On 23 April 2007 the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with certain countries of Central America (‘Central America’) for an Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other (‘the Agreement’) on behalf of the Union and its Member States.

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;

(a)a State, a regional or local authority of a State, a public international body of which at least one Member State is a member, the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) established by the EFSF Framework Agreement and any other mechanism established with the objective of preserving the financial stability of European monetary union by providing temporary financial assistance to the Member States whose currency is the euro and Member States’ national central banks whether o ...[+++]r not they issue shares or other securities; and

The Agreement does not affect the powers of the Member States of the European Union to undertake bilateral activities with the Central American countries in the field of economic cooperation.

(3) Convention de coopération monétaire du 23 novembre 1972 entre les États membres de la Banque des États de l'Afrique centrale (BEAC) et la République française, as amended; Convention de compte d'opérations du 13 mars 1973 entre le ministre de l'Économie et des Finances de la République Française et le Président du Conseil de l'administration de la Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale, as amended; Accord de coopération du 4 décembre 1973 entre la République française et les Républiques mem ...[+++]bres de l'union monétaire ouest-africaine, as amended; Convention de compte d'opérations du 4 décembre 1973 entre le ministre de l'Économie et des Finances de la République Française et le Président du conseil des ministres de l'Union monétaire ouest-africaine, as amended; Accord de coopération monétaire du 23 novembre 1979 entre la République française et la République fédérale islamique des Comores, as amended; Convention de compte d'opérations du 23 novembre 1979 entre le ministre de l'Économie et des Finances de la République Française et le ministre des Finances, de l'Économie et du Plan de la République fédérale des Comores, as amended.

Whereas it is desirable that the national central banks participating in the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union should enter such Union having on their balance sheets claims negotiable under market conditions, in particular to give the required flexibility to the monetary policy of the European System of Central Banks and to permit a standard contribution from the various national central banks participating in monetary union to the monetary in ...[+++]come to be distributed among them;