EU-Central America Association Agreement
26.10.2017
Question for written answer E-006683-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández (S&D) , Ramón Jáuregui Atondo (S&D)
The European Union and Central America signed an Association Agreement between the two regions in 2012. The Agreement’s trade pillar entered into force in 2013.
In June 2016, during the most recent meeting of the Trade and Sustainable Development Board, which is responsible for monitoring compliance with Title VIII on trade and sustainable development, El Salvador and Guatemala replied to questions posed by the European Union about implementation of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise.
Furthermore, according to the Third Annual Report from the Commission on the Implementation of Part IV (trade pillar) of the Agreement, in 2016 both countries were also ‘discussed in the ILO Supervisory mechanisms […] regarding their implementation of Convention 87 […] and […] cases of violence and murders of workers representatives.’
Article 286(2) of the Agreement states that: ‘The Parties reaffirm their commitment to effectively implement in their laws and practice the fundamental ILO Conventions’. In view of this:
- 1.What is the current state of play regarding implementation by Guatemala and El Salvador of ILO Convention 87?
- 2.What steps will the Commission take in this regard?