Salvador

Relations between the EU and El Salvador as with the Central American countries are based on the San José Dialogue launched in 1984 with the objective of seeking solutions to armed conflicts in the region by means of dialogue and negotiation. Since then it has become a platform upon which to strengthen co-operation, economic links and regional integration. The present legal basis for cooperation between El Salvador and the European Union is the Framework Cooperation Agreement signed in San Salvador in February 1993 together with other Central American countries. On 15 December 2003 a new Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement was signed in Rome (currently under ratification). In 2004 at the III EU-LAC Summit the EU Heads of State and Government decided that an Association Agreement (including a Free Trade Agreement) will be the future common strategic objective promoting the process of regional integration in Central America and establishing a region-to-region cooperation. The EU is traditionally one of the principal sources of official development aid for El Salvador. The main priorities of the current cooperation can be found in the Country Strategy Paper [739 KB] . The EU is El Salvador’s third most important trading partner, even if significantly after the US and other countries in the Central American region. The county is a beneficiary of the EU Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+).

• Mid-Term Review of the Country Strategy Paper 2007-20a3 for El Salvador [26 KB] and the National Indicative Programme 2011-2013 for El Salvador [137 KB]