Falklands : EU – LATIN AMERICAN TALKS: THWARTED BY DRUGS CONCERNS
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 27.05.2005 (Article Archived on 10.06.2005)
Following on from the 33 – nation conference held in Brasilia earlier this month, the 17 nations of Latin America have been in Luxembourg this week lobbying for their inclusion in a free trade area.
EU – LATIN AMERICAN TALKS: THWARTED BY DRUGS CONCERNS
An Editorial by J. Brock (FINN)
Following on from the 33 – nation conference held in Brasilia earlier this month, the 17 nations of Latin America have been in Luxembourg this week lobbying for their inclusion in a free trade area. Negotiations for such an inclusion have been taking place since 1999. Progress was thwarted, however, by the Latin American contingent, under the leadership of Venezuela’s Foreign Minister, Ali Rodriguez-Araque, pressing for more EU protection against the Latin American cocaine trade.
The lucrative European cocaine market is too much of a temptation for Latin America’s poor farmers, who are at the bottom end of the product chain and have little to no say about how their illegal produce is marketed and/or priced at each stage of its production after harvest. However, the 25-nation European Union bloc is close to approving an initiative called the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) that could give poor Latin American countries more access to the European Union’s market at lower tariff rates for legal farm produce. Latin American countries claim this proposed measure is not adequate to stem the drugs flow.
After Thursday’s talks it was announced that the EU and Mercosur countries will resume trade talks in July.
The subject of the EU’s inclusion of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and other areas in Antarctica was brought up at the negotiations and quickly set right by Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister who said that the proposed EU constitution in no way changes the position of the Falkland Islands.
Though trade should be the focus of these most important talks, the subject of Argentine sovereignty over the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, no doubt, will be brought up again in July, when Britain takes over the EU Presidency.
Though sovereignty is emotive and good for press coverage, I, for one, would like to see the July talks focus on the successful implementation of the GSP system as well as benefits for poor farmers who are forced by economic pressure to produce illegal drugs.
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