
Renan Calheiros, president of the Brazilian Senate, and the man who could help President Dilma Rousseff avoid impeachment in Congress, has proposed a package of measures to rescue Brazil from its current stagflation, but among his demands is “an end to the customs union of Mercosur”.

Technical teams from Mercosur country members are scheduled to meet next Tuesday in Paraguay to iron out the final proposal to be presented by the group to the European Union for the long delayed trade and cooperation agreement. The meeting in Asunción will be headed by Rigoberto Gauto, who is currently the Mercosur coordinator since Paraguay holds this half year the rotating chair.

Daniel Filmus, head of the Malvinas Affairs Desk in the Argentine ministry of foreign affairs can expect to become a member of Mercosur Parliament, or Parlasur, in the coming October general election, following on a repeat of the Argentine primaries' results of last Sunday.

Leaders of several British Overseas Territories meeting in Bermuda released a joint statement following a Pre-Joint Ministerial Council two-day meeting held last week in Hamilton. The goal of the international gathering was to discuss matters of common interest in order to present a unified front next December at the JMC in London.

Brazil's central bank raised interest rates to 14.25% from 13.75% as expected on Wednesday, delivering another hefty increase to stifle inflationary risks from a sharp depreciation of the local currency. This is the highest rate since October 2006.

Brazil' minister of agriculture Katia Abreu said she was very optimistic about Mercosur reaching a trade agreement with the European Union, and if there are problems look to Europe, because Mercosur members have almost agreed and finished their proposal.

The latest Mercosur summit, held last week in Brazil included a special statement, --besides the main regular declaration with 69 articles--, blasting the UK for violating international law and Argentine domestic law over the exploration of hydrocarbons in the Argentine continental shelf in proximity of the Malvinas Islands.

Mercosur agreed at the Brasilia summit that in the second half of the year they will address alternatives for the elimination of tariff and other similar barriers that impede the natural flow of trade of goods and services among its members. The initiative was agreed by Common Market Council, CMC, on the first day of deliberations and confirmed on Friday by the presidents of the group's full members.

In what can be considered her last speech before a Mercosur summit, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez, who is stepping down next December, hailed what she called the “magnitude of the importance of integration” in South America with the inclusion of both Venezuela and Bolivia showing the “success and the resounding failure for those who forecasted for years that the Mercosur was going to fail.”

Uruguay is attending the Mercosur summit in Brazil hoping the group implements deep changes, particularly referred to the free circulation of goods, services and production factors, and considers a six month period should be sufficient trial for the changes to become effective.