OAS

 
Andean Countries- European Union
Text of the agreement
  Background and Negotiations
   

In 1993 the Andean Community membership: (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and the European Commission signed a Framework Cooperation Agreement (adopted by the Andean Community as Decision 329 which entered into force in 1998). The 1996 EC Declaration of Rome sets out a draft Declaration on Political Dialogue between the European Union and the Andean Community, which contemplates official meetings on bilateral and international matters of common interest to be held at the presidential and ministerial level.

In May 2002 at the EU-Latin American and Caribbean Summit, held in Madrid, a new Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement was initiated between the European Union (EU) and the Andean Community. This agreement was signed in Rome in December 2003 and, once ratified, will replace the 1996 Declaration of Rome and the 1993 Framework Agreement on Cooperation. At the 2005 EU Ministerial meeting, Andean Community Ministers informed the EU that the 2003 Agreement had been adopted by Andean Community's Foreign Affairs Council on 11 July 2004, through Andean Community Decision number 595. At the July 2006 EU-Andean Community High Level Meeting, both sides agreed on the need to speedily ratify the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement and on the need for a future Association Agreement to be comprehensive and include political, cooperation and trade pillars.

The 1993 Framework Agreement identified different cooperation areas and established joint committees for follow-up activities as well as a subcommittee on trade, which have continued to operate. A Joint Committee (originally established pursuant to the 1983 Cooperation Agreement) continued to operate.

With the 2004 Declaration of Guadalajara, the EU initiated a joint assessment of the Andean Community integration process, which was referenced in the Joint Committee declaration of January 2005 as a step leading towards negotiations on an Association Agreement, including a Free Trade Agreement. At the ministerial meeting in May 2005, Ministers created an ad hoc working group to advance in the technical aspects of the joint assessment exercise. The first meeting of the working group took place in Lima, Peru on 5 April 2005. The second meeting took place in Brussels, Belgium on 26 July 2005. The third meeting took place in Caracas, Venezuela on 10-11 November 2005. At this meeting the technical phase of the process was concluded. The final report was presented to the Joint Committee in July 2006. On 19 April 2007, during the XIII Ministerial Meeting between the Andean Community and the European Union, Ministers expressed their intention to begin negotiations of the Association Agreement in May 2007. Negotiations were launched on 14 June 2007 on the occasion of the Seventeenth Regular Meeting of the Andean Council of Presidents held in Tarija, Bolivia. Both parties welcomed the approval of Decision 667 containing the General Framework for the Negotiation of the Associacion Agreement between the Andean Community and the European Union that establishes that the different levels of development and economic approaches among both groups will be taken into account in the negotiations.

The first round of negotiations were held in Bogotá on 17 September 2007. The second round took place in Brussels, Belgium on 14 December 2007. The third round of negotiations was concluded in Quito, Ecuador on 25 April 2008. On 17 May 2008, during the V Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit, the Andean Community and the EU agreed to a flexible framework agreement for the association of both blocs. The agreement will cover three aspects: trade, political and cooperation.  Each country of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) will be able enter into any one of the aspects of said agreement according to the country’s possibilities, ambitions, deadlines and pace.

In this context, at the end of February 2009, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru met with the EU in Brussels to advance in the negotiations of a trade agreement. The first round of negotiations was held in Bogota, Colombia, on 13 February 2009. The second round of negotiations took place from 23-27 March 2009, in Lima, Peru. The third round took place on 22-25 April 2009, in Quito, Ecuador. The fourth round of negotiations concluded on 19 June 2009. The fifth round of negotiations took place from 20-24 July 2009, in Lima, Peru. The sixth round of negotiations took place in Brussels on 21-25 September 2009. A seventh round of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Colombia and Peru concluded on 20 November 2009. On 18- 22 January 2010 the eighth round of negotiations took place in Bogota, Colombia. The nineth round of negotiations was held in Brussels, Belgium, from 22-28 March 2010.

