Guadalajara, 01/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Guadalajara Summit has confirmed the timetable for the free trade talks between Mercosur, Central America and the Andean Community (see EUROPE 28 May p.12). However, there is still a long road to travel between this affirmation of political will and the conclusion of the talks.
At the bilateral EU/Mercosur Summit on Saturday, the two parties restated their intention to meet an October deadline for tying up the free trade talks opened five years ago. There is "still a lot of work to do" indicated Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorin, following a meeting of EU/Mercosur Ministers. "We are still a long way from concluding" said French President Jacques Chirac as he was leaving the Summit. He considered "Mercosur's response is not on a level" with the major concessions offered by the Commission on farming. He added, "We will have to meet again to try and arrive at a desirable agreement, but one that must be balanced. I do not consider that this is currently the case". "We are the largest agricultural producers in Europe, we have interests and we will defend them" said the French President, adding that he had met with comprehension from the Brazilian side at bilateral meetings with President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.
The EU also confirmed it was ready initiate exploratory talks with Central and Andean America. The process "will begin at this stage by a joint evaluation of the respective integration processes of Central America and the Andean community." "At the right moment, the evaluation will lead to talks" indicated the final declaration of the Summit. "Any future agreement must be built based on the Doha agenda outcome and a sufficient level of regional integration," added the declaration.