EU/CELAC (Latin America and Caribbean) Summit: common press conference by José Manuel Barroso, Ollanta Humala, Herman van Rompuy, and Juan Manuel Santos
Type: Complete press conference
Reference: I-076370
Duration: 00:09:17
Lieu:
End production: 27/01/2013 First transmission: 27/01/2013
José Manuel Barroso, President of the EC, Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council, Ollanta Humala, President of Peru, and Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia, held a joint press briefing on 27 January 2013, in the framework of the EU/CELAC (Latin America and Caribbean) Summit in Santiago, Chile.
Only the original language version is authentic and it prevails in the event of its differing from the translated versions.
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| TIME |
DESCRIPTION |
DURATION |
| 00:00:00 |
Speech by José Manuel Barroso, President of the EC, (in SPANISH) saying that for the EU, Colombia and Peru are valuable partners; they share common values and goals, such as promoting democracy, stability, the rule of law and sustainable development, and also maintain a close collaboration to address challenges of global reach, such as drugs and climate change; praising the efforts of President Santos to end the conflict in Colombia; saying that the trade agreement the EU signed with Peru and Colombia will be an important element of their partnership; it will strengthen the trade and investment relationship between the two regions. |
00:03:50 |
| 00:03:50 |
Speech by Ollanta Humala, President of Peru, (in SPANISH) |
00:02:50 |
| 00:06:40 |
Speech by Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council, (in ENGLISH):
It was a pleasure to meet President Santos and President Humala again, only a few months after we met in Europe. Since then, our bilateral agenda has evolved significantly, in particular in the area of the Trade Agreement.
Colombia and Peru are valuable and constructive partners for the EU. Be it in Latin America or on the international scene. We share common values and objectives such as the promotion of democracy, stability, rule of law and sustainable development and cooperate closely to address global challenges such as drugs and climate change.
We salute the courage of President Santos and the Colombian Government in engaging in peace talks with the FARC. This holds the potential of enormous benefit, socially, politically and economically, for the people of Colombia and for the security and stability of the region as a whole. It would also boost our joint efforts to fight the trafficking of illicit drugs and other criminal activities which undermine the security and well-being of citizens in Latin America and Europe alike. It is the EU’s hope that a final agreement can be sealed quickly.
Colombia can count on EU support for the process, politically and through our cooperation if and when Colombia deems it useful. We are already preparing a programme worth almost € 40m in support of rural development, our largest single action ever in Colombia, which is a key building block for peace, and necessary to make return of campesinos to their lands viable.
Colombia and Peru have demonstrated impressive economic performance and social progress over the last decade – and continue to perform in the same manner. Their participation in the Alianza del Pacífico will reinforce their position regionally and internationally and make them even more attractive partners to European actors.
We follow with interest the fast development of the Pacific Alliance initiative. We see this as a very promising initiative that brings together countries which share the EU’s views on open markets and modern economic policies, and which aims at creating an economic space similar to our own, based on the four freedoms of circulation of goods, capital, services, and persons.
It is no coincidence that free trade agreements link the EU to all of the Alliance’s founding members. We are thus confident that this exercise is very much compatible with strengthening ties with the EU. It increases the potential welfare gains deriving from our trade and association agreements, and it will allow us to team up at the multilateral level to promote our common vision on trade and economic cooperation. Our relationship has evolved from development cooperation towards a new kind of partnership of cooperation commensurate with many issues of common interest.
In conclusion: we have had a very fruitful conversation with highly valued partners. It confirmed our common will and commitment to strengthen bilateral ties further through policy dialogue, trade relations and cooperation. |
00:02:37 |
| 00:09:17 |
Speech by Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia, (in SPANISH) |
00:04:15 |
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