Lateinamerika und die Karibik

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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).

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    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.

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    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. 

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    During the meeting, the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) and civil society representatives from Colombia and Peru will discuss implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Trade Agreement, with a particular focus on respect for international labour and environmental standards. They will also discuss economic, social, environmental and human rights impacts resulting from the implementation of the Agreement. The participants will reflect moreover on how the civil society from the EU, Colombia and Peru can cooperate to promote sustainable development in the context of trade relations and prepare for the next joint meeting. The participants may adopt a joint declaration summarising outcomes of their discussion and present it to the Parties during the open session planned for 8 December.

  • During the meeting, the representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS) will present information about the EU relations and cooperation with Colombia and Peru. The EU DAG Chair will inform the Group about the outcomes of the civil society meeting organized in Bogota on 6 October 2016 with a view of establishing the Colombian DAG. Moreover, the Commission representative will provide information about the Ecuador's accession to the Agreement, as well as about preparations for the next meeting with Colombia and Peru under the Trade and Sustainable Development Title planned for 7-8 December in Brussels. The Group will hold then an internal debate to choose topics for the meeting with Colombia and Peru and to organize cooperation with civil society in both countries
     

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    On the 4th and 5th of October 2016 the first meeting of the EU-Chile Joint Consultative Committee took place in Santiago, Chile. The JCC is contemplated in Article 10 of the EU-Chile Association Agreement and it is the last provision that has yet to be executed. An EESC delegation composed of nine members and presided by Ms. Pavic-Rogošic will be meeting the recently constituted Chilean Council. The rules governing the JCC will be agreed upon during this time and a work program encompassing the priorities of civil society in the relations between the EU and Chile will be defined. The JCC will be constituted at a key time in the relations between both political authorities in the context of the upcoming Modernization of the Association Agreement.

  • During the meeting, the Commission representative will provide information about the ex-post evaluation of the EU-Korea FTA, as an example of an evaluation of a trade agreement being in force. A similar evaluation of the implementation of the trade pillar of the EU-Central America Association Agreement is scheduled for 2018 and the EU Advisory Group would like to prepare for its future contribution to that process. The Commission will also discuss with the Group the follow-up to the meetings with Central America held in Honduras in June 2016 and the preparation for next year's meetings, which will take place in Brussels. The Group may also have an opportunity to discuss with the ILO representatives implementation of the project related to respect for labour standards, funded by the EU and delivered by the ILO in El Salvador and Guatemala.

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    This year's joint meetings between the EU and Central America under the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Association Agreement commenced with a workshop on market access. The participants discussed opportunities provided by the Agreement and challenges faced by the economic operators, in particular SMEs. Separate sessions focused on fair trade and value chains as ways facilitating market access for SMEs and small producers. On 16 June, the representatives of the EU and Central American Advisory Groups exchanged experience in their up-to-date operation and discussed proposals for strengthening capacity of the civil society monitoring mechanism, the role of the Parties in this context and future cooperation. This was followed by Civil Society Dialogue Forum where civil society representatives from the EU and Central America asked questions and expressed positions with regard to implementation of the Association Agreement and its impacts. The last part held on 17 June was dedicated to a meeting between the civil society and government representatives, i.e. the Board on Trade and Sustainable Development.