Brussels, 04/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - At an informal ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the Spanish-American summit of Estoril on 30 November, Spain, Portugal and the countries of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) showed a "strong interest" in a rapid resumption of negotiations for a "well-balanced and ambitious" free-trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and the South-American customs union, according to a joint press release. Spain, which will hold the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2010, has said that it is "inclined" to breathe new life into work on this agreement, negotiations for which began in 1999, but were suspended when they became conditional upon the conclusion of the Doha Round and have been frozen since 2004. (E.H./transl.fl)