MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain determined to the re-launching of EU/Mercosur talks at the Madrid summit

Spain’s First Vice-president Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega

The challenge of re-launching European Union/Mercosur trade talks, figures pre-eminently in the agenda of the EU/Latam-Caribbean leaders’ summit scheduled to begin Monday in Spain that also happens to hold the EU rotating presidential chair.

However several obstacles are conditioning the result of the summit which only a few weeks ago had triggered strong expectations, based on the political willingness of both sides to advance given that the World Trade Organization Doha Round global talks remain stalled.

France and other EU countries have warned of the negative effects of greater agriculture concessions to Mercosur for the European farmers and insist in conditioning any further talks to advances in the Doha round.

Besides Europe with the Greek situation expanding and the lack of confidence in the Euro becoming a global factor, prospects don’t seem as encouraging as before the latest events.

However the two-day event which brings together over 50 leaders from the Americas and the European Union 27 is anyhow a good opportunity to exchange ideas about the possible re-launching of the talks initiated in 1999 but frozen since 2004.

France speaking through its Agriculture minister has stated that talks can’t advance because they would endanger “agriculture in Europe and in France”, and the subsidies policy of which France is the main beneficiary.

Spain’s First Vice-president Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said that in the event of an agreement with Mercosur, EU exports would surge 4.5 billion Euros annually, plus all the opportunities of doing business in a market of 800 million.

“The re-launching of Mercosur talks has been one of our main challenges, and there is political willingness to advance”, underlined Ms Fernandez de la Vega.

The same position has been re-stated on several occasions by Brazil’s Lula da Silva and Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the two Mercosur main members.

“We must concentrate on re-launching negotiations and ensure optimal conditions for them to develop”, said Ms Fernandez de la Vega.

The agenda for the over 50 world leaders meeting in Madrid also includes a new financial architecture for the world; the Greek crisis; climate change and the Haiti situation following the devastating quake in January that killed 300.000 people.

In related news from Caracas, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said he would not be flying to Madrid for the summit because of “lack of time”.

Venezuela in Madrid will be represented by Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Francisco Arias Cárdenas.

Foreign Affairs minister Nicolas Maduro will be replacing Chavez at the G-14 Non aligned summit taking place in Iran under the auspices of the Teheran regime.