On 19 May 2010, in Madrid, Spain, in the framework of the VI European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Summit of Heads of State and Government, Colombia and Peru concluded their respective free trade negotiations with the EU.

In November 2010, Peru and the European Union met in Brussels to undertake the legal review of the bilateral FTA. It is expected that the FTA will be concluded in late 2011 or early 2012 after their respective Congresses approve the agreement.

Chief negotiators of the European Commission, Peru and Colombia met in Brussels on 23 and 24 March 2011 to initial the final texts of the agreement between the parties. The initialling will be followed by the process of translation, signature and adoption of this agreement so that it can enter into force. On 16 March 2012, the Council of the European Union cleared the free trade agreement with Colombia and Peru. The agreement was reached at a meeting of the Trade Affairs Council.  The Agreement between Peru, Colombia and the European Union was signed in Brussels, Belgium, on 26 June 2012.

At the beginning of 2013, Ecuador decided to formally restart trade negotiations with the European Union. After four rounds of negotiations, on 17 July 2014, the parties concluded negotiations allowing Ecuador to join the Colombia and Peru - EU Multiparty Trade Agreement. On 23 September 2014, Ecuador and the European Union published the text of their trade agreement. On 12 December 2014, they proceeded to the initialing of the document between both countries. Ecuador joined the Trade Agreement beteween the EU and Colombia and Peru on November 11, 2016.

Documents relating to the negotiations: with Ecuador
11 November 2016 Ecuador joins EU-Colombia-Peru Trade Agreement PDF
12 December 2014 Initialling of Ecuador- EU trade agreement PDF 
23 September 2014 Ecuador and European Union publish text of trade agreement PDF 
17 July 2014 Brussels, Belgium. Ecuador and European Union conclude negotiations for trade and development agreement PDF 
09-13 June 2014 Brussels, Belgium. Third round of trade negotiations between Ecuador and the European Union PDF 
24-28 March 2014 Manta, Ecuador. Second round of trade negotiations between Ecuador and the European UnionPDF  
17 January 2013 Brussels, Belgium. First round of trade negotiations between Ecuador and the European UnionPDF  
Source: European Union; Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo, Perú (Mincetur); Secretaría General de la Comunidad Andina; V Cumbre ALC-UE

Documents relating to the negotiations: EU-Colombia and Peru
26 June 2012 Brussels,  Belgium. Agreement between Peru, Colombia and the European Union was signed PDF  
  bullet Highlights of the Agreement between Peru, Colombia and the European Union PDF  
13 June 2012 Agreement between Peru, Colombia and the European Union will be signed in Brussels,Belgium, on 26 June 2012 spanish PDF  
12 March 2012 Brussels, Belgium. Council of the European Union clears free trade agreement with Colombia and Peru PDF
24 March 2011 Negotiators initial trade agreement between the European Union, Colombia and Peru PDF 
24 November 2010 Peru and EU conduct a legal review of bilateral FTA spanish PDF 
19 May 2010 Colombia and the EU conclude free trade negotiations spanish PDF
19 May 2010 Peru and the EU conclude free trade negotiations spanish PDF
01 March 2010 Ninth round of trade negotiations between Colombia- Peru and the EU PDF
22 January 2010 Bogota, Colombia. Eighth round of trade negotiations between Colombia- Peru and the EU Spanish PDF 
16-20 November 2009 Bogota, Colombia. Seventh round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Peru and the EU PDF
21-25 September 2009 Brussels, Belgium. Sixth round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Peru and the EU  Spanish PDF 
20-24 July 2009 Lima, Peru. Fifth round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Ecuador-Peru and the EU  Spanish PDF 
15-19 June 2009 Bogota, Colombia. Fourth round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Ecuador-Peru and the EU Spanish PDF 
22-25 April 2009 Quito, Ecuador. Third round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Ecuador-Peru and EU 
27 March 2009 Lima, Peru. Conclusion of second round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Ecuador-Peru and EU Spanish PDF 
23-27 March 2009 Lima, Peru. Second round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Ecuador-Peru and EU Spanish PDF
22 January 2009 Bogota, Colombia. First round of trade negotiations between Colombia-Ecuador-Peru and EU Spanish PDF
17 May 2008 Lima, Peru. Andean Community and EU agree to a flexible framework agreement PDF
16 May 2008 Lima, Peru. V Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit: Lima Declaration PDF
25 April 2008

