Ten themed working tables have been set up.
Central America and the European Union (EU) began today to assess their expectations for political and commercial integration, within the framework of an association agreement, whose first round of negotiations will be held in Costa Rica until next Friday.
Ten thematic working groups were set up today for the first round of negotiations, hours before the official opening of the meeting.
A spokesperson for the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex) explained to Efe that this first round will allow for a "conceptual discussion" on each country's perspectives on the trade agreement and clarify the interests of the parties.
Both regions, represented by some 200 delegates, are expected to focus on establishing the working methodology that will govern the talks and possibly setting an agenda for future rounds.
Representing Central America are the chief negotiators Roberto Echandi (Costa Rica), Manuel Coronel (Nicaragua), Eduardo Calix (El Salvador), Ana María Dieguez (Guatemala) and Enrique Reina (Honduras).
A spokesperson for the European Union's diplomatic headquarters in Costa Rica confirmed that the delegation from that bloc is led by the deputy director of the Directorate-General for External Relations of the European Community, the Portuguese Joao Aguiar Machado.
Aguiar will deliver the opening speech at the meeting, which is also being attended by the Vice President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla.
The EU will closely monitor the progress in the Central American customs union, whose tariff harmonization is at 96 percent and of which Costa Rica is already a part, after a series of delays due to internal issues in the country.
For this first stage of talks, Costa Rica, as the host country, holds the position of "rotating spokesperson" for Central America, which it will also hold in the second round, which will take place in Brussels, on a date to be determined.
According to Comex, during this week's talks, both regions will seek to "advance a work agenda that aims to create the necessary conditions to deepen integration."
The partnership agreement is based on three pillars: Political dialogue, cooperation, and a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The commercial content to be discussed will be handled by representatives of the Ministries of Economy and Foreign Trade of the represented countries, while the content related to cooperation and political dialogue will be developed by foreign relations officials.
"In the political sphere, Central America recognizes the strong relationship that exists with the European Union, which it views as an increasingly important ally in international affairs, with which there is an affinity of values and principles," Comex added in a document about the meeting.
On the trade front, both regions will seek to sign a free trade agreement to replace the Generalized System of Preferences (G-PLUS), which the EU grants to developing countries so they can export products without tariffs.
"The partnership agreement should enable the establishment of a favorable framework for the exchange of goods and services between both parties, and the promotion of economic cooperation that encourages investment for development," the ministry added.
In this regard, Central American governments and export sectors have stated that the main challenge will be to eliminate non-tariff barriers, such as the demanding sanitary and phytosanitary measures that the EU applies to agricultural imports from the region.
To this end, part of the cooperation that the EU will give to Central America will be allocated to improving state laboratories and providing small and medium-sized agricultural producers with tools so that they can comply with European standards.
In terms of cooperation, the EU is one of the main sources of aid for Central America, so the negotiations will seek to establish a chapter related to this issue.
The negotiating authorities estimate that about ten rounds of discussions will be necessary and that the agreement could be finalized by the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009.
According to data from the Central American Integration System (SICA), Central America exported a total of 2.287 billion dollars to the EU in 2006 and imported 3.305 billion dollars.
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