President of the European Council and Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Manrique, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the Council, Secretary-General Javier Solana, summarised the results of the working sessions of the Heads of State and Government in the framework of the IV EU-LAC summit at a press conference on Friday.
“We have seen and felt the curiosity towards one another that dominated this summit. We engaged each other critically, but in a spirit of friendship. We have agreed to concrete plans in the final document of the summit. The countries of the Andean Community will introduce specific steps towards the conclusion of an Association Agreement with the European Union. We have agreed upon a substantial programme for the reconstruction of Haiti, and Europe will make its expertise available for the establishment of a modern tax system. Europe must, however, make the help it provides in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean more visible”, said Federal Chancellor Schüssel in listing the concrete results of the summit.
Mexican President Vicente Fox summed up as follows: “Working conditions were optimal in Vienna. Each participant had a voice in the dialogue. We worked on important topics such as the process of integration, the improvement of our economic relations and the financing of developmental cooperation. These discussions have fortified us.”
I have been monitoring relations between Europe and Latin American intensively for many years. Today’s summit is the best I have ever experienced”, said President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso. Problems were addressed squarely, and we worked seriously on solutions. “We achieved concrete results at this summit. Our primary objective now is to implement these”, said Barroso.
Alejandro Toledo Manrique, the President of Peru, was confident that the conclusion of an Association Agreement between the European Union and the Andean Community was possible by 2008, at the next EU-Latin America/Caribbean summit in Peru. “The Presidents of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru will meet tomorrow to begin this process. Tomorrow we will give the go-ahead to this process of rapprochement”, said Toledo Manrique. However, there are obstacles that must be overcome on the path to integration, but they will not deter the process of rapprochement between the European Union and the Andean Community. European integration also had to overcome setbacks again and again. “All processes are marked by negotiations. The Andean Community is vibrant”, said Toledo.
“The discussions and negotiations within a clear thematic structure were a success. We talked very openly and productively with one another. The summit was marked by the great commonalities of the European, Latin American and Caribbean States”, concluded Solana.
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