Brussels, 13/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and Chile began on Monday in Santiago, Chile, the third round of talks for an association and free trade agreement. "We are pleased with the progress already made with Chile. We must continue to prepare the technical aspects in order to be ready to tackle the difficult question of customs duties in July 2001", said External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten in Santiago. He added: "We are convinced that we shall be able to reach an agreement far more rapidly on several aspects" (than in the case of Mercosur). Unlike the situation for Mercosur, agriculture only represents 6% of exports from Chile towards the EU, and the subject is therefore far less conflictual. After the success of the third negotiating session for a similar agreement with Mercosur (see article above), the negotiators began this session with Chile with renewed optimism. "We hope we shall be able to conclude the agreement with Chile in good time for the EU/Latin, America Summit in Madrid in 2002 and have made sufficient progress with Mercosur at that time", said Commissioner Patten's spokesperson on Monday.
European and Chilean negotiators should this week end the exchange of technical information to begin exchanging draft texts during the forthcoming meetings.