Brazilian former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso said that Mercosur “needs to be reborn but with a real integration spirit among its members” leaving behind such ambitions as the mirror of the European Union.
Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro backed Argentina’s controversial decision to nationalize the country's biggest oil company YPF arguing countries’ right to recover a strategic market is “indisputable”.
The European Union is planning to lodge a complaint at the World Trade Organization over Argentina's import restrictions and is seeking other trading partners to back its presentation, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday according to news agencies.
A member of the European Union assured it is not possible to negotiate an agreement between the EU and Mercosur without Argentina, as the Spanish Government planned after the country’s decision to expropriate YPF.
The European Community strongly supported Spain and oil corporation Repsol saying that the expropriation by Argentina of YPF is “a very negative signal” for investors and could seriously damage the business climate of the country.
The US and forty countries which formalized a joint statement before the World Trade Organization complaining about Argentina’s trade restrictions are considering moving a step further and begin a “disputes settlement” process which could lead to an open condemnation if the administration of President Cristina Kirchner does not lift the protectionist network.
The European Union has called on Argentina to respect international trade commitments, following on the announcement by the Minister of Industry to boycott the purchase of imports originating in the UK in an escalating row over the Falklands.
Brazil will keep its foreign policy ‘anchor’ in South America but will review the international because of the latest global changes such as the European Union crisis and the Arab spring.
Russia will ban shipments of Europe's cattle and hogs from March 20 due to an outbreak of the Schmallenberg virus, which causes birth deformities, said the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, the country's food-safety watchdog.
The Argentine Foreign Ministry suggested in an official Wednesday release that “the EU and the Union of South American nations (UNASUR) analyze the Malvinas islands conflict and urge both countries (UK and Argentina) to negotiate”.