MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile and Europe closer

The ninth round of free trade talks between Chile and the European Union, held in Santiago, ended with a “substantial advance” and next April in Brussels should have the deal rapped up and ready to sign during the May Iberoamerican summit in Spain.

The two issues which are still pending consideration are free access to Chilean ports for European fishing fleets, and the EU insistence, --particularly France-- in exclusive use of the origin denomination for wines and liqueurs.

The head of the Chilean delegation Christian Barros said that "we've found formulas that should lead us to a quick understanding on both subjects. With fisheries I believe it can be overcome with joint investment associations".

Mr. Barros indicated that the trade agreement with Europe is one of the basic issues of Chile's international policy since Europe currently is equivalent to 25% of the country' exports, that is over 4,6 billion US dollars annually.

"A quick agreement with Europe will give us access to a 370 million people market and help us recover our 7% growth rate" stressed Mr. Barros.

Mr. Francisco Dacamara, European Union Director of Foreign Relations and head of the delegation was also similarly optimistic and said that the Santiago round was "particularly productive".

"We trust Chile will become a privileged ally of the European Union in international forums", added Mr. Dacamara.

Chile and the European Union began negotiations in April 2000, and in the first rounds quickly agreed to political and cooperation matters.