Europäischer Wirtschafts- und Sozialausschuss
Der EWSA arbeitet seit den 1990er-Jahren mit seinen Partnerorganisationen in den Ländern Lateinamerikas und der Karibik zusammen. Er hat eine Reihe von Stellungnahmen zu den Beziehungen mit dieser Region auf regionaler, subregionaler und nationaler Ebene erarbeitet. Zu seinen Prioritäten gehören die Förderung von Organisationen der Zivilgesellschaft, die wirtschaftliche und soziale Entwicklung, die regionale Integration und die Zusammenarbeit auf multilateraler Ebene.
Auf regionaler Ebene richtet der EWSA als Vorbereitung auf das Gipfeltreffen EU-CELAC zweijährliche Treffen zwischen Vertretern der organisierten Zivilgesellschaft Europas, Lateinamerikas und der Karibik aus.
Auf subregionaler und nationaler Ebene sind mehrere dauerhafte Strukturen eingerichtet worden: So hat der EWSA gemeinsam mit dem brasilianischen Wirtschafts- und Sozialrat im Jahr 2009 das Diskussionsforum der Zivilgesellschaft EU-Brasilien ins Leben gerufen, um ein Forum für den Dialog und die ständige Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Vertretern der Zivilgesellschaft Brasiliens und Europas zu schaffen. Im Assoziierungsabkommen EU-Chile ist die Schaffung eines Gemischten Beratenden Ausschusses (GBA) aus Vertretern des EWSA und der chilenischen Zivilgesellschaft vorgesehen, der die Umsetzung des Abkommens begleiten soll. Dieser GBA wurde im Jahr 2016 eingerichtet. In Bezug auf die Länder der Andengemeinschaft ist der EWSA an der Internen Beratungsgruppe beteiligt, die das Freihandelsabkommen EU-Kolumbien/Peru/Ecuador überwacht. Er ist außerdem am Beratenden Ausschuss Cariforum-EU beteiligt, der das Wirtschaftspartnerschaftsabkommen Cariforum-EU begleitet. Darüber hinaus unterhält er ständige Beziehungen zu seinen institutionellen Partnern des Mercosur (Beratendes Wirtschafts- und Sozialforum) und in Zentralamerika (Beratender Ausschuss des Systems der zentralamerikanischen Integration).
During the 8th meeting of the Domestic Advisory Group for the EU-Colombia, Peru and Ecuador FTA the new President and Vice-Chairs were elected under the new mandate. Members participated in debriefing on past activities and exchanged views on a possible work programme for the new mandate. DG TRADE provided the members with the latest information on the FTA.
7th meeting of the Domestic Advisory Group for the EU-Colombia and Peru FTA
The 11th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 25 January in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
The 9th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 14 October in Brussels.
The Consultative Committee (CC) is one of the 5 institutions foreseen in the EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement. The CC is composed of 40 (25 from the CARIFORM side and 15 from the EU side) standing representatives of organisations of the civil society representing employers' organisations, trade unions, other economic, social and non-governmental organisations, including development and environmental organisations; and the academic community.
4ª reunión conjunta de los grupos asesores nacionales de la UE, Colombia, Perú y Ecuador y sesión abierta
During the meeting, members of the GCI were informed by the President on the civil society meeting of EuroLat's standing parliamentary committees (22-24 May), the hearing in the Walloon Parliament concerning the current state of The EU-Colombia, Peru and the FTA of Ecuador, as well as the public with DG Trade on the current status of the Advisory Groups. They were then interviewed by the European Commission on the preparation of the 2017 Civil Society Forum and the process of Ecuador's accession to the agreement.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will celebrate its Ninth meeting of European Union, Latin American and Caribbean Organised Civil Society in Panama City on 3 and 4 October 2017. The meeting will take place within the framework of the preparation of the 9th Summit of Heads of State or Government of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean and will enable the development of dialogue between civil society organizations in the EU and LAC, promote the strengthening of these organizations and bring to light the point of view of organized civil society before the Heads of State.
The event will bring together 120 participants, including EESC members, organized civil society representatives from Latin American and the Caribbean, as well as guest speakers. The topics for discussion include multilateralism, open and fair trade, and decent work and the preservation of the environment as pillars of sustainable development.
During the meeting, the members of the DAG debriefed on the results of the meeting with Colombia and Peru under the Trade and Sustainable Development Title, which took place on 7-8 December in Brussels . The representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS) presented information about the EU relations and cooperation with Colombia and Peru. The Representatives of the DG Trade informed the members of the DAG on recent developments regarding the Trade and Sustainable development chapter as well as on their recent mission to Ecuador. The Group held then an internal debate on the topics to be selected for the next joint meetings, on the state of play of constitution of DAGs in Colombia and Peru and on the rights of indigene communities in Peru.
The 8th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement will take place on February 1st in Brussels.
