Speaking at a conference organised by the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE), Mexico’s representative to the European institutions, Rogelio Granguillhome Morfín, went into detail on Wednesday 8 November on the importance of the economic link between the European Union and his country and the need for both parties to ratify their free trade agreement before December.
“The EU/Mexico agreement, which came into force in 2000, is one of the first bilateral agreements in the history of the Union”, the diplomat recalled in his preamble, keen to highlight the impact of this agreement. “25% of foreign direct investments since 1999 has come from the EU. Of the 10 countries investing the most in Mexico, six are European. In terms of the agenda, there are dozens of sectors covered: space, health, science and technology, trade...”, he said.
However, this agreement has now “shown its limits”, according to Rogelio Granguillhome Morfín. He added: “The period in which the agreement was signed was very different from today. Current circumstances have prompted us to re-examine this agreement and modernise it”.
The modernisation of the free trade agreement was finalised in 2020, but official ratification is still pending (see EUROPE 13203/21). To the point where several elements of this agreement “now need to be reviewed”, according to the Mexican representative, to bring them into line with the “changes” made by Mexico, particularly in the energy and electricity sector and its regulation.
“We are doing our best to reach a solution on these issues before the end of December”, said the diplomat. Mexico is expected to submit a proposal to the Commission by the end of November.
“It is important that we can make a positive announcement on the ratification of the agreement during the visit of [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen to Mexico”, Rogelio Granguillhome Morfín insisted, without giving a precise date for the visit. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)