Brussels, 11/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - Careful optimism dominated the work of the EU and Mercosur negotiators, who met this week in Buenos Aires to move forward their work to conclude an association agreement by October. The Europeans feel that the deadline is achievable, but warn against falling behind. Both sides must put realistic offers on the table by April at the latest. But the EU negotiators have criticised the temptation on the Latin-American side to concentrate solely on European agricultural subsidies, although the EU is the world's largest importers of agro-food products and represents a market twice that of the United States for Mercosur producers. In the Argentinean capital, Pascal Lamy denied allegations that the EU is racing the US to reach agreement with Mercosur before negotiations undertaken on the initiative of the US on creating a "Free-Trade area of the Americas" (ACLA) are concluded. "There is no race between Europeans and North Americans: ACLA is just about trade, but the EU/Mercosur agreement goes beyond that, by including political co-operation and specific European aid, especially in technical matters", said the Commissioner in charge of Trade. "For us, the backbone of the agreement [with Mercosur] is regional integration and sustainable development, objectives the ACLA seems to share", he said. Pascal Lamy also said that the EU considers it of "great interest" to reach a "full agreement" with Mercosur, not just for economic reasons, but also for "political motives". "This is why negotiations are so wide", he commented, referring to investments, trade facilitation, competition policy and transparency in public procurement, the same points that caused controversy in the Doha round.
On Doha, the Commissioner stated that after the failure of Cancun, there was now a "good climate" between the various blocs and countries of the WTO. "After the trauma of Cancun (...), there is a genuine desire to get back round the table", he stressed.