Examen de Traducción e Interpretación Oficial

Versión 06 de junio de 2015

Examen oral inglés - español Tema 4

Q&A: María Antonia van Gool, EU Ambassador to Colombia

Sources: The Business Year, European Commission, Colombia Reports
BY CAMBRIA ARVIZO ON MAY 31, 2014OP EDS & INTERVIEWS, WORLD NEWS
BOGOTA, Colombia — Last week, I was lucky enough to interview the European Union Ambassador
to Colombia, María Antonia van Gool. She has pursued her diplomatic career all around the world,
including Abidjan, the Ivory Coast, Lagos, Nigeria and The Hague, and was also Ambassador of the
Netherlands to Bolivia, Kenya, Suriname, Romania and to the United Nations Environmental Program.
She first came to Colombia 30 years ago, acting as a cooperation diplomat with the Dutch embassy.
Since the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) by the Libson Treaty in late 2010,
she has held the position of Ambassador to Colombia, representing the European Union.

Cambria Arvizo: Can you briefly explain the relationship between the E.U. and Colombia? Do
they have a good history and how is the relationship currently?
Ambassador van Gool: The relationship between Europe and Colombia has its roots in the
discovery of America because of the cultural and historical links between Spain and the outcomes of
other migratory flows from different Member States of the Union. But actually, the relationship with the
E.U. can be linked to the last century in the (1990s,) when a special cooperation programme with
Colombia and all the Andean countries came into force, and even before the opening of the
Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities in Bogota. It was established in June
1993. Since then, the E.U. has evolved and so has its relationships with Colombia, but always in
three dimensions: bilateral, with the Andean Community and with the Latin American region as a
whole. The aid for development is just one of the aspects of our deep relationship with Colombia that
covers political aspects, including human rights issues, and commercial and investment exchanges.
CA: In what ways does the E.U. provide aid to Colombia? Has that aid been helpful?
VG: The aid for development in Colombia is given in the three dimensions as explained before, but I
would like to describe the bilateral cooperation that is given in a multi-annual scheme.