Forum on the Social Dialogue between Representatives of Mexican and European Civil Society, the Mexican Government and the European Commission in the Context of the Global Agreement

Forum on the Social Dialogue between Representatives of Mexican and European Civil Society, the Mexican Government and the European Commission in the Context of the Global Agreement
Core Proposals, Brussels, November 2002

The following is a first proposal ever since the announcement from the Mexican Government and the European Commission that the forum on the social dialogue described in the title will be organized in November. This proposal is based on documents that have previously been submitted to our governments (document of September 24th 2001 included) and requests to receive a reaction about the reception to realize such a forum incorporating the described necessities, considerations and objectives.

1. Justification of the Forum

The networks and organisations that present this proposal manifest their approval for the will that has been showed by the governments of Mexico and the countries of the European Union to celebrate a forum of dialogue with civil society on the Agreement of Economic Association, ... and Economic Cooperation between the European Union and Mexico. In this sense we acknowledge that our "Proposal of the European and Mexican Civil Society: Dialogue between European Social and Civil Organisations, Mexican Social and Civil Organisations, Institutions of the European Union and Mexican Governmental Institutions" has been recognized.

Such preferences remain clear in the declaration of the second Joint Council of Mexico and the European Union marked on the 13th of May 2002, and, previously, in the declaration of the Joint Council of 2001 in which it recognizes the importance and necessity to create spaces of dialogue with civil society. This acknowledgment was made explicit through a series of interviews and meetings of high-rank officials of both Europe and Mexico, while acknowledging that even though the Global Agreement has been signed, ratified and came into force, the dialogue and consultation with the civil society of our countries has yet to be established. Although rather late, we welcome the intentions to start with this social dialogue, once the ... is formally reached ... (parts missing) between the EU and Mercosur, as well as in the recently signed agreement with Chile.

In the same way, the governments have admitted that they have not started a Sustainable Impact Assessment (SIA) for the Global Agreement between Mexico and the European Union and in particularly for the Free Trade Agreement singed by the parties. In this sense we suggest that the proposed forum of November has to be a point of departure of a process of a broader social dialogue.

We believe, like we expressed previously, that the prospect of the social dialogue must anticipate the possibility that the Joint Council of Mexico and the European Union be opened for the participation of social and civil organisations through, for example, advisory committees, as well as succeed in more transparency of its procedures and decisions towards national parliaments and senates and towards the European Parliament. In this sense we acknowledge the worries expressed by Mexican senators and members of the European Parliament.

Like it has been determined in numerous reports, studies, declarations and documents that we supplied to our governments in a suitable way, we are concerned about the methods that have been carried out through the realization of the Global Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union, as well as its content. Therefore we believe that the forum of November must be an opportunity to jointly start an evaluation on how to stimulate truly democratic forms of participation, to equip a number of clauses of the Global Agreement (especially the democratic clause) with genuine content, and to establish mechanisms of evaluation and examination of the socio-economic impacts of the trade and the investment which would make its revision possible.

Various evaluations of the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement have showed very negative effects for the Mexican population. In this sense we are concerned about the problems that exist in the Global Agreement and that could possibly alter the relation between Mexico and the European Union. Nevertheless it is necessary to include such clauses with the objective that our affairs are not only based on trade and investment, as noted in the free trade agreement whose model is precisely NAFTA. To date, the agreements on cooperation signed between the parties are not of public knowledge, nor are other mechanisms that would grant a truly social content or respect and promotion of human rights to the integrity and indivisibility of the Global Agreement.

We anticipate that the analysis and proposals that we have developed since 1997 will serve as a base for the development of the next forum of November that has to lay the foundation of a relation between governments and civil society with a central objective the pursuit of concrete mechanisms for fair, equal and sustainable development, and the defence and promotion of human rights. In this sense we are proposing that, as expressed in the objectives, the general character of the forum will be one of reaching concrete agreements that would allow a continuance of the social dialogue. We also believe that the forum should be open to any person interested in these matters and that the results should be made public through the media. Therefore the forum should be announced well in time.

2. Objectives

Generally

• Establish concrete mechanisms that will give the Global Agreement between Mexico and the European Union a more social content that respects human rights through the participation of civil and social organisations in the decision making process.

Specifically

• Establish concrete mechanisms for the participation of civil society, and the means for the creation of advisory committees with the participation of social and civil organisations.
• Establish a concession that will improve the mechanisms and instruments to defend Human Rights. Specifically this means giving content to the democratic clause and to mechanisms for its functioning.
• Lay the foundation for the creation of a social observatory whose analysis and examination of the economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts ... through the exchange of trade and investment become concrete through proposals and measures ... (parts missing) of the free trade agreement and of the agreement on reciprocal protection and promotion of investments between Mexico and the European Union.
• Establish effective mechanisms and rapid transmission, information and consultation to the parliaments, congresses, and to society in general about the various aspects and decisions involved in the relations between Mexico and the European Union.

3. Actors

Representing civil society:

• Representatives of social and civil organisations from Mexico and Europe that a) have been working on the Global Agreement between Mexico and the European Union (by way of lobbying, analysis, diffusion etc) and b) the sectors most directly involved by the liberalisation of trade and investment (suggested sectors: a) industry, b) farm and agriculture, c) small and medium sized businesses, d) defence and promotion of human rights, e) defence of the environment).
• Mexican and European investigators and academics that are experts on the EU-Mexico relations.
• Representatives of social and civil organisations from Central and South America (as far as this type of agreement has consequences on the regional economies).

Representing the governments:

• High rank officials of the European Commission (DG RELEX, DG Comercio).
• High rank officials of the Mexican government (ministers of Economy and Foreign Affairs).
• Ambassadors and officials of the Mexican Embassy for the EU, and of the European Commission delegation for Mexico.
• Senators and Mexican delegates, members of the European parliament (and of the member states of the EU).

Representatives of the Social and Economic Council of the European Union

4. Programme

1st day:

• Welcome to the Representatives of Mexican and European civil society organisations, the European Commission and the Mexican government.
• Presentation of the Participants.
• Presentation of the Programme: methodology and range of the Forum.
• Diagnosis and Scenarios of the Global Agreement. A broad panel with the participation of civil society organisations, the governments and academia.
• Debate.
• The Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union: concerns with the impacts on the industrial, service, rural, ... and environmental sector.

2nd day:

• Mechanisms of Dialogue and Social Participation. Situation and Proposals. A broad panel of representatives of social and civil organisations, governments, academia and small and middle-sized businesses.
• Summaries and Proposals in Workshops.
• Plenary meeting to reach agreements or consensus and establish concrete mechanisms supporting the forum.