MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU/Mercosur hope to resume talks following French presidential election

“We need new alliances which really are strategic associations” said Benita Ferrero-Waldner

European and Latin American personalities underlined the peril of falling prey to short term results and forget the long term relation between the two regions which is expected to be re-launched following the French presidential election next April.

“We are hopeful that once the French election is behind us, we can begin to conclude the Mercosur/EU trade and cooperation agreement which is long overdue”, said Member of the European Parliament Jose Ignacio Salafranca who is also president of the Euro-Latinamerican parliamentary assembly.

“We need new alliances which really are alliances and strategic associations” said Benita Ferrero-Waldner president of the EU/Latin America Foundation.

“We must re-calibre our whole relation” added the former EU Commissar for Foreign Affairs during the seminar “Latin America-European Union: a relation both ways”, organized by the European Parliament in Madrid.

“We must think in a greater symmetry of our relations in such fields as trade and migration”, said Enrique Garcia, CEO of the Development Bank from the Andean Community, CAF.

“We must impulse the historic relation of our continents beyond the short term and current events” added Garcia who underlined that bilateral trade and investment relative figures have been falling, but insisted both sides must work “on a long term relation”.

Further on he said that Latin America and the EU must strengthen their links based on common interests which are more solid than short term events, but also called for corrections in the way the relation is managed.

“The world has changed, we must think in a more appropriate symmetry of relations: but even when Latin American is going through one of its best moments in decades, we must ask ourselves if this is sustainable in the long term. In CAF we believe there are structural problems which represent weakness”, said García.

Among those back draws he mentioned the fact Latin America exports mainly commodities; low savings rate; very modest advance in productivity and the persistence of a huge inequality.

“The great challenge for Latin America is to take advantage of the current platform of economic bonanza and address the necessary reforms to ensure stability and prop productivity, and Latin America must convince the EU to be part of this enterprise”, said Garcia.

He cautioned that the current ‘love affair’ with the Asia is OK, “it’s an interesting lover”, but beware “we don’t forget our long term passionate relation which are the EU and the US”.