Looking forward to Peru 2008

Friday 12 May, evening

So the summit is over and the heads of state and government have departed for their dinner at the Schwarzenberg Palace. I got my dose of sunshine early this morning watching them all arrive in a stream of glossy convoys. Each delegation had at least four motorbikes and two security cars all with flashing lights accompanying the main vehicle. The flags of the countries flew from the wing mirrors and the Austrian chancellor, Wolfgang Schüssel, stood with others on the red carpet to meet them.

The rest of the day I’ve spent inside, going from one briefing to another, and listening to the plenary sessions through the computer in-between. I guess the main news of the day is probably energy. The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, came out strongly yesterday saying that he was not planning to compensate foreign companies affected by his decision to nationalise his gas reserves. A lot of attention has focused on the reactions of the companies affected and of the governments of the countries in which they’re based. The summit declaration steers carefully clear of making any polemical statement on energy ownership, focusing instead on the need to look at alternative sources of energy and renewables as part of the fight against climate change.

On the trade front, Oxfam’s concerns that the EU would use the summit to push free trade agreements (FTAs) were in some ways confirmed. The final declaration states that negotiations on an FTA between the EU and Central America will go ahead. Oxfam issued a statement saying that the regions would be better off concentrating on the WTO negotiations, which have a stated aim of promoting development, rather than pursuing a reciprocal north-south FTA, which could undermine efforts to reduce poverty.

The declaration also states that in 2006 the countries of the Andean community (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Peru) will begin ‘a process leading to the negotiation of an association agreement, which will include political dialogue, cooperation programmes and a trade agreement’. This was a surprise because tensions within the Andean community were expected to delay progress on EU-Andean talks. But the wording of the text is significant, as is what Evo Morales said about it afterwards. The text says “a trade agreement” not a “free-trade agreement”, and the message is cautious, essentially – “we agree to talk about whether to talk about a trade agreement”.

At a press conference following the closing ceremony, Morales acknowledged that the Andean region would consider opening trade with Europe but he emphatically rejected the idea that they would launch a free trade agreement. The politics of free trade, he said, do not help los pueblos – the indigenous workers and small farmers whose interests he is determined to represent. The distinction Morales makes between free trade and fair trade – libre commercio y commercio justo – is welcome, as is the tacit recognition of this distinction in the official declaration.  

All participants reiterated their commitment to the WTO’s Doha round and to achieving a conclusion to the multilateral talks. This is welcome, although Oxfam warned that efforts to get a deal agreed as quickly as possible must not be allowed to obscure the need to keep development at the centre of any agreement. What is being proposed right now by the EU and US is far from good enough and could actually undermine efforts to reduce poverty. Developing countries should not have to pay for reforms that have been long promised and are long overdue.

The official summit is over but tomorrow will see the action continuing at Enlazando Alternatives 2 (EA2) as well as some bilaterals and side meetings between official delegates. I fly home in the afternoon and so will miss the visit of Hugo Chàvez and Evo Morales to the alternative summit. It’s been an interesting week where I have thought a lot about different types of political dialogue and how change happens. The Austrian chancellor referred to the alternative summit at the opening plenary and said that the official delegates must take into account the needs and concerns of EA2’s participants. I hope that by the time the 5th EU-LAC summit happens in 2008 in Peru there will be evidence that they have done so.