Panama is “committed in principle," but as you say, nothing has actually been negotiated so far. We are still a long way from having an actual agreement. Since the minister intends to conclude this agreement, does he also intend to stall the bill until the agreement is signed? After all, the agreement is a rather important one. Since it was important to conclude other trade agreements, I assume that it is even more important to do so in Panama's case, since that country is recognized as a tax haven.
On November 3rd, 2010. See this statement in context.