América Latina y el Caribe

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El CESE ha trabajado con organizaciones equivalentes de América Latina y el Caribe desde los años noventa del siglo pasado. Varios dictámenes del CESE han tratado sobre las relaciones con esta región a nivel regional, subregional y nacional. Entre las prioridades del CESE se incluyen el desarrollo de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, el desarrollo económico y social, la integración regional y la cooperación en la esfera multilateral.

A nivel regional, el CESE organiza reuniones bienales entre representantes de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en Europa, América Latina y el Caribe, como uno de los actos preparatorios previos a la Cumbre UE-CELAC. 

A nivel subregional y nacional se han creado varias estructuras. En 2009, el CESE creó una Mesa Redonda de la Sociedad Civil con el Consejo de Desarrollo Económico y Social (CDES) de Brasil, con el fin de proporcionar un foro para el diálogo y la cooperación continua entre representantes de la sociedad civil europea y brasileña. El Acuerdo de Asociación UE-Chile otorgó al CESE el mandato de crear un Comité Consultivo Conjunto UE-Chile, establecido finalmente en 2016, junto a la sociedad civil chilena con el objetivo de supervisar el acuerdo. En lo que respecta a los países de la Comunidad Andina, el CESE participa en el Grupo Consultivo Interno que supervisa el Acuerdo de Libre Comercio entre la UE y Colombia, Perú y Ecuador. También participa en el Comité Consultivo Cariforum-UE que supervisa el Acuerdo de Asociación Económica Cariforum-UE. Se han establecido relaciones permanentes con los equivalentes institucionales del CESE en el Mercosur (el Foro Consultivo Económico-Social) y en Centroamérica (el Comité Consultivo del Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana).

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    DECLARATION OF THE EU DOMESTIC ADVISORY GROUP UNDER THE EU TRADE AGREEMENT WITH COLOMBIA, ECUADOR AND PERU
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    Report
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    Ex-post evaluation of the EPA between the EU and its Member States and the CARIFORUM Member States

    January 2020

    Ex-post evaluation CARIFORUM-EU EPA January 2020
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    Joint declaration
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    Joint statement from the fifth meeting of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee

    Joint Statement from the fifth meeting of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee
  • Document type
    Joint declaration
    Latest update

    Concept note proposal to establish a CARIFORUM-EU Centre in Europe – Joint Statement appendix

    Concept note proposal to establish a CARIFORUM-EU Centre in Europe – Joint Statement appendix
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    The main conclusion of the paper is that the incorporation of environmental provisions within the EPAs may present some benefits to ACP countries. These include increased enforcement of environmental laws and the raising of domestic environmental standards. However, developing countries will have to seek ways to mitigate some risks and challenges associated with internal and regional coordination in negotiations, legal burdens of the negotiating process itself and the implementation of obligations as well as the establishment and maintenance of appropriate levels of environmental protection and institution building. ACP countries will need appropriate packages of technical assistance, capacity building, and environmental cooperation to meet this new environmental agenda in their trade agreements.

    Environmental issues in economic partnership agreements: Implications for developing countries
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    In October 2008, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic, being members of the Forum of the Caribbean Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM), signed the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). Haiti signed the agreement in December 2009, but has not yet applied it, as it still has to be ratified.

    The first objective of Article 1 of the Agreement indicated that the EPA is expected to contribute to “the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty through the establishment of a trade partnership consistent with the objective of sustainable development, the Millennium Development Goals and the Cotonou Agreement” but also to promote regional integration, economic cooperation and good governance, and to improve CARIFORUM States' capacity in trade policy and trade-related issues.

    In the context of the implementation of this EPA, the ILO Decent Work Team (DWT) for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean based in Trinidad and Tobago put together, with the financial support of the EU, the project “Support to Facilitate Participation of CARIFORUM Civil Society in the Regional Development and Integration Process: Challenges to CARIFORUM Labour, Private Sector and Employers to Fulfil their EPA Obligations”. It targeted all CARIFORUM countries and was to be implemented between 2015 and 2018. This project is herein after referred to as the “ILO-EU Project”.

    CARIFORUM Civil Society in the Regional Development and Integration Process
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    The Implementation of Article 232 CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee
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    At the dawn of the new millennium, the European Union (EU) wanted to change profoundly its economic and commercial relationship with the countries of the Africa-
    Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) with whom she had a privileged relationship. This relationship was hitherto based for a quarter of a century on a traditional vision support to the former British and French colonies through the opening non-reciprocal nature of the European market to products originating from these countries. This arrangement was gradually considered ineffective and not in accordance with the rules of the international trade. This led the EU to favor a new approach neo-liberal inspiration, nuanced by a certain consideration of the differences in between the EU and ACP countries. It has in fact acted, through the Economic Partnership (EPA), to put in place free trade agreements between
    the EU and large ACP regions, de jure demanding a strong reciprocity with openness from 2008 ACP markets to products (goods and services) originating in the EU.

    Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as a support tool for ACP countries in their economic development strategy and market: the case of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA
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    The OECS and IOC are two small regional integration and cooperation organizations, respectively, founded by small island ACP States to support them in their economic and social development efforts, and which have subsequently opened up to a certain degree of differentiated participation in French overseas territories in a context of evolving international and commercial relations.
    In this article, we propose a comparative analysis of these two organizations and this participation, highlighting the common points, but also the important legal, political, socio-economic and financial differences.
    The first part is devoted to the comparative analytical presentation of the two organizations, before going on to discuss in a second part the question of the participation of French Overseas Territories and its differentiated modalities. The conclusion provides an overall assessment of observed dynamics.

    Regional Integration and Participation of French Overseas: A Comparative Analysis of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)
  • Document type
    Joint declaration
    Latest update
    Joint Declaration