Brazil hopes that the “strategic” Mercosur-EU agreement will be signed “very soon”

The chancellor of Brazil, Mauro Vieira, defended this Wednesday before the partners of the Mercosur that the trade agreement with the European Union (EU) is “strategic“and, therefore, hopes that it will be signed”very soon” after the latest setback in the negotiations.

“Our expectation is to be able to sign the association agreement (with the EU) very soon“said the head of Brazilian diplomacy during the meeting of the Common Market Council, which brings together the heads of Foreign Affairs and Economy of the South American bloc, in Rio de Janeiro.

In his speech, released in writing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vieira insisted that in the last six months, in which Brazil held the rotating presidency of the Mercosurwhich complete Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, there were “important advances” in the negotiations with the Twenty-Seven.

In this sense, he was emphatic in highlighting that the pact with the Europeans “has an unequivocal strategic dimension” and will mean “a turning point” mutually.

“With this instrument, we are reinforcing the identity of our bloc as a global economic actor”he added.

Likewise, he highlighted that the text, which has been negotiated for more than two decades, establishes “the bases of an integration of productive chains in both directions”.

“The economies of Mercosur will obtain benefits in the European market, both through the expansion of exports and through the acquisition of technologies that will improve our competitiveness.”, he stated.

The EU and Mercosur have been negotiating to create a common market of 700 million people for more than 20 years.

On June 28, 2019, they reached a political agreement with several open points, but since then various demands on both sides of the Atlantic, especially in the agricultural and environmental fields, have muddied the negotiating process.

Brazil He hoped to close the treaty before the end of the year, although the frontal rejection of several European countries, led by France, and the reluctance of Argentina, on the eve of the inauguration of its new president, Javier Milei, have prevented this.

Besides, Argentina maintains that the agreement needs a review because the one from four years ago is “obsolete”, while Paraguay, which will assume the rotating presidency of Mercosur in the first half of 2024, has announced that it will not prioritize dialogue with the Twenty-seven and will opt for others. markets.

The meeting of Mercosur foreign ministers is held this Wednesday at the Museu do Amanhã in Rio, on the eve of the meeting of presidents.