Brussels, 24/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - A Community source has said that, following the meeting in Rio on 6 November, European and South American negotiators are due to meet again at the end of December or the start of January to resume their technical discussions in talks aimed at reaching a bilateral trade and cooperation agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela). Launched in 1999, the negotiations have remained suspended since their break down in Lisbon in October 2004 (see EUROPE 8812), but the conclusion of an agreement is a major objective in the EU's new trade policy, drawn up by Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson (see EUROPE 9278). The last EU-Mercosur ministerial meeting goes back to the EU-Latin America Summit in Vienna in May. Following the 6 November meeting, the head of the Argentine delegation Eduardo Sigal said it had been “moderately positive” as “willingness to move forward begins to appear on both sides”. He acknowledged, however, that concrete new proposals had not yet materialised, before giving assurances that Mercosur would continue to keep insisting on greater access to the European market for agriculture and processed products. (For the latest on the discussions, see EUROPE 9263 and 9202.) (eh)