Stratfor | January 20, 2009

EU: Agrees To Trade Agreement With Colombia, Peru

EU ministers from member states’ Fishing and Agriculture Ministries agreed to allow modifications that will enable the European Union to negotiate association agreements and business deals on a bilateral level with Colombia and Peru instead of having to deal with the entire Community of Andean Nations (CAN) as a bloc, El Tiempo reported Jan 20. In terms of technical cooperation and political dialogue, the European Union will still address the CAN (Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador) as a bloc. Peru is planning to send a delegation to Brussels, Belgium, on Jan. 22, and is hoping to sign trade agreements with the European Union by June 2009.