Quito, Ecuador. Third round of negotiations Spanish PDF

  Joint conclusions: Group I - Political dialogue Spanish PDF
  Joint conclusions: Group II - Cooperation Spanish PDF
14 December 2007 Brussels, Belgium. Second round of negotiations Spanish PDF
21 September 2007

Bogota, Colombia. Conclusion of the first round of negotiations Spanish PDF

17 July 2007 First round of negotiations of an association agreement will be held in September Spanish PDF
14 June 2007 Declaration of Tarija: Launching of Andean Community-EU negotiations PDF
08 June 2007 Decision 667: General Framework for the Negotiation of the Association Agreement between the Andean Community and the European Union PDF
19 April 2007 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. EU and Andean Ministers express their intention to begin negotiations of an Associacion Agreement in May PDF
12-13 July 2006 EU-Andean Community High-level Meeting
12 May 2006 EU and Andean Community initiate process towards Association Agreement Spanish PDF
11 July 2004 Andean Community Decision 595
26 May 2005 Luxembourg. Andean Community-EU Ministerial meeting PDF
29 May 2004 Declaration of Guadalajara Spanish PDF
15 October 2003 Political Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Andean Community and its Member States, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, of the other part
06 May 2003 Launch of the negotiations of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Andean Community (CAN), 6-8 May 2003 PDF
30 June 1996 Declaration of RomePDF
03 April 1993 Framework Agreement on CooperationPDF
22 October 1992 Andean Community Decision 329 spanish
Source: European Union; Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo, Perú (Mincetur); Secretaría General de la Comunidad Andina; V Cumbre ALC-UE

   
Documents relating to the Joint Committee EU-CAN
21 January 2005 Brussels, Belgium. Joint Committee EU-CAN. Final Declaration PDF
21 January 2005 Brussels, Belgium. Joint Committee EU-CAN. Report on the outcome of the Subcommittee on TradePDF
28 April 2004 Quito, Ecuador. Joint Committee EU-CAN. Final Declaration PDF
19 February 1999 Minutes of the fifth meeting of the EU-CAN Joint CommitteePDF
Source:  European Union; Secretaría General de la Comunidad Andina

   
Documents relating to the ad hoc working group
11 November 2005 Caracas, Venezuela. Third meeting of Working Group. Joint Communication: Andean Community - European Union Spanish PDF
26 July 2005 Brussels, Belgium. Second meeting of Working Group. Joint Communication: Andean Community - European Union Spanish PDF
05 April 2005 Lima, Peru. First meeting of Working Group. Joint Communication: Andean Community - European Union Spanish PDF
Source: European Union; Secretaría General de la Comunidad Andina

  Entry into Force
   

The European Parliament approved the agreement on 11 December 2012.

On February 28th, the European Commission published a notice concerning the provisional application between the European Union and Peru, of the Trade Agreement between Peru, Colombia and the European Union. Pursuant to its Article 330(3), the Agreement shall be provisionally applied between the European Union and Peru as from 1 March 2013. According to Article 3(1) of the Council Decision of 31 May 2012 on the signing and provisional application of the Agreement, the European Union does not apply provisionally Article 2, Article 202(1) and Articles 291 and 292 of the Agreement, pending the completion of the procedures for its conclusion.

On 04 June 2013, the Trade Agreement was sent to approval of the President of Colombia. On 26 July 2013, the European Commission announced that the EU-Colombia trade agreement would take effect on 1 August.

After having fulfilled all the internal requirements of its legal system, Colombia can continue with the implementation of the trade agreement between Colombia and the Peru, on one side and the European Union on the other. To this effect, the Colombian Government issued Decree 2247 of November 5, 2014 in which Colombia settles the commitments regarding market access acquired by Colombia under the Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, signed in the city of Brussels on 26 June of 2012, in response to the 1669 Act of 2013, and adopts other provisions".

