Latinamerika och Västindien

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EESK har samarbetat med motsvarigheter i Latinamerika och Karibien sedan 1990-talet. EESK har i flera yttranden fokuserat på förbindelserna med denna region, på regional, subregional och nationell nivå. EESK har bl.a. följande prioriteringar: utveckling av det civila samhällets organisationer, ekonomisk och social utveckling, regional integration och multilateralt samarbete.

På regional nivå anordnar EESK vartannat år möten mellan företrädare för civilsamhällesorganisationer i Europa, Latinamerika och Karibien, som ett av de förberedande evenemangen inför toppmötet mellan EU och Celac.

På subregional och nationell nivå har flera permanenta strukturer inrättats: 2009 inrättade EESK tillsammans med Brasiliens ekonomiska och sociala råd en rundabordskonferens för det civila samhället för att tillhandahålla ett forum för dialog och fortlöpande samarbete mellan företrädare för det civila samhället i Brasilien och EU. Genom associeringsavtalet mellan EU och Chile fick kommittén i uppdrag att med sin motsvarighet i det chilenska civila samhället inrätta en gemensam rådgivande kommitté med uppgift att övervaka avtalet, och denna inrättades slutligen 2016. När det gäller länderna i Andinska gemenskapen deltar EESK i den inhemska rådgivande grupp som övervakar frihandelsavtalet mellan EU och Colombia, Peru och Ecuador. EESK deltar också i den rådgivande kommittén EU–Cariforum, som övervakar det ekonomiska partnerskapsavtalet mellan Cariforum och EU. Permanenta förbindelser har upprättats med EESK:s institutionella motsvarigheter i Mercosur (det rådgivande ekonomiska och sociala forumet) och Centralamerika (den rådgivande kommittén för det centralamerikanska integrationssystemet).

  • 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.

  • 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.