During the meeting, the Commission representative provided information about the implementation of the project on labour standards delivered in cooperation with the ILO in El Salvador and Guatemala. The Commission also informed about preparations for meetings with Central America planned for 15-17 June in Honduras, in particular meeting of the intergovernmental Board on Trade and Sustainable Development. The EU Advisory Group then discussed preparations for the civil society meetings with Central America, which this year will include a workshop on market access, a joint meeting of the Advisory Groups and an open Civil Society Dialogue Forum. In the afternoon, a video-conference with Central American partners took place to discuss preparations for joint meetings.
América Latina y el Caribe
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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During the meeting, the EU DAG had an opportunity to discuss with Mr. Helmut Scholz, Member of the European Parliament, implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Title and work of the civil society monitoring mechanism in the framework of the EU-Colombia and Peru Trade Agreement. Moreover, the representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS) presented information about the EU relations and cooperation with Colombia and Peru. Based on the Second Annual Report, the Commission representative provided information about the implementation of the Trade Agreement, changes in trade flows and work of joint bodies. He also informed about the procedures and timeline related to Ecuador's accession to the Agreement.
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.
During the meeting, the representative of the European External Action Service (EEAS) presented information about the EU relations and cooperation with Central America. Based on the Second Annual Report, the Commission representative provided information about the implementation of the trade pillar of the Association Agreement, changes in trade flows and work of joint bodies established by the Agreement. The EU Advisory Group discussed also preparations for the next meeting with Central America under the Trade and Sustainable Development Title, as well as the ways to better communicate its activities to the Central American partners and other relevant stakeholders.
The External Relations Section (REX) of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is responsible for dialogue between European civil society organisations and their homologues from the countries with which the European Union has formal relations (e.g. under the form of a Free Trade Agreement). Through this dialogue, made possible by a series of bilateral bodies, and through specialized opinions and information reports, the Committee is able to concretely contribute to EU foreign policy.
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
Joint statement from the fifth meeting of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee
Joint Statement from the fifth meeting of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee
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
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.