Association agreement between the EU and Central America

KEY POINTS

The agreement consists of three strands.

1. Political dialogue

   The objectives of the political dialogue between the two parties are to:

   • establish a privileged political partnership;
   • defend common values, principles and objectives by promoting them at the international level, in particular at the United Nations (UN);
   • strengthen the UN as the core of the multilateral system, in order to enable it to tackle global challenges effectively;
   • enable a broad exchange of views, positions and information leading to joint initiatives at the international level;
   • cooperate in the field of foreign and security policy, with the objective of coordinating their positions and taking joint initiatives of mutual interest in the relevant international forums.

   Such dialogue can cover all aspects of mutual interest at the international or regional level; however, a number of specific issues are mentioned, including:

   • disarmament
   • the fight against terrorism
   • migration
   • the environment.
2. Cooperation

   The agreement gives priority to cooperation aimed at achieving the following objectives:

   • strengthening peace and security;
   • reinforcing democratic institutions, good governance and the full applicability of the rule of law, gender equality, all forms of non-discrimination, cultural diversity, pluralism, promotion and respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, transparency and citizens participation;
   • contributing to social cohesion;
   • promoting economic growth with a view to furthering sustainable development;
   • deepening the process of regional integration in Central America;
   • reinforcing production and management capacities and enhancing competitiveness.
3. Trade

   The objectives of this strand include:

   • expanding and diversifying trade in goods;
   • facilitating trade in goods;
   • liberalising trade in services, in conformity with Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services;
   • promoting economic regional integration in the area of customs procedures, technical regulations and sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
   • developing a climate conducive to increased investment;
   • the effective, reciprocal and gradual opening of government procurement markets;
   • adequately and effectively protecting intellectual property rights;
   • promoting free and undistorted competition in economic and trade relations;
   • establishing an effective, fair and predictable dispute-settlement mechanism;
   • promoting international trade and investment between the parties.

The agreement includes a number of measures to achieve these objectives, in particular it:

• provides substantially improved market access for EU exports to Central America through:
  • eliminating tariffs on manufactured goods, fisheries and agriculture,
  • addressing obstacles to trade in goods,
  • improving market access to government procurement, services and investment;
• establishes a level playing field through common rules in areas such as:
  • intellectual property and geographical indications,
  • competition and State aid,
  • dispute settlement;
• reinforces regional integration by introducing measures such as:
  • a single administrative document for customs declarations,
  • a single import duty for the region;
• sets out an agreement for sustainable development designed to:
  • further economic development through trade,
  • address the interrelation between trade and social and environmental policies,
  • encourage and promote trade and marketing schemes based on sustainability criteria.