The IV negotiating round between Colombia, Perú, Ecuador and the EU will conclude today, Friday. Important topics include bananas, sugar and intellectual property, which have faced some obstacles during the discussion.
Negotiations toward a trade-opening deal between the EU and a group of Andean countries hit another snag this week when Ecuador's president publicly denounced the talks, calling them ‘biased'.
The Free Trade Agreement or the Association Agreement the European Union is promoting with two of the four countries member of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) risks the continuity of this bloc, but it also represents a threat to access to medications and health of the Andean peoples.
Modifications to intellectual property laws that the Peruvian government "rushed through" to enable the go-ahead of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Peru and the United States could facilitate biopiracy and hamper Peru's position as a protector of traditional knowledge, say experts.
Intellectual property, a potential regional customs union, human rights, and bananas triggered heated debate last week in Bogota during the first round of negotiations toward a free trade agreement between the European Union and Andean nations Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The FTA will not be negotiated taking the three Latin American countries as a block. The new format designed for the negotiations is an unique multi party agreement in which each country's particular interests will be taken into consideration regarding specific products, but all framed within the same agreement.
Peru's Foreign minister Jose Antonio García Belaunde said Saturday that Spain wants to sign formally the Association Agreement between Peru and the European Union (EU), when this country takes on presidency of the bloc in 2010.
Ecuador President Rafael Correa approved negotiation of a bilateral agreement with the European Union because of the impossibility to do it in a block through the Community of Andean Nations.