On 30 June 2015, the European Union, Colombia and Peru signed an additional protocol that will allow Croatia to formally become part of the agreement. All parties will have to complete their respective internal procedures for the entry into force of the protocol.

On December 14, 2016, the European Parliament approved the Protocol of Accession of Ecuador to the EU’s Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru, which allowed the deal to become effective, on a provisional basis, as of 1 January 2017. Ecuador published the Agreement with the European Union and its Protocol of Accession in the Official Gazette on December 23, 2016.

Documents relating to the entry into force for Ecuador
23 December 2016 Ecuador published Agreement with European Union and its Protocol of Accession in Official Gazette spanish PDF new!
22 December 2016 Agreement between European Union and Ecuador becomes effective on a provisional basis spanish PDF new!
14 December 2016 European Parliament approves accession of Ecuador PDF new!


Documents relating to the entry into force of the agreement
30 June 2015 Croatia to formally become part of the EU-Colombia and Peru Trade Agreement PDF
05 November 2014 Colombia fulfills internal procedures to continue to apply the agreement with the European Union spanish PDF 
  Decree 2247 of November 5, 2014 "in which Colombia settles the commitments regarding market access acquired by Colombia under the <<Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part, signed in the city of Brussels on 26 June of 2012>>, in response to the 1669 Act of 2013, and adopts other provisions". spanish PDF 
26 July 2013 EU-Colombia trade agreement takes effect on 01 August 2013 PDF 
04 June 2013 Colombia-UE trade agreement sent to President of Colombia for approval spanish PDF  
28 February 2013 European Union announced the provisional application of the Trade Agreement with Peru starting on 01 March 2013 PDF 
  Notice concerning the provisional application between the European Union and Peru PDF 
11 December 2012 European Parliament approves the Agreement between Peru, Colombia and the European Union PDF 
Source: European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade
  Implementation of the Agreement
   

Article 15 of the Trade Agreement between the EU, Colombia and Peru provides for the establishment of several sub-committees. On February 13, 2014, Peru, Colombia and the European Union set up sub-committees on Technical Barriers to Trade; Agriculture; Intellectual Property and Trade and Sustainable Development. In addition, sub-committees on Market Access; Customs, Trade Facilitation and Rules of Origin; Government Procurement and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures will be established. The first meeting of the Trade Committee will take place in May.

Documents relating to the Trade Committee
16 May 2014 Lima, Peru. Decisions of the EU-Colombia-Peru Trade Committee:
13 February 2014 Lima, Peru. Peru, Colombia and the EU establish Sub-committees on Technical Obstacles to Trade, Agriculture, Intellectual Property and Trade and Sustainable Development Spanish PDF
Source:Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo, Colombia
  Related Articles and Studies
   
10 February 2016 European Commission. Second Annual Report on the Implementation of the EU-Colombia/Peru Trade Agreement PDF  
February 2016 European Union. EU trade relations with Latin America: Results and challenges in implementing the EU-Colombia/Peru Trade Agreement PDF
2012 European Union. Trade Agreement between the EU and Colombia & Peru PDF
March 2005 Secretaría General de la Comunidad Andina. Relaciones Comunidad Andina -Union Europea: Hacia una Visión Sistemática Spanish PDF
December 2004 European Union. The Andean Community: Regional Indicative Programme 2004-2006PDF
October 2004 Secretaría General de la Comunidad Andina. Los Acuerdos de Asociación: un reto común para la Unión Europea y la Comunidad Andina Spanish PDF
August 2004 Secretaría General de la Comunidad Andina. Comunidad Andina-Unión Europea: Análisis de Regímenes y Aspectos Aduaneros Spanish PDF

  Sources
   
 

Spanish version 
Recent Developments
  01 January 2017. Provisional application of EU-Ecuador agreement begins new!

Contents
 

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