particularly Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), thus contributing to the strengthening of the multilateral trading system;

(z) negotiate a single and indivisible trade agreement which goes beyond the negotiating parties' present and future WTO obligations and establishes over a transition period compatible with WTO requirements a Euro-Latin America Interregional Comprehensive Partnership Area and which, without excluding any sector, takes account, in the least restrictive fashion possible, of the development dimension and the specific sensitivity of certain products;

(aa) take into account, as a very important step for the successful development of the negotiations, that Central America has endeavoured to fulfil its commitment, confirmed at the above-mentioned Vienna Summit, to implement as planned the decisions taken by the Heads of State and Government of Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic meeting in Panama on 9 March 2006, which aim at achieving an effective customs union, as well as to seek ratification of the Central American Treaty on Investment and Trade in Services and to develop a jurisdictional mechanism that could secure enforcement of regional economic legislation throughout the region;

(ab) take carefully into account the fact that the joint EU-Central American assessment of Central America's economic integration highlights a number of important practical conclusions to be drawn at the operational level (as regards the institutional framework, economic integration, the customs union, technical barriers to trade, the rules on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, regional liberalisation of services and investment, public procurement, intellectual property rights and the geographic information system, competition, and the trade defence instrument) so as to strengthen, develop, and complete the Central American customs union and the common internal market, which are essential in order to negotiate and establish a genuine FTA encompassing the two regions;

(ac) take into account the fact that consolidating and strengthening the Central American common market, first and foremost by completing the customs union and developing the common market, among other things by establishing an external trade policy and genuinely free movement of imported goods, will serve to lower the barriers for economic operators and boost trade and investment flows between the two regions;

(ad) offer meaningful new opportunities for market access in agriculture, which is crucial for Central America's development, independently of progress made in other areas, such as access to the market in non-agricultural products (NAMA) and in services, as achieved in relation to agricultural issues other than market access;

(ae) ensure a far-reaching and balanced outcome to the NAMA negotiations so as to allow for new and real opportunities for market access across the whole trade spectrum, subject to the appropriate degree of flexibility regarding the timetable for the elimination of tariffs by Central America and also to enable fisheries-related activities to continue and expand;

(af) take carefully into account the fact that fishing activity is an important and sensitive matter both for the EU and for Central America, given its contribution to economic development and job creation in the region, and the need to maintain fish stocks at sustainable levels through responsible fishing;

(ag) take into account the importance of guaranteeing universal access to essential services and of national rights to regulate, and thus of proceeding cautiously in the negotiations on the liberalisation of trade in services, in conformity with Article V of GATS, in order to ensure real improvements regarding the liberalisation commitments thus far agreed and applied and the need for a clear and predictable regulatory framework; abstain from making offers or accepting requests in the areas of public health and education;

(ah) take into account the ever-increasing potential of the tourism sector for investment and economic development in the Central American countries, and the importance of promoting tourism between the two regions;

(ai) include as a general provision the need for both the EU and Central America to seek, as a matter of principle, the eventual convergence of the various agreements in force or under negotiation between the two regions;

(aj) take into account the fact that the dispute settlement procedures provided for in comparable existing agreements concluded by the Community with third countries are not effectively utilised; therefore request the Commission to put forward new proposals with a view to devising a more effective dispute settlement instrument to issue rulings on disputes arising in any of the individual sectors to be covered by the FTA;

(ak) ensure that the Commission provides Parliament with exhaustive (and if necessary confidential) information on the draft negotiating guidelines as well as on the negotiating guidelines finally adopted;

2. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and, for information, to the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the countries of Central America.

[1] OJ C 140 E, 13.6.2002, p. 569.

[2] OJ C 296 E, 6.12.2006, p. 123.

[3] Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005 of 27 June 2005 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences (OJ L 169, 30.6.2005, p. 1).

--------------------------------------------------