Deplores the protectionist measures taken during the financial crisis by some Latin American countries, especially Argentina; urges the Commission regularly to address the issue of market access with countries in Latin America;

whereas the European Union has strengthened its economic and trade relations with Latin America, becoming its second most important trading partner and the leading trading partner for MERCOSUR and Chile; whereas, according to Eurostat, trade volumes doubled between 1999 and 2008, with EU imports of goods from Latin America increasing to EUR 96,14 billion and exports of goods to the region to EUR 76,81 billion, while there was a steady rise in trade in services; whereas, owing to the dramatic effect of the financial and economic crisis, these figures dropped in 2009 to EUR 70,11 billion (imports) and EUR 61,57 billion (exports), but sta ...[+++]rted to grow again in 2010; whereas European countries constitute the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Latin America,

Recognises that the conclusion of the WTO agreements on trade in bananas put an end to a long-term dispute with Latin American and ACP partner countries’ banana suppliers, could facilitate progress in the Doha Round negotiations and has contributed to concluding the negotiations on the various agreements with Central America and Colombia and Peru; calls, nonetheless, for account to be taken of the commitments made to ACP partners and the interests of EU producers; calls, in order to avoid further disputes, for fair treatment to be guaranteed to all trade partners in Latin America, including those who have not concluded a trade agreemen ...[+++]t with the EU;

Points out that the agreements adopted within the WTO and the bilateral agreements under negotiation with certain Latin American countries have consequences for the vulnerable economies of the outermost regions because of the similarities between their agricultural sectors and those on the Latin American continent; supports therefore the approach under which, in trade relations between the EU and Latin America, the strategic and traditional sectors of the outermost regions are preserved and are the subject of both appropriate compensation and particular attention in order not to undermine the obligations that the EU adopted towards thes ...[+++]e regions in its European strategy for the outermost regions in 2009;

The Commission presents a new strategy for deepening cooperation between the European Union and the countries of Latin America.

Latin America: The support of the Latin American countries is vital in order to protect the frequencies allocated to Galileo.