MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Parlatino supports Argentine decision, blasts EU for threatening with reprisals

Minister Randazzo promised no more expropriations

The Standing Committee from the Latin American parliament, Parlatino, approved a resolution in support of the Argentine government decision to seize a majority stake in YPF from Spain’s Repsol, according to a release made public over the weekend.

The resolution which was approved last Friday in Panama states that the Parlatino “categorically rejects the Spanish government position and from the rest of the EU countries threatening Argentina with reprisals in trade issues, because of the nationalization of Repsol’s YPF”.

“We join the position of governments from Latin America and the Caribbean which in a majority display have expressed solidarity with Argentina that is oriented not only to growth and development for the Argentine people, but also to the promotion of energy integration in the region”, added the release.

The Parlatino has representatives from 23 parliaments from the region.

The release recalls that the nationalization bill will be considered by the Senate this week and that President Cristina Fernandez justified the seizure with the purpose “to rescue and manage efficiently” the resources of Argentina.

From Buenos Aires Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo assured that it is not in the Argentine government’s plans to expropriate other companies, after the nationalization of 51% in YPF.

“No, we don’t have another decision of this kind,” the official answered when he was asked about this issue.

“We did point out that this company had to invest, that the productive model needed a different energy matrix, that we needed that these companies invested in the country,” Randazzo added.

Finally Randazzo highlighted that the “economic and productive” model boosted by the government of President Cristina Fernández “requires a strategic resource as the energy is.”