EU promotes economic integration in Andean Community
The European Commission has earmarked nearly €10 million for the Andean Community, a trade bloc comprising the South American nations of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The funds will be used to fuel economic integration across the region as well as to crack down on illicit drug use and trafficking. The latest move highlights the supportive role of the European Union in foreign policy. Political dialogue between the EU and the Andean Community got off the ground in 1996 with the Declaration of Rome. In 2007, the EC signed the Regional Strategy for Cooperation with the Andean Community earmarking €50 million for the period 2007-2013. Not only will the funds be used to promote economic integration, but will also help strengthen social and economic cohesion across the region. Recent data indicate that the Andean Community began harmonising its macroeconomic policies in the second half of the 1990s but challenges existed. The region started recovering from a period of economic crisis in 2004 after reporting growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and other economic indicators like employment, trade balance and external debt. Trade agreements and policies eyeing macroeconomic stability played a significant role in bringing the region out of the crisis. 'Strong regional ties increase the weight of a region on the world stage and bring clear advantages to the citizens of that region,' commented Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy. 'It is therefore in our interest to encourage and support this process with concrete projects,' she added. 'Improving for instance the fight against illicit drugs in the Andean Community has a direct impact on us by preventing these drugs from being sold in Europe.' For the next five years, the EC will promote the region's integration through two projects, which are part of the 2008 Annual Action Programme: INTER-CAN (Integración Económica Regional de la CAN) and PRADI-CAN (Programa Antidrogas ilícitas en la CAN). INTER-CAN targets the strengthening of regional cooperation in the area of intra-regional trade. Sources say this will be possible through the integrated control of goods and services at the borders, including forging firmer links between administrations through better customs inspection laboratories and electronic data exchange networks. INTER-CAN has received €6.5 million in funding. With EU financing totalling €3.25 million, the PRADI-CAN project seeks to create a network between national observations on drug trafficking. Other targets include the control of precursors in the Andean Community, as well as the development of drug-related analysis of the bloc.