MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Bolivia will hold double membership of Mercosur and the Andean Community
Foreign minister Choquehuanca made the announcement following talks with his Uruguayan peer, Luis Almagro (L) Bolivia will join Mercosur without abandoning the Andean Community and will continue with negotiations for a cooperation and trade agreement with the European Union, announced in La Paz the Foreign ministers from Bolivia, David Choquehuanca and Luis Almagro from Uruguay which currently holds the group’s chair.
The announcement was made following a meeting of the two ministers together with Mercosur high commissioner, Ivan Ramalho from Brazil.
“The simultaneous negotiation will ensure Bolivia double belonging to the Andean Community, CAN and to Mercosur”, said Almagro who added that Mercosur respects La Paz association negotiations with the EU, since they were started before Bolivia announced its intention of upgrading from associate to full member of Mercosur.
Originally when Bolivia was pondering its request for full Mercosur membership it was established that the country would have to choose between one and the other. However, the Bolivians insisted that since their economy was one of the most underdeveloped in the continent it needed all the aid and support possible, plus sufficient consideration for the vulnerable areas of its economy.
In support of that position and addressing a forum of Bolivian business people in La Paz to outline the benefits of incorporation to Mercosur, Almagro said that he was sure “the path could be found so that Bolivia sustains the double membership since it will strengthen Latinamerican integration”.
Choquehuanca said that Bolivia was grateful to Uruguay, as current chair of Mercosur, for having supported such a position.
The Andean Community is made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Originally it also included Venezuela, but former president Hugo Chavez displeased with Colombia and Peru’ negotiations for a free trade agreement with the US (which were finally achieved), decided to abandon the group and request incorporation to Mercosur back in 2006. Ecuador, another potential Mercosur full member, is also holding talks with the EU for a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement.
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Read all commentsCAN us pretty much dead and being slowly incorporated into or subsumed or overtaken by the Pacific Alliance.
Jun 24th, 2013 - 05:53 am 0Colombia and Peru are putting all their efforts into bilateral trade agreements and also the Pacific Alliance.
Ecuador and Bolivia are probably going to be quite welcome to continue CAN membership with concurrent Mercosur membership simply because CAN will be kept around as a talking shop to further expand Colombia's and Peru's growth and free trade agenda.
The Pacific Alliance is much less structured and strict than Mercosur. It's a bottom up group and not a top down one like the EU or Mercosur.
Can Bolivia become a member of Mercosur without Paraguay's agreement?
Jun 24th, 2013 - 09:17 am 0Thought not.
So it looks like another illegal entry into Mercosur, making it even more redundant as they won't even follow their own rules.#
No one in their right mind would do business with Mercosur.
They can do as they please when rules and law are insignificant burdens of technicalities.
Jun 24th, 2013 - 10:05 am 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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