Mercosur

• Thursday, July 31st 2014 - 07:39 UTC

  Mercosur divided on the Gaza Strip statement; Paraguay dissented

  

  Paraguay strongly objected a draft Mercosur declaration on Gaza which wanted to openly support Palestine and unilaterally condemn Israel's bombings and incursions, according to sources at the group's summit which took place Tuesday in Caracas.

• Wednesday, July 30th 2014 - 07:10 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez thanks Mercosur support and again attacked Judge Griesa

  

  President Cristina Fernández addressed fellow heads of state at the Mercosur summit in Caracas, where she thanked members of the bloc for their support over the ongoing fight with holdout investors in the New York courts and underlined that Argentina “has paid debt obligations religiously”.

• Monday, July 28th 2014 - 08:09 UTC

  Strong speech from Cristina Fernandez expected at Mercosur summit in Caracas

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez will attend this Tuesday the leaders' summit of Mercosur in Caracas, Venezuela. The president will travel to Caracas in order to participate in a congress originally scheduled for December 17, but which suffered several postponements.

• Monday, July 28th 2014 - 07:04 UTC

  Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia private sectors unite to combat Mercosur protectionist policies

  

  The private sectors from Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia agreed to form a business lobby, Urupabol, with the purpose of actively combating protectionist policies and other obstacles implemented inside Mercosur, mainly by senior members Argentina and Brazil.

• Saturday, July 26th 2014 - 07:05 UTC

  Mercosur to consider forming an 'economic forum' with ALBA and Petrocaribe

  

  Uruguay's president Jose Mujica will be attending the next Mercosur presidential summit scheduled for Tuesday, 29 July in Caracas, when the creation of an economic forum Mercosur/ALBA/PetroCaribe will for consideration as part of the agenda.

• Friday, July 25th 2014 - 06:22 UTC

  Brazil wants to speed Mercosur/Pacific Alliance free trade understanding

  

  Brazil will propose next Tuesday, in Caracas, during the Mercosur summit that the group and the Pacific Alliance reach an agreement on free trade by the end of the year, according to official sources from Itamaraty.

• Friday, July 25th 2014 - 06:09 UTC

  Mercosur is 'not working' because of protectionism and lack of arbitration

  

  Mercosur is “not working” and is “stalled” admitted Uruguayan president Jose Mujica and blamed the situation on different visions of the block's functioning, according to an interview with Folha de Sao Paulo.

• Tuesday, July 22nd 2014 - 09:05 UTC

  Mercosur was not created to become a fortress of 'hyper-protectionism'

  

  Former Uruguayan president Julio Maria Sanguinetti and founder of the Montevideo Circle Foundation said Mercosur was not created to become a fortress of hyper protectionism but rather to promote competition and integration with flexibility. Sanguinetti participated in a round of conferences of the Montevideo Circle Foundation in Paraguay.

• Tuesday, July 22nd 2014 - 09:00 UTC

  Mercosur has 'yet to crystallize' but 'I remain positive' says Cardoso

  

  Former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso said that Mercosur has 'yet to crystallize as a customs union' and pointed to the common external tariff which is the founding stone but is “full of objections” as the main hurdle. Nevertheless “I remain positive about the strength of Mercosur”.

• Saturday, July 19th 2014 - 07:26 UTC

  Barroso calls on EU and Mercosur to conclude the free trade agreement

  

  The president of the European Commission (EC), Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, called on Friday for concluding negotiations and finalizing a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.