Food Crisis Dominates EU-LAC Talks
Rising food prices featured high on the agenda of the summit of the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima. In a declaration adopted by the leaders on the first day of the event, the 60 participating countries expressed "deep concern" with what they termed a crisis.
In the Lima Declaration the leaders stressed that immediate measures were "needed to assist the most vulnerable countries" in dealing with soaring food prices.
They added that a lasting answer to the issue required coordinated action from the international community aimed at raising agricultural capacities and rural development to meet growing demand.
European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told a press conference during the day that rising food prices were "a regional challenge." She pointed out that the EU had approved a EUR 120m package to provide food aid around the world.
Adopted by the 60 participating countries at the end of the meeting dedicated to the fight against poverty and climate change, the declaration also expresses support for Haiti, where rising food prices sparked unrest recently.
The declaration welcomes plans for a conference aimed at drawing up a programme of food security for Haiti that is set to be presided by Argentina and France.
The talks dedicated to strengthening the partnership between the two continents on key global issues also focused on climate change.
The leaders issued a called for a global agreement on an action plan to deal with climate change after 2012. The say in the Lima Declaration that they are "determined to to conclude no later than 2009 an ambitious and global agreement" for the post-Kyoto period.
They also agreed to consolidate EU-LAC dialogue on climate change issues, building on the discussions they held in Bali.
The two-day meeting was launched in the morning with calls from the leaders for the two regions to step up their global role.
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who is the incumbent president of the EU council, said the alliance between the regions should not be underestimated. Jansa stressed that, by working together, the regions could obtain "global leverage".
The summit was officially opened by Peru's President Alan Garcia, who welcomed the participants to Lima and called for a fruitful debate on ways to improve the life of people in both regions.
While the first day of the summit featured a debate among all the participating countries - of the total, nearly 40 heads of state and government were present - the second will consist of meetings of the EU Troika with regional organisations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The first day's proceedings were somewhat overshadowed in the evening by the cancellation of the evening's press conference at which the presiding members were due to tell journalists what their day's toils had produced.
The journalists had waited for over an hour to hear about the results of talks dedicated to strengthening the partnership between the two continents on key global issues. All they got in the end was an explanation from Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde that Peru's leader, Alan Garcia, had to attend to other matters.
The news surprised even members of the visiting Slovenian and European Commission delegations, whose leaders were seen to have turned up at the press conference venue, but were subsequently whisked away.
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