Other countries

Second round of negotiations

The European Commission, negotiating on behalf of the European Union (EU), and Central American governments met in Brussels at the end of February for the second round of negotiations of a bi-regional Association Agreement.

During the negotiations, Aprodev , CIDSE and other European and Latin American civil society networks, organized a conference in the European Parliament where civil society concerns and proposals were presented around 4 key issues: regional integration, the human rights clause, asymmetries and the potential negative impacts of the agreement.

Although initially there was little willingness on the part of negotiators (especially the EU) to attend the conference, in the end high level negotiators from both sides were present, including chief negotiators.

The high attendance at the conference by civil society representatives from both sides of the Atlantic, and MEPs from across the political spectrum, highlighted the level of interest and concern that exists around the impact that the Association Agreement will have on poverty reduction, regional integration, and sustainable development efforts in Central America.

Download the reports

Read the report from the negotiations written by Suzan van der Meij, Aprodev and Jennifer Cornally, CIDSE:

Read the official report from the EU: