Today ends the fourth round of talks with the EU

Today ends the fourth round of negotiations between Ecuador and the European Union (EU) in Belgium, to seek a trade agreement.

President Rafael Correa said yesterday that “very few points of conflict are left”, and hoped that this was the last round.

EU sources said that while the number of issues remaining to be discussed is limited, these issues are “the hardest” to reach an agreement.

One of the objectives of the negotiating team is that the agreement respects the asymmetrical economies of Ecuador and the EU, and it could create conditions for a market opening that does not affect sensitive goods such as dairy.