Brussels, 14/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 14 April, Argentina's Minister for Foreign Affairs Susana Malcorra said in Brussels that the relaunch of trade negotiations between the EU and Argentina was “very important” for her country.
We know that the exchange of offers will not be satisfactory, but we are ready to sit down at the same table to find “optimal solutions” for both parties, she said at the end of a meeting with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Underlining the fact that this exchange of offers that is planned for mid-May is an “initial” exchange offers, Malcorra said that excluding certain sensitive agricultural products right away would limit the ability to reach an agreement. Brazil's resolve to commit to the negotiations will not be changed by the political crisis affecting that country, she said.
Refusing to enter into the technical details of the negotiations, Mogherini said she was pleased at the renewed ambition of making progress in the negotiations that have for long been on ice. She did not hide the “concerns” expressed by many member states, but believed that the negotiations package was “much broader than agricultural and food products”.
On Monday 11 April, member states rejected the future EU market access offer including proposals on quotas to be applied to certain sensitive agricultural products (dairy products, pork, poultry, beef, fruit and vegetables - see EUROPE 11530).
The vice-president of the Commission announced that European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elzbieta Bienkowska would lead a mission to Argentina in the second half of 2016 to promote the economy, and that the EIB would take part in this (see EUROPE 11509).
On the political level, Mogherini hailed Argentina's active role in hosting refugees through a specific humanitarian visa programme which allows over 500 Syrians to be hosted. A joint working group has been set up in cooperation with the United Nations in order “to globalise” the refugee hosting effort, Mogherini stated. She also mentioned the preliminary discussions on trilateral cooperation with African countries in the development sector. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)