Mercosur

• Friday, August 15th 2014 - 06:34 UTC

  Mujica, Latin America's most original leader according to The Economist

  

  Under the heading of “The sage of Montevideo”, The Economist visited the Uruguayan president at his farmhouse in the outskirts of Montevideo where they had a long chat.

• Friday, August 15th 2014 - 02:26 UTC

  All phone calls inside Chile become local; Punta Arenas code area is 61

  

  Chile has become a single territory for telecommunications and long distance calls with different rates for fixed lines will no longer exist beginning Saturday. This in practical terms will also means a 50% reduction on normal phone calls.

• Friday, August 15th 2014 - 02:24 UTC

  YPF announces new shale oil find in Neuquen-Mendoza area

  

  Argentine state-controlled energy company YPF on Thursday announced a shale oil find in the southwestern province of Neuquen in Patagonia. The discovery was made at the Agrio formation, according to CEO Miguel Galuccio, who said at a press conference that production operations will be carried from the neighboring province of Mendoza.

• Friday, August 15th 2014 - 02:21 UTC

  Last minute decision saved Marina Silva from travelling with Campos

  

  Environmental activist and politician Marina Silva could have been on the plane that crashed on Wednesday and killed presidential candidate Eduardo Campos and six other occupants.

• Friday, August 15th 2014 - 02:15 UTC

  Unasur Montevideo summit planned for next week, suspended until October

  

  A planned presidential summit between the heads of state of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) has been suspended due to scheduling conflicts amongst member countries, according to the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry.

• Wednesday, August 13th 2014 - 07:09 UTC

  Brazil admits EU/Mercosur deal stalled because of European concerns about agriculture

  

  Brazil's agricultural competitiveness is a concern to countries and trade blocks negotiating agreements with Brazil, according to ambassador Paulo Estivallet de Mesquita, head of the Economics Department of the country's Ministry of Foreign Relations (MRE).

• Tuesday, August 12th 2014 - 06:36 UTC

  Uruguay wants Unasur to reach a consensus position of Gaza Strip conflict

  

  Uruguay will ask fellow members at the Unasur summit to be held in Montevideo later in the month to discuss the Gaza Strip situation, said Foreign minister Luis Almagro who next week will be meeting a delegation from the Palestine Authority. Almagro and president Jose Mujica have been questioned for using the words 'genocide' and 'massacre' to describe the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

• Friday, August 8th 2014 - 07:59 UTC

  Brazil insists in trade agreements and closer ties with Pacific Alliance, despite Mercosur

  

  Brazil confirmed that it will try to bring forward to 2016 the free trade agreement with Chile, Peru and Colombia, scheduled for 2019 and underlined the need for Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance to converge as part of the region's productive integration process.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 08:10 UTC

  Rousseff claims EU has yet to agree on a proposal to exchange with Mercosur

  

  President Dilma Rousseff claimed before the Brazil's farmers lobby that the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union is stalled and is not fulfilled because of the 'resistance' from several European countries, and specifically named France, Hungary and Ireland.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 06:32 UTC

  Mercosur trade deal is a priority for the EU under Italian presidency

  

  Foreign minister Federica Mogherini pledged that under the current Italian presidency of the European Union, top priority will be given to signing the pending trade agreements, among which that with Mercosur still under discussion.