Uruguayan president Jose Mujica strongly supported the incorporation of Venezuela as full member of Mercosur from a Sunday column published in one of Brazil’s most influential newspapers, Folha de Sao Paulo.
“Argentina is not a great trade partner for the European Union in absolute terms, but the EU is a crucial partner for Argentina”, pointed out the head of the EU delegation in Buenos Aires Alfonso Diez Torres.
The European Union and Mercosur have a clear commitment to advance trade negotiations and conclude a deal, if possible, by the end of the year, if not at the beginning of next year when Argentina will again hold the rotating chair of the South American group.
The potential full membership of Venezuela in Mercosur, before formalizing its departure from the Andean Community (CAN) has Venezuelan entrepreneurs and several parties linked to integration awaiting and in uncertainty since they are not in touch with government actions on the issue.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica promised his peer Hugo Chavez he would press strongly for Venezuela’s incorporation as full member of Mercosur because this will help balance the group.
Uruguay’s Vice-president Danilo Astori said that Mercosur “unfulfilled agenda” will not affect the chances of reaching an agreement with the European Union which if finally achieved will also help the “block to work better”.
Two are the main challenges faced by Uruguay to ensure sustained economic growth and to improve inequalities: infrastructure and education, and one main danger, self complacency.
Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday during a press conference in Montevideo that the Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi “is doing what has to be done, resisting an imperial aggression” and added that “it’s not anticipated that he has plans to leave Libya”.
Argentina's moves to restrict imports and prop up its shrinking trade surplus as well as European farmers resistance to ‘cheap’ meat imports could hurt talks for a trade deal between Mercosur and the European Union, an EU official said on Wednesday.
Boosted by agriculture Paraguay's economy grew an all time record of 15,3% in 2010, following on a 3.8% contraction in 2009, according to the latest release from the Central bank.