Nr. 101, 12.desember 2000. Ráðherrafundur EFTA í Genf 12.12.2000
FRÉTTATILKYNNING
frá utanríkisráðuneytinu
Á ráðherrafundi EFTA í Genf 12. desember 2000 var undirrituð yfirlýsing um samstarf á sviði viðskipta og fjárfestinga við MERCOSUR ríkin (Argentínu, Brasilíu, Paragvæ, Úrúgvæ) sem mun taka gildi um leið og ráðherrar MERCOSUR ríkjanna hafa undirritað hana. Ráðherrarnir lögðu áherslu á að þarna væri stígið stórt skref til að styrkja tengsl við lönd í þessum heimshluta. Þá var einnig undirrituð samstarfsyfirlýsing við Júgóslavíu sem staðfestir meðal annars vilja EFTA ríkjanna til að stuðla að friði og stöðugleika á Balkanskaga.
Halldór Ásgrímsson utanríkisráðherra stjórnaði fundinum, en Ísland fór með formennsku í samtökunum á síðari helmingi þessa árs.
Á fundinum var m.a. rætt um samskipti EFTA við þriðju ríki, samskipti EFTA við Evrópusambandið, EES-samninginn og innri málefni EFTA.
Ráðherrarnir fögnuðu undirritun fríverslunarsamnings við Mexíkó og lögðu áherslu á að þarna væri mikilvægum áfanga náð í samskiptum EFTA ríkjanna við önnur ríki. Samningurinn er sá fyrsti sem EFTA ríkin ná við ríki handan Atlantsála og umfangsmesti fríverslunarsamningur sem þau hafa gert til þessa.
Ráðherrarnir lýstu ánægju með fyrstu samningalotu um fríverslun við Chíle sem fór fram í upphafi mánaðarins. Þeir töldu nauðsynlegt að fylgjast með þróun mála í Asíu og fögnuðu því að grundvöllur skyldi kominn fyrir könnunarviðræðum við Singapúr.
Ráðherrarnir lýstu áhuga EFTA ríkjanna á samstarfi við ESB í ýmsum þeim málaflokkum sem ýtt var úr vör á leiðtogafundi ESB í Lissabon í vor, sérstaklega í málum sem varða þekkingarsamfélagið.
Ráðherrarnir minntust á fyrirhugaða stofnun um öryggi matvæla, Evrópsku matvælastofunina (European Food Authority), sem ESB hyggst koma á fót og fögnuðu jákvæðum viðbrögðum ESB við óskum EFTA ríkjanna um þátttöku í starfi stofnunarinnar.
Ráðherrarnir ítrekuðu mikilvægi þess að ESB ríkjunum yrði gerð skýr grein fyrir nauðsyn þess að EES-samningurinn verði aðlagaður fjölgun aðildarríkja ESB.
Í dag er haldinn fundur utanríkisráðherra EFTA og þingmannanefndar samtakanna þar sem rædd verða málefni EFTA og EES samstarfsins auk þróunarinnar í Evrópu almennt.
Meðfylgjandi er fréttatilkynning EFTA frá fundinum.
12 December 2000 PR-E 8/2000
Final Draft
EFTA MINISTERIAL MEETING
Geneva, 12 December 2000
COMMUNIQUE
Geneva, 12 December 2000
COMMUNIQUE
EFTA held its autumn Ministerial meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 12 December 2000 under the chairmanship of Halldór Ásgrímsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Iceland.
Ministers expressed satisfaction that a Declaration on co-operation had been signed with Yugoslavia and reaffirmed their commitment to the development of peace and stability in the Balkan area. They further welcomed the signing of the Declaration on trade and investment co-operation with MERCOSUR, which would enter into force following a signature by the MERCOSUR side. Ministers underlined that this was an important step towards strengthening relations with countries in this region.
Ministers welcomed the signing of a Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and underlined that this was a milestone in the history of EFTA's third-country policies as it was EFTA's first transatlantic agreement and the most comprehensive agreement signed so far. Ministers were satisfied that the first round of negotiations on a free trade agreement with Chile had taken place earlier this month. They expressed the need to monitor developments in Asia and welcomed that a basis had been established for initiating exploratory talks with Singapore in order to assess the common ground for opening negotiations on a free trade agreement.
Ministers noted the determination of the EU towards completing the enlargement process and the outcome of the Nice Summit to that effect. They reiterated the importance of raising the awareness of the EU for the need to adapt the EEA Agreement in parallel with accession of new partners. Ministers expressed their interest in EFTA's participation in the EU processes launched at the Lisbon Summit, in particular as regards the challenges of the knowledge-based economy. Concerning the important issue of food safety and the planned establishment of a European Food Authority, Ministers noted the positive reaction of the EC to the EEA EFTA States' request for participation.
EFTA THIRD-COUNTRY RELATIONS
Ministers welcomed the signing of a Free Trade Agreement with Mexico. They noted that the Agreement would provide economic operators from the EFTA States with a level playing field in Mexico compared to their competitors from the European Union, the United States and Canada. Ministers underlined that this was a milestone in the history of EFTA's third-country policies as it was EFTA's first transatlantic agreement and the most comprehensive agreement signed so far, including new areas such as services and investment and public procurement.
