Visit by President Santos to the European Parliament
27.11.2014
Question for written answer E-009865-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Ernest Urtasun (Verts/ALE)
The current President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, visited Brussels on 4 November 2014 to request economic cooperation with the ‘Trust Fund’ aimed at building peace in Colombia. The situation of human rights and impunity in Colombia has worsened over the past two years. The human rights conditions included in the FTA are currently neither respected nor safeguarded. In addition, new legislation (such as the application of military penal jurisdiction or the changes in access to land) are posing a threat to the victims of the conflict themselves. To give the ‘Trust Fund’ a blank cheque without any guarantees regarding human rights entails a risk that the situation will be worsened for the victims. For that reason, we put the following questions to the Commission:
- 1.How much money has been requested and in what form (donation or loan) by President Santos?
- 2.What conditions are being imposed by the EU and what guarantees of respect for human rights and protection of victims have been established before granting the money?
- 3.Taking into account the fact that the Colombian Government has so far failed to comply with the roadmap or the human rights clause of the FTA, what additional conditions is the EU requesting?