6e Associatieraad EU-Chili

The sixth meeting of the Association Council established by the EU-Chile Association Agreement was held in Brussels on 21 April 2015.

The meeting was chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Ms. Federica Mogherini i. The Chilean delegation was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Heraldo Muñoz.

The Council took note of the progress achieved since the fifth Association Council in deepening and strengthening further the EU-Chile bilateral relations. The Council referred to the holding in November 2012 of a meeting at the highest level between the EU and Chile, where it was agreed to explore the options to modernise the Association Agreement in order to update and upgrade this fundamental instrument, to increase the bilateral relation in all the aspects, and to develop a new agenda which reflects our shared vision of society, and our common values and principles.

The Council further took note of the conclusions of the twelfth Chile-EU Association Committee which took place on 6 November 2014 in Santiago de Chile. The Council endorsed the modernisation process of the Association Agreement and, in particular, the establishment of six new dialogues on Security and Defence; Education; Energy; Gender; Corporate Social Responsibility; and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and Clusters. The parties committed to promote a fruitful cooperation in these areas of common interest.

The parties highlighted that the new areas of dialogue are the starting point of a new stage in the bilateral relations between the EU and Chile. They underscored that these new priority areas are key components for a sustainable development process to achieve social inclusion, full enjoyment of human rights, economic progress, and a fairer and more just society.

The parties agreed to move forward in the process towards the modernisation of the Association Agreement through the establishment of a Joint Working Group, with relevant sub-groups, to assess the added value that the modernisation process could bring and to explore its scope and ambition.

The parties highlighted the excellent economic and trade relations. In 2003-2014, trade between the EU and Chile grew by an annual average rate of 6.6%, from €8 billion in 2003 to €16.2 billion in 2014. In that context, the parties agreed to engage in the work of the Joint Working Group regarding the modernisation of the economic and trade pillar, and to meet on 22 April to discuss relevant organisational aspects.

The parties reiterated their common interest in further developing the existing dialogue between the EU and Chile on raw materials, covering the entire value chain.

In the context of the cooperation pillar, both parties discussed the new framework of cooperation based on the EU regional and thematic cooperation programs as well as new partnership programs of mutual interest and agreed to finalize a road map which will permit the definition of areas and modalities of cooperation to be developed in the coming years. Both parties agreed to work together during 2015 on cooperation projects of mutual interest.

The parties agreed to foster the cooperation between Chilean higher education institutions and those from the European Union Member States, as well as exchanges of students and staff, joint programs and partnerships between higher education institutions. They referred to the existing instruments, including the international dimension of the Erasmus i+ and Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. Academic cooperation and mobility will allow increasing mutual understanding and the knowledge of their respective cultures, as well as encouraging modernisation, accessibility and internationalization of higher education.

The parties expressed their satisfaction regarding the signature of the Crisis Management Framework Participation Agreement. The Agreement reflects the common interest to further develop an active cooperation on security and defence matters and will facilitate Chile's participation in EU crisis management operations, as expression of our shared commitment to contributing towards peace and security in the world, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter. Chile expressed its will for a successful and fast process of ratification.

The Council welcomed the establishment of the Joint Consultative Committee so as to assist the Association Council to promote dialogue and cooperation between the various economic and social organisations of civil society, including social partners, in the EU and in Chile. The parties expressed their expectation that its first meeting could take place in 2015.

The EU expressed appreciation for the participation of Chile as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and welcomed Chile's active role and strong commitment to peace and international security. Both sides highlighted the cooperation and coordination between their respective Permanent Missions to the United Nations.

The Council referred to the high-level event on "Women in power and decision-making: Building a different world", held in Santiago, Chile, on 27-28 February 2015 and congratulates Chile for its commitment in reinforcing the role of women in society. In this context, the government of Chile is proud to announce the creation of the Minister of Woman and Gender Equality. This will allow cooperation and exchange of good practices in gender issues.

The parties welcomed the results of the fifth EU-Chile dialogue on Human Rights which took place on 14 October 2014 in Santiago. The dialogue provided an opportunity for a constructive exchange of views on relevant issues of common interest and contributed to better cooperation in the multilateral fora.

The parties expressed their satisfaction regarding the signature by Chile of the International Energy Charter at the upcoming The Hague II Conference, due to be held on 20 and 21 May 2015. This subscription will entail the renewed commitment of Chile to further contribute to modernise the current international energy guidelines, standards and cooperation framework.

The parties welcomed the progress achieved in implementing the EU-Chile Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement. They reconfirmed their mutual interest to further develop cooperation in science and technology including in disaster management, green mining and polar research. The parties also emphasized the importance of pursuing regional cooperation in the context of the EU-CELAC Joint Initiative on Research and Innovation. They welcomed the opportunities for increasing cooperation at bilateral and regional level offered by the EU framework programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 open to the world.

The parties welcomed the official request submitted by the government of Chile to become an associate member of EUREKA, one of the major international and decentralized networks, of European origin, for market-driven industrial research and development. The inclusion of Chile into this intergovernmental organisation, to which the European Commission is a party, would greatly facilitate the coordination of funding on innovation aiming to boost productivity and competitiveness of industries, as well as foster technological transfers to companies, both in Chile and in the European Union.

The Council stressed the importance to work with all partners to build a consensus on the post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda. This agenda should address the three dimensions of sustainable development, be ambitious and anchored in a single set of clear and measurable and universally applicable goals, emphasizing the inter-linked challenges of poverty reduction and sustainable development, addressing inequalities and promoting peaceful and safe societies.

The parties agreed on the importance of maintaining an active dialogue and cooperation in multilateral fora on topics of the global agenda which require a concerted action such as climate change, environmental, health of the soils and biodiversity protection, renewable energy and energy efficiency. They agreed to work together towards an ambitious, fair and legally binding climate change agreement that is applicable to all Parties under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to be adopted at COP.

In this regard, the parties welcomed the upcoming signature of a Letter of Intent between Chile and the European Commission on Cooperation regarding the European Earth Observation Programme Copernicus. The aim of this Instrument is to identify areas to work together in the use of earth observation with environmental purposes, in order to support decision-making process and better compliance of the environmental regulation.

The parties acknowledged their good cooperation on fisheries and renewed their commitment to find a solution to the long-standing swordfish issue.

The Council expressed its satisfaction on the progress achieved so far by the EU-CELAC Strategic Partnership and noted that it can be further developed on global issues and bi-regional themes in a spirit of mutual solidarity and understanding. Both sides confirmed their commitment to work together to ensure the full success of the second EU-CELAC Summit, to be hosted by the EU on 10-11 June 2015 in Brussels.

The parties committed to facilitate an effective implementation of the conclusions to be adopted at the 2015 EU-CELAC Business Summit (Brussels, 10 June 2015), in particular to foster investment, technology transfer and business co-operation opportunities between EU and Chilean small and medium-sized enterprises.

The parties exchanged views on several issues of the regional and international agenda and convened to continue working together to promote global governance and consensus at various international fora.

Both sides decided that the next meeting of the Association Council will take place in Chile at a date to be agreed by both parties.