QUITO, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Andean Community of Nations (CAN) agreed on Tuesday to put aside its internal disagreements in an effort to save a free trade deal with the European Union(EU).
At a meeting of the bloc held in Ecuador's southwestern city of Guayaquil, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said that CAN, which groups Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador, is definitely able to move forward in its negotiations with the EU "bloc to bloc," but it must adjust to the "different speed" of each member country.
Peru and Colombia want bilateral negotiations with the EU, but Bolivia and Ecuador maintain that member countries have to forge a common front in this regard and negotiate with the EU in a single voice.
CAN agreed to meet again with EU representatives at the end of October so as to remove some of the obstacles to a final agreement.
Exports from the Andean bloc to the EU totaled 11 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, mostly raw materials and farm products such as bananas, while EU's exports to the bloc exceeded 8 billion dollars, according to CAN data.
