Brussels, 04/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - After Paris, Madrid and Berlin, the new Mexican President (who takes office on 1 December) Vincente Fox, met European Commission President Romano Prodi in Brussels on Thursday morning, as well as the Commissioner for external relations, Chris Patten, and the High Representative for the common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana. "One of the main reasons of our visit to Europe is to promote European investment in Mexico" in the framework of the EU/Mexico Free-Trade Agreement, which took effect on 1 July, Vincente Fox announced before leaving.
First opposition candidate elected to the presidency of Mexico after 71 years of reign by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (IRP), Vincente Fox is counting on his country's "democratic maturity" to reassure and attract investors. "After 71 years, we now have a genuine democracy in Mexico. We shall enter the 21st century on a sound footing and this is news we want to spread in Europe", the President declared.
In a note published on the eve of Vincente Fox's departure, Human Rights Watch drew attention to the reform of the justice system that will be necessary to guarantee the respect of human rights in Mexico, and to ensure the legal security essential to the country's economic development. "President-elect, Vincente Fox, of the National Action Party (NAP), has made unprecedented efforts at broaching the issue of human rights since his election", Human rights Watch acknowledges. The NGO whence calls on Mexico and the European Union to rapidly identify areas of cooperation made possible thanks to the new EU/Mexico agreement, "including in the legal sector".