Today Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament backed the negotiations concluded by Ecuador and the European Union for the inclusion of the Andean country in the Trade Agreement between the EU, Colombia and Peru, because it will bring important benefits to the Ecuadorian people through increased exports to Europe.
Bernd Lange MEP, international trade committee chairman and the S&D MEP responsible for the resolution on Ecuador, said:
"Trade is not an end in itself, but an instrument to drive economic progress and well-being of citizens. Along with the opening of new markets we want to see accompanying measures to make sure that investment and trade contribute to alleviating poverty and reducing inequality.
"We commend Ecuador's efforts to promote an inclusive society. According to the latest World Bank figures, poverty in Ecuador decreased from 37.6 % to 22.5 % between 2006 and 2014, while extreme poverty fell from 16.9 % to 7.7 %, and the government invested around 40 billion euros in the social sector over the past eight years.
"When we dealt with the Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru, the S&Ds successfully pushed for the adoption of action plans for human rights by the Peruvian and Colombian governments before the European Parliament gave its consent. Now that Ecuador will be joining the same agreement, we would like to encourage the Ecuadorian government to take similar measures as this is an opportunity to further improve the situation of human and labour rights and the environment in Ecuador, in close dialogue and cooperation with the European Union."
David Martin MEP, S&D spokesperson on international trade, said:
"We already share values and hopes with Latin America, and we are confident that stronger links between our regions will improve citizens' lives, including minorities and workers. Democracy, human rights and labour rights are essential in our relationship.
"We request the Ecuadorian government, as we already did with Peru and Colombia, to establish a transparent and binding road map on human, environmental and labour rights before we Social Democrats can give our consent to the final agreement."
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