BRUSSELS: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff stated in Brussels she was not upset by differences with Argentina over the trade agreement Mercosur is to sign with the European Union, despite president Cristina Fernandez administration’s cold feet on the issue.
“I believe it is very important that Mercosur stays together. Argentina is a great partner of ours, and we have definitely not lost patience with Argentina,” Rousseff said during the summit held by the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, (Celac) in Belgium.
“Bilateral agreements are difficult to every nation and region; it’s not an easy thing making a trade agreement,” she added.
In effect, in a recent book on the life of former Uruguayan president Jose Mujica, he reveals that in several of the meetings held with Rousseff, the Brazilian president confessed to having to practice “strategic patience” in reference to Argentina and some of its foreign and trade policies.
Mercosur partners are currently discussing a free trade agreement with the European Union. Argentina has certain reserves with the pact, but wants to move forward. In effect foreign minister Hector Timerman said that Buenos Aires is willing to sign but as long as “not one job is lost” in Argentina, and pointed out that according to diplomatic sources the problem was mainly in the EU which has yet to agree on a proposal’s list.
Bolivia an associate member, meanwhile, said it will drop out of Mercosur if a free trade agreement is signed.
Meanwhile, European Trade representative Cecilia Malmström admitted that the European Union is not ready to proceed with the trade agreement after a meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and delegates from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
“We are not ready. No one is really ready to exchange offers. That’s the reason why we decided to increase technical works and hope to exchange offers before the end of the year,” she said.
In a joint communiqué both sides agreed that they had ”a franc and open exchange on the state of negotiations for an agreement,…(described as) ambitious, comprehensive and balanced“.
”Ministers agreed that once conditions are present for a successful exchange, the objective will be to exchange market access offers in the last quarter of 2015”.