Ministers highlighted that further developments had taken place as regards expanding the EFTA States' third-country relations in the Americas. They had signed a Declaration on trade and investment co-operation with MERCOSUR which would enter into force following a signature by the MERCOSUR Ministers at their meeting in Florianópolis, Brazil, on 15 December. EFTA Ministers underlined that this was an important step towards strengthening relations with countries in this region. Furthermore, the first round of negotiations on a free trade agreement with Chile had taken place earlier this month and Ministers expressed their hope that these negotiations would be finalised as soon as possible. With regard to Canada, Ministers stressed the importance of bringing negotiations to a rapid conclusion.
Ministers noted that following a recent mission of EFTA to Pretoria, EFTA and South Africa had agreed to hold exploratory talks on a free trade agreement early next year, which could lead to the opening of negotiations.
Ministers noted that with the delay in launching a new round of multilateral trade negotiations, there was an increased tendency towards preferential trade agreements. Ministers further noted that policy developments were taking place in the Pacific Rim, where countries such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand were now pursuing an active policy of negotiating free trade agreements. Ministers expressed the need to monitor these developments and welcomed that a basis had been establised for initiating exploratory talks with Singapore in order to assess the common ground for opening negotiations on a free trade agreement.
As regards the EFTA network in Europe, Ministers expressed satisfaction that a Declaration on co-operation had been signed with Yugoslavia and reaffirmed their commitment to contributing to the development of peace and stability in the Balkan region. They took note that negotiations on a free trade agreement with Croatia had been initiated since the signature of a Declaration on co-operation at their last meeting in June and expected that the agreement could be signed at their next meeting in spring 2001. Ministers also noted that the existing free trade agreements with countries in Europe were functioning well. They expressed satisfaction that it had been possible to hold Joint Committee meetings with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic during the second half of the year.
With regard to the EFTA States' relations with countries in the Mediterranean region, Ministers noted that negotiations on a free trade agreement with Jordan were nearly concluded and expected that it should be possible to sign the agreement next year. Ministers hoped that progress would be made next year in negotiations with Tunisia and Egypt. They noted that a first meeting of the EFTA-Morocco Joint Committee had taken place.
EFTA-EU CO-OPERATION
EEA EFTA Ministers expressed their satisfaction at the efficient functioning of the EEA Agreement and noted efforts on the EC and EFTA sides to maintain the homogeneity of the EEA. They also welcomed the work to enhance EEA EFTA States' participation in decision-shaping within the EEA and called for full access to EC Committees, relevant for the good functioning of the EEA Agreement. Ministers expressed their interest in EFTA participation in the EU processes launched at the Lisbon Summit, in particular as regards the challenges of the knowledge-based economy. They also expressed the view that co-operation amongst the EFTA States could be enhanced with a view to contributing to this work.
Concerning the important issue of food safety and the planned establishment of a European Food Authority, Ministers noted the positive reaction of the EC to the EEA EFTA States' request for participation. As regards the initiative to establish a European Aviation Safety Authority, Ministers expressed the interest of the EEA EFTA States in being involved. Ministers underscored the need to finalise Protocol 3 to the EEA Agreement on processed agricultural goods.
Ministers noted the determination of the EU towards completing the enlargement process and the outcome of the Nice Summit to that effect. They recalled that the enlargement of the EU would have implications for EFTA's relations with the candidate countries. As regards the EEA, Ministers noted that enlargement of the EEA was governed by Article 128 of the Agreement and reiterated the importance of raising the awareness of the EU for the need to adapt the EEA Agreement in parallel with accession of new partners. This would require consultations in relevant areas and Ministers underscored the need for broader dialogue with the EU. Ministers noted that EFTA's free trade agreements provided a forum for discussions with candidate countries on issues regarding enlargement and underlined the importance of using this channel in securing the interests of the EFTA States.
EFTA ACTIVITIES
Ministers noted that the preparatory work on the update of the EFTA Convention was progressing well. This effort, which reflects the deepening of EFTA's internal co-operation, was initiated by the Swiss offer to extend the benefits of the bilateral agreements with the EU to their EFTA partners. Ministers agreed that formal negotiations between the EFTA States should start early next year, aiming at a parallel entry into force of the updated EFTA Convention and the Swiss-EU agreements.
ADVISORY BODIES
Ministers underlined their appreciation of the work of the EFTA advisory bodies, the Parliamentary Committee and the Consultative Committee, the latter representing EFTA's social partners, and welcomed their contributions to the work of the Association. EFTA parliamentarians, in co-operation with their colleagues in the European Parliament, had recently focused on the question of EFTA's participation in EC programmes and on e-commerce. Ministers commended the Consultative Committee for its workshop on the New Economy and appreciated the Committee's commitment to EFTA's involvement in the Lisbon process.
WTO
Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continued trade liberalisation within the multilateral trading system and noted that the launching of broad-based negotiations with an inclusive agenda would be the best means towards this end. Such negotiations would allow all WTO Members to achieve a balanced outcome. Ministers also stressed the importance of ongoing technical activities, which would facilitate the conduct of future negotiations. They also reiterated the importance they attached to ongoing negotiations on the accession of new Members to the WTO and expressed their hope of seeing China become a new Member of the Organisation early next year. This would constitute an important step towards making the WTO truly universal.
WELCOME TO THE SECRETARIES-GENERAL
Ministers welcomed the Secretary-General, William Rossier and the Deputy Secretaries-General, Grétar Már Sigurdsson and Per Kjell Mannes, who took up their duties during the autumn.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Council at Ministerial level would take place in Liechtenstein, on
21 and 22 June 2001.