
In a 'dialogue without ties' at the World Bank President Jose Mujica said that Uruguay is a 'frontier country' which history did not want it to belong to any of the two big neighbors (Argentina and Brazil) so that the Atlantic ocean would not be left to an only country.

At the end of May Mercosur will be ready to exchange tariff-reduction proposals with the European Union, announced Brazilian Industry minister Mauro Borges who also anticipated the trade block would be holding a preparatory meeting next week in Caracas, Venezuela.

Brazil confirmed this week that for the end of May or early June, Mercosur will be presenting its joint tariff-reduction proposal to the European Union for the conclusion of an ambitious, but long delayed, cooperation and trade agreement.

Montevideo will be hosting the much delayed Mercosur (December) summit sometime next August as part of the 'normalization ' process, according to sources from the Uruguayan foreign ministry following revelations that negotiations with that purpose have been ongoing for several months now.

Paraguay has an economy which is complementary to the Pacific Alliance block and has become a very interesting option to increase trade, argued the country's main business organizations, Paraguay's Industrial Union and the Paraguay Rural Association.

Paraguay's foreign minister Eladio Loizaga said that there is no date for the several times suspended Mercosur summit, but a technical meeting is scheduled for next week in Montevideo when the issue, among others will be addressed. Nevertheless he insisted that the different bodies of Mercosur are working normally.

It took time and effort, but believe it or not in less than two months time, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay will be presenting their joint tariff reduction proposal to Europe for discussions on an ambitious Mercosur/EU cooperation and trade agreement that has been on the table since 1999, said President Jose Mujica.

Argentina's Hector Timerman and Paraguay's Eladio Loizaga will be meeting Monday in Asunción to address among other issues the three times delayed Mercosur summit, which should take place in Venezuela, and must be decided before next June when the group's six-month chair again rotates.

Argentine cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich confirmed on Tuesday 'significant advances' in the elaboration of Mercosur's joint proposal to exchange with the European Union for discussions on a much delayed wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement.

Most presidents of Latin America and particularly those from Mercosur are concerned with the Venezuelan situation, which generates uneasiness among opposition parties, mass media, corporations and citizens, the International Prospective Institute (IPI) states in a report.