European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Friday it is necessary to speed up negotiations on cooperation with the Andean Community of Nations (ACN) and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur).
Barroso, who is attending the Latin American, Caribbean and European Union Summit, said the European Union (EU) will consider changing some of its positions on the disparities between Latin American countries.
The aim is to complete the EU's accords with the ACN, Mercosur and Central America next year, Barroso said. To date, the EU has free trade deals with Mexico and Chile.
These are not "simple commercial trades," but are accompanied with political dialogue based on social inclusion and the fight against climate change, Barroso said.
The EU will double its budget for food cooperation as a measure to help address economic imbalance in Latin America.
"The strategic association between Latin America and Europe is now more necessary than when it was proposed during the Rio de Janeiro summit. Global challenges demand today global answers," Barroso said.
These challenges are climate change, energy security, food price, terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime, he said.
The ACN, Peru and Colombia want to move forward faster in the negotiations with the EU, while Bolivia is interested in migratory and human rights subjects.
Source:Xinhua
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