MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU-Mercosur talks resume next April.

Mercosur and European Union representatives will resume next April in Asunción, Paraguay, the bogged free trade negotiations, reported last Friday the Paraguayan Foreign Affairs Ministry.

"Resumption of negotiations with the EU is a top priority for Mercosur. We are scheduling a Mercosur Foreign Affairs ministers meeting with EU Commissionaires in the first days of April in Asunción", said Ruben Ramirez, coordinator of the South American group. The announcement was made during the launching of Paraguay in the pro-tempore chair of Mercosur for the first six months of 2005.

Furthermore it was revealed that Mercosur policy coordinators are scheduled to meet in the first half of March in Brussels with their counterparts in preparation of the April reunion.

Mercosur and EU have been negotiating a trade agreement for over five years but talks stalled last October when they couldn't agree on time for the October 31 self-imposed deadline.

In spite of the disagreement on vital areas such as agriculture and industrial goods, both sides said they were willing to resume talks once the new European Commission authorities took office. Trade Commissionaire Paul Lamy from France was replaced by Peter Mandelsson from Britain.

Mercosur full members, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, have a population of 212 million and a GDP equivalent to 800 billion US dollars.

Once an agreement is reached, EU-Mercosur will become the world's largest trade area with a population of 680 million.

Further on Mr. Martinez said the Mercosur 2005 agenda also includes making effective the preliminary agreements signed with the Community of Andean Nations, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela (Bolivia and Peru already have association agreements), and beginning talks with Mexico.

Canada is also a potential partner of Mercosur and trade negotiations are scheduled to be addressed when the Paraguayan Foreign Affairs Minister, Leila Rachid officially visits Ottawa in February.

In the second half of February a tariff preference agreement is scheduled to be signed with India.