Mercosur

• Monday, July 20th 2020 - 09:59 UTC

  EU's “Frugal Five” blocking of recovery plan, anticipates difficulties to finalize accord with Mercosur

  

  The emergence of the so-called “Frugal Five” led by Austria and Netherlands, has blocked so far the European Union recovery plan, with a massive injection of funds, and forebodes hard times to finally reach the implementation of an EU trade agreement with Mercosur.

• Monday, July 20th 2020 - 09:40 UTC

  Virus moving south: Brazilian state of Santa Catarina reimposes strict confinement measures

  

  The southern state of Santa Catarina, which borders with the Argentine province of Misiones decreed on Saturday strict confinement measures following a record death toll from the coronavirus pandemic.

• Wednesday, July 15th 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Suriname elects new president replacing four decades of dictator Bouterse

  

  Mercosur associate, Suriname elected a new president Monday, ending the dictatorial rule of Desi Bouterse. Chan Santokhi, an Indian-origin former police chief, won a landslide victory in the general elections conducted in the country in May.

• Monday, July 13th 2020 - 09:57 UTC

  EU ombudsman opened an inquiry into the EU/Mercosur sustainability impact assessment

  

  European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly has opened an inquiry into why the European Commission did not finalize an updated Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) before the conclusion of the Mercosur-EU trade agreement in June 2019.

• Friday, July 3rd 2020 - 09:59 UTC

  Mercosur presidential summit can't forget support for Argentina's claim over the Falklands

  

  Mercosur full-member presidents and their associate peers backed Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands in the framework of the 56th Heads of State summit, which took place in Paraguay through a video conference when the pro tempore chair was delivered by Brazil to Uruguay for the second half of 2020.

• Wednesday, July 1st 2020 - 10:34 UTC

  Macron in a rally declares he opposes the trade agreement of EU with Mercosur

  

  French president, Emmanuel Macron, declared his opposition to the free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur. In addition, 265 civil society organizations were also mobilized against the agreement. The decision follows the defeat of Macron in the municipal elections and the strong advance of the Greens.

• Friday, June 26th 2020 - 10:52 UTC

  Huge 15 sq km locust swarm threatens Mercosur agriculture

  

  Argentina and Brazil are monitoring the movement of a 15-square-kilometer locust swarm in Argentina’s northeast, though authorities and specialists said so far it had not caused significant damage to crops in the South American countries.

• Monday, June 8th 2020 - 05:26 UTC

  Uruguayan Chancellor avoid describing Venezuela as a dictatorship and clashes with the President Lacalle Pou's policy

  

  A few months ago, Foreign Minister Ernesto Talvi, at his rallies as a candidate for the presidency of Uruguay, did not hesitate to describe the Venezuelan government as a dictatorship. However, in an interview this Saturday he affirmed that he “won't say in this role” that the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a dictatorship.

• Friday, June 5th 2020 - 08:30 UTC

  Argentina's industrial output collapsed 33,5% in April compared to April 2019

  

  Argentina's industrial output crashed 33.5% in April from the same month last year, the government's statistics agency said on Thursday, as the national lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic bludgeoned Latin America's No. 3 economy.

• Friday, May 22nd 2020 - 08:59 UTC

  Argentina reaffirms commitment to Mercosur but remains cautious about EU accord

  

  Argentine Foreign Minister Felipe Solá reaffirmed on Thursday the decision of president Alberto Fernandez's government to continue being part of Mercosur. When asked about links with the other member countries of the bloc, Solá said that a “rupture or union depends on the political will of the governments and our will is, that we are not on the rupture path”