MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU, stronger ties with Uruguay and Mercosur

“We want to work very closely” EU Pte. Barroso said

President Barroso met president of Uruguay Dr. Tabaré Vázquez in the Berlaymont on 18 September. The Uruguayan president's trip to Brussels and his visit to the Portuguese presidency in Lisbon and Spain demonstrate the country's desire to strengthen ties with Europe.

The European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur want to work together on energy and environment protection, the head of the EU's executive office said Tuesday. The effort to cooperate comes before a U.N. conference scheduled for December that will try to set new global targets to curb carbon emissions. "We want to work very closely with Uruguay and Mercosur to prepare this conference," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said. Energy and climate change were an important part of discussions between Barroso and Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez, who holds the rotating presidency of Mercosur â€" the trade market comprising Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. The European Union wants to build support for bigger cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases after the current Kyoto Protocol goals expire in 2012, to try to limit climate change. It said it will cut its own carbon dioxide releases by 20 percent by 2020 â€" but will go further if the rest of the world joins in. But the United States never signed up to the Kyoto deal and contends that mandatory caps would damage the energy-intensive U.S. economy. The United Nations conference on the Indonesian island of Bali in December will try to update the Kyoto agreement on climate change. The Kyoto agreement requires 35 industrial nations to cut their global-warming emissions 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. "It's important to send a political signal on the future of our relations," Barroso said. Vazquez said the South Americans wanted to share the EU's "great experience" on environmental issues. In a separate move, the EU announced it was planning to set up a "global climate change alliance" with some of the world's poorest nations â€" mostly in Africa. The European Commission said it had earmarked €50 million (US$69 million) over the next three years to help them cope with the impact of global warming, integrate climate change measures into development programs and tackle deforestation. Barroso and Vazquez said they expected the EU and Mercosur to release a joint declaration before the end of the year underlining the two organizations' commitment to closer ties. The two organizations have been working since 2000 to conclude an agreement to strengthen cooperation and free up trade. During Vazquez' visit to EU headquarters, Uruguay and the 27-nation EU signed a cooperation agreement worth €31 million (US$43 million) over the next six years. The EU said the money would promote social projects in Uruguay and focus on developing research and innovation. The EU is one of Uruguay's biggest trade partners, accounting for 21 percent of its exports and 12 percent of imports in 2006. Total bilateral trade amounted for €1.5 billion (US$2.08 billion) according to EU figures.