The European Union has formally requested that the exchange of tariff proposals with Mercosur for the creation of a cooperation and free trade zone, originally scheduled for next week, be delayed until 2014. The message was received by the Brazilian delegation at the recent WTO Bali discussions.
Falkland Islanders have been praised for their international campaign of diplomacy explaining their democratic credentials to the world and proclaiming their overwhelming referendum vote for self-determination and retaining their links with the United Kingdom.
The European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called on Mercosur to decide whether it wishes to advance in trade talks with the European Union jointly, as a block, and suggested the idea of a 'two-speed negotiation', since it is clear that Brazil is interested in advancing and wants to reach an agreement.
A Tory MP has asked the British Government to press Spain within the European Union over “legal problems” arising from Ceuta and Melilla. Philip Hollobone, the Conservative MP for Kettering, made the request in a written parliamentary question on Gibraltar tabled in the House of Commons.
Brazil trusts Mercosur and the European Union can exchange the proposed tariff lists for a free trade agreement keeping to the original schedule, before the end of the year, according to the country's foreign ministry.
Mercosur must have greater integration, act with an only voice and operate as a block, advised former French president Nicholas Sarkozy at a business conference in Buenos Aires, where he also underlined that without the European Union, France or Germany could have disappeared from the world map
Current events in Gibraltar and the continued incursions by Spanish vessels in the Rock's territorial waters were addressed in a strong piece in the Daily Telegraph by the former head of the Royal Navy, Lord Admiral West. This follows calls from British MPs last week for pressure to be brought on Spain within the context of NATO.
British MPs from across the political spectrum sent “an extremely powerful message” to the Spanish Government voicing anger at its treatment of Gibraltar and its people. Parliamentarians from all the major British political parties spoke in unison to decry Spanish belligerence toward the Rock during a 40-minute emergency session in the House of Commons.
A week of trade talks in Brussels have taken the European Union and the United States a little closer to a deal to liberalize bilateral trade. EU officials say the trade relationship with the US is already the biggest in the world, worth more than 2bn Euros a day, but barriers remain, and removing them could make it even bigger. If it happens, the agreement would be huge, capable of changing the shape of global trade.
Two Falkland Islands Members of the Legislative Assembly, Roger Edwards and Ian Hansen will be attending the second annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Conference (JMC) in London on the 25th of November 2013. The Falkland Islands’ delegation will also include HE the Governor Nigel Haywood, Jamie Fotheringham (Head of Policy), and Sukey Cameron (UK Representative).