Brussels, 26/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - During a press conference in Brussels on Thursday 26 March, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström stated that meetings between the European and South American negotiators will be held in the coming weeks to assess the level of ambition of the EU and Mercosur before returning to the negotiating table for a free trade agreement between the two blocs.
“There are difficulties, and even if there is resolve from the two parties, we need to be assured that we have more or less the same ambitions. We are in contact. Meetings will take place in the coming weeks to see where we are on the level of ambitions before resuming the negotiation”, Malmström told EUROPE on Thursday.
The EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) have been negotiating an association agreement, including a free trade agreement, since 1999. After a six-year freeze, the negotiations resumed in 2010. The exchange of offers on market access - which cover agricultural and industrial products, and also government procurement - has still not taken place, despite the commitment taken at ministerial level in January 2013.
This issue could be discussed at the political level on the sidelines of the next summit between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean, in Brussels on 10-11 June. (Emmanuel Hagry)