The agreement with the EU is included in the agenda of the two legislatures

A part of the Alianza País (AP) ruling bloc requested complementary measures to the trade agreement between Ecuador and the European Union (EU) to strengthen the national industry. Yesterday afternoon, December 13, 2016, the Economic Development Commission of the Legislature acknowledged the text, and the meetings are expected to be extended until Thursday.

Meanwhile, MEPs last night showed their support for the free trade agreement with Ecuador, following a last-minute agreement on measures to protect the European banana sector, in a debate in the Euro-chamber on the eve of the final vote.

“We have an agreement on bananas! Successful trialogue on the safeguard clause in the trade agreement with Ecuador,” tweeted European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, one hour before the start of the parliament debate. Some MEPs had expressed concern about the impact of the implementation of the agreement with the world’s largest banana exporter in the banana sectors of the so-called peripheral regions of the European Union like the Spanish area of the Canary Islands.

Although the measures negotiated by the trialogue – European Parliament, the Commission, and European Council – were not specified, the MEPs mentioned some of them during the debate, such as an “early warning” system, “the automatic activation of the stabilization mechanism” or “a report on its operation in 2019 open to possible compensations,” said Liberal MEP Izaskun Bilbao.