The Mercosur presidential summit in Montevideo has been temporarily suspended following the news that a member of the Argentine delegation had committed suicide which left delegation members in a state of shock.
“Any jurisdictional acts coming from Malvinas is invalid for us” and therefore Malvinas flagged vessels are barred from Uruguayan ports, a decision which is extensive to all Unasur members, said Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro.
Argentina supported by Brazil has proposed increasing Mercosur Foreign External Tariff to better defend the group when country members are being flooded with cheap imports.
Mercosur member countries meeting in Montevideo for their regular six-month summit are drafting a resolution that would bar Falklands’ flagged vessels from all Mercosur members’ ports, following on the traditional Argentine policy and now openly supported by the Uruguayan government.
Argentine Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman publicly thanked and praised on Monday the Uruguayan decision, announced last week, to bar Falklands’ flagged vessels form the port of Montevideo and any other sea or fluvial terminal in the country.
Falkland Islands fishing companies association, FIFCA expressed their “extreme disappointment” with Uruguay’s decision not to allow Falklands’ flagged vessels enter the port of Montevideo, which “will only serve to punish its own people”.
A two day Mercosur summit begins Monday in Montevideo with Foreign Affairs ministers meeting Monday and the presidents on Tuesday when the rotating chair will be passed from Uruguay to Argentina for the next six month.
Uruguayan opposition called the government of President Jose Mujica “submissive” and “obsequious” with Argentina for having announced it was barring Falkland Islands flagged vessels from the port of Montevideo.
Argentina attempt to control capital flight through strict foreign exchange measures including the tax revenue office which gives its approval or denial to foreign money transactions have added another tool: sniffer dogs.
Spanish ambassador in Uruguay Aurora Diaz-Rato criticized Argentina following an incident with an Argentine Coast Guard unit which tried to intercept a Spanish flagged vessel when exiting Montevideo en route to the Falkland Islands.