Brussels, 04/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Talks on an association agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuela in the process of joining) will be central to the visit of European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht to Paraguay and Uruguay from 7 to 9 February.
On the programme for the commission are meetings with Presidents Fernando Lugo of Paraguay and José Mujica of Uruguay. He will also have meetings with the foreign and trade ministers of the two countries and with local business leaders.
The trade chapter of the EU-Mercosur association agreement would see both parties going beyond what is required of them by the WTO in liberalising trade in goods and services, while taking account of sensitivities on both sides. It would also cover investment, government procurement, sustainable development, protection of intellectual property rights and geographical indications, and competition policies and include a special agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary standards. An effective and binding dispute settlement mechanism would also be put in place.
EU-Mercosur negotiations, opened in 1995, were suspended in 2004 before being relaunched in May 2010. Since then, three negotiating rounds have taken place. The next is scheduled in March 2011 in Brussels. (E.H./transl.rt)