MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur/EU trade deal is “no bed of roses” and “we're just beginning”

“We'll only reach an agreement if we start to discuss it. We're not going to get closer unless we display proposals. It's a give and take game”, said Malcorra

Despite growing optimism among Mercosur member countries of reaching a trade agreement with the European Union, Argentine minister of foreign affairs Susana Malcorra has cautioned that the road ahead is not “a bed of roses”, and the coming exchange of goods and tariff reduction proposals “will not satisfy any of the two sides”, but that is where “serious discussions begin”.

 Ms. Malcorra made the statement in Brussels next to Federica Mogherini, the EU head of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy with whom she met to talk about the bilateral agenda and Mercosur negotiations, following a trip from Russia.

“We'll only reach an agreement if we start to discuss it. We're not going to get closer unless we put our proposals on the table. It's a give and take game, because nobody takes the whole, otherwise it's not a negotiation, and that is where we must stand to advance: put the cards on the table and see that it works for both sides”, pointed out Ms Malcorra.

She added it was 'indispensable, an aspiration and a need for both the EU and Mercosur to be able to work together in a world in which integration is reached through agreements between different unions“.

But Ms Malcorra also underlined that a possible agreement ”is a chance to increase our trade relations and investments well aware that this will not happen overnight. But only if we start will we be in a position to advance and conclude the objective“.

However the Argentine minister avoided talking about specific issues of the negotiations and said that the job is to begin building the puzzle.

”It's complex because you have your local audience and the need to spread it to the region“, and it must be understood that it is complex not only because of agriculture and farming. However she admitted it was ”a very, very, very complex issue and we must find the right equilibrium to overcome it“.

When asked about the current situation in Brazil and if it could hinder the negotiations, Malcorra said that ”for Brazil this agreement is State policy, they have decided to belong to Mercosur and that Mercosur integrates with the EU in an ample agreement“ and this is not related to any domestic political situation.

”The leaders of Argentina and Brazil have talked about this over and over and they are convinced that it is in the common interest to advance the discussions with the EU, well aware that it's not an overnight job. Let's be clear: forget expectations that following the day we exchange goods and tariffs proposals it's all over and neatly concluded“.

The head of Argentine diplomacy also met with her peer Didier Reynders at the Egmont Palace, seat of the Belgium ministry of foreign affairs. Later together with the mayor of Brussels, Ivan Mayeur, she laid a flower wreath at La Bourse, the old Stock exchange building, where people honor those killed during the recent terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital.

Finally before boarding at the airport for her return to Buenos Aires, the minister underlines that ”Argentina has a role to play in the world, and must integrate, but must also value things which we enjoy and give for granted or forget we have, which is for example that we are a region of peace”.