MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Solanas in Buenos Aires.

Javier Solana, the European Union Foreign Affairs representative will participate this week in the Buenos Aires Mercosur presidential summit when Argentina will be symbolically handing the revolving six months chair to Brazil.

Besides Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia's presidents, associate members of Mercosur, will also be present.

Mr. Solanas is expected to announce during the summit the European Union commitment "to continue advancing with the current (trade and political) negotiations".

The European official is also expected to give a conference on the European integration experience.

Mercosur and the European Union are in the process of discussing a trade association that should begin to become effective by 2005. However differences mainly over agriculture have stalled negotiations.

Mr. Solanas will previously visit Colombia to collect information for the European Council on ways to help the local government in the peace talks process with the guerrillas and with the 7,5 billion US dollars Colombia recovery program. Washington has already committed 1,6 billion US dollars