Monday 26 May 2008

Some reflections on the summit

I had meant to write up a summary of some of the responses to the summit just afterwards but as soon as I got back to Ecuador I got sucked into the hectic organisation for the launch of the campaign ‘Come Sano Seguro y Soberano’, which our partner organisation CEA is involved in along with a wide coalition of other organisations. Read more about the campaign here ( in Spanish).


The verdict of the organisers of the alternative summit, many civil society groups and NGOs and some sectors of the media is disappointment with the lack of concrete agreements in the final declaration from the summit and concern that negotiations for Association Agreements will continue.



Whilst the document, ‘Addressing Our Peoples’ Priorities Together’ includes fine words about poverty eradication, social cohesion and climate change there are few clear targets or action plans. As one press article put it: the declaration is ‘a document that is notable mainly for its lack of clear objectives and the necessary resources to make words into action’.

Trade agreements
In terms of the controversial association agreements (which include free trade agreements) , a subject of great debate at the alternative summit, the declaration, says that the parties agree to: ‘actively pursue the negotiations of Association Agreements as common strategic objectives of very high political priority’. This includes the controversial bi-regional agreement between Europe and the which the parties aim to conclude by 2009.

The idea is to improve on the draft framework at CAN-EU meetings in June, but the negotiations do not look like they will be smooth, with huge differences of opinion on opening up markets between the left wing presidents of Bolivia and Ecuador and the right wing presidents of Colombia and Peru. The Bolivian and Ecuadorian governments have blocked Peruvian requests to loosen an Andean Community decision (486) on intellectual property rights in order to modify Peruvian legislation to fit with the free trade agreement with the US (read more in Spanish).


Some protests against free trade agreements at the alternative summit

Climate change

On climate change the most concrete agreement was: ‘a joint EU-LA Environment program called “EUrocLIMA” will be launched to the benefit of Latin American countries with the main objectives of knowledge sharing, fostering structured and regular dialogue at all levels and
ensuring synergies and coordination of current and future actions in this field’. There is so far little detail available on this program accept that the European Commission has set aside $7.7 million for its first actions.

Other comments:
Banderitas y Discursos ( in Spanish) A Response from Alejandra Alayza Moncloa of partner organiation CEPES, lamenting the fact that the flags and smiles the Peruvian Government put on for the cameras and foreign dignitaries mask the inconsistency in their actions on climate change and social cohesion and reflections on the future of the possible EU-CAN association agreement in view of the differences of opinion between Peru and Columbia and Eucador and Bolivia.

Biofuels, trade dominate EU-Latin American summit (English) LIMA, May 16 (Reuters) - European and Latin American leaders called for action to tackle surging food prices and global warming at a summit in Peru on Friday, despite differences over biofuels and free trade.

Permanent Peoples' Tribunal: Second Session on European transnational companies in Latin America and on neoliberal policies (English) More detail on the Peoples' Tribunal

Declaración de Lima sobre la Crisis Agro-Alimentaria (Spanish)
Declaration of a group of organisations involved in agriculture and food sovreignity from both regions.

Libre comercio a la europea: el desarrollo como retórica, la competencia entre desiguales como realidad
Esta semana en la V Cumbre de Jefes de Estado de América Latina, Caribe y Europa, celebrada
en Lima, la UE intentó convencer otra vez al mundo que un Acuerdo de Asociación (AdA) es
un acuerdo equilibrado (diálogo político, cooperación y comercio), que promueve la integración
y el desarrollo. Aunque la realidad de los acuerdos ya concluidos muestra realidades bien
diferentes.

La cumbre de Lima se queda en buenos deseos
El encuentro concluye con una declaración de compromisos para combatir la pobreza y el cambio climático pero sin metas definidas ni cifras de inversión

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