Mercosur

• Monday, June 16th 2014 - 06:58 UTC

  Pacific Alliance wants to 'expand influence' through cooperation with other groups

  

  The Pacific Alliance will try to 'expand its influence' through agreements with other blocks to improve cooperation in different fields while targeting a “wider integration” in the region, said Mexico's Economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo. The Alliance is holding its summit this week in Punta Mita, Mexico when the chair of the group will pass from Colombia on to Mexico.

• Monday, June 16th 2014 - 06:46 UTC

  Merkel fully committed to reach an EU/Mercosur trade deal

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel assured Brazil on Sunday that she will do her utmost to bring to successful end negotiations for a cooperation and free trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur.

• Tuesday, June 10th 2014 - 08:25 UTC

  EU waiting for a signal from Mercosur for the trade deal, says Brussels official

  

  “There is no sense in holding discussions if both sides are not ready” and there are no dates for a meeting of European Union and Mercosur negotiators, revealed the EU External Action Service Director Christian Leffler who nevertheless expects a positive result in the near future.

• Friday, May 23rd 2014 - 10:36 UTC

  European lawmakers warn about the impact of a EU/Mercosur accord

  

  European Parliament lawmakers Marian Harkin and Pat The Cope Gallagher have issued strong warnings of soundings coming from Europe of a potential Mercosur trade deal, particularly European Commission President Barroso intention of having the agreement signed before he steps down from office.

• Tuesday, May 20th 2014 - 07:31 UTC

  Venezuelan situation impedes Mercosur summit to take place in Caracas, says Almargo

  

  Uruguay Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro said that the political situation in Venezuela makes it quite improbable that the three-times postponed and since delayed Mercosur summit can effectively take place in Caracas sometime in the next two months.

• Thursday, May 15th 2014 - 07:16 UTC

  Mujica admits Mercosur problems but praises Brazil's open market attitude

  

  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.

• Friday, May 9th 2014 - 06:47 UTC

  Brazil says Mercosur/EU to meet in Brussels at the end of May for trade talks

  

  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.

• Friday, May 2nd 2014 - 09:03 UTC

  Brazil confirms Mercosur/EU are ready to exchange proposals in a month's time

  

  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.

• Monday, April 28th 2014 - 08:01 UTC

  Montevideo expected to host Mercosur two in one summits next August

  

  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.

• Friday, April 25th 2014 - 10:33 UTC

  Paraguay's private sector insists in joining the Pacific Alliance

  

  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.