British Prime Minister David Cameron has joined forces with France and Germany to demand a real-terms freeze in the European Union budget until the end of the decade.
Conditions are ready to reach in the short term a trade agreement with the European Union, said Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo whose country, and for the next six months, holds the pro tempore chair of the South American block.
Trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur are making progress and are on track for a possible trade agreement by mid-2011, following coincidences on several controversial points.
The European Union Mercosur trade agreement is still far from becoming a reality and the coming Ibero-American summit in Mar del Plata early December is not expected to signal any significant achievement in this field, according to Spanish political analysts who anticipate some advances towards the end of next year.
European Union leaders and President Barack Obama over the weekend made a point of stressing EU/US close ties after a low-key summit in Lisbon ended with a pledge to push for a deal in the Doha trade negotiation next year.
Scottish farmers have openly expressed their opposition to the ongoing trade talks between the European Union and Mercosur demanding guarantees on human health, animal health and food safety before any additional access for imported products from the South American block is agreed.
Deceased French president Francois Mitterrand in 1989 gave his approval to German unification on condition that then Chancellor Helmut Kohl opened the way for the creation of an only currency in the European Union.
In anticipation of a new round of Mercosur/European Union trade talks to take place in Brussels, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht confirmed he remained hopeful a deal could be struck in the coming twelve months, following the recent experience with South Korea.
The European Union remains fully committed to reach a free trade agreement with Mercosur said Geoffrey Barrett head of the EU delegation in Uruguay and Paraguay, during a EU sponsored conference in Asunción.
EU trade chief Karel De Gucht said on Tuesday in Brazil that a EU-Mercosur trade pact could happen “in less than a year”, despite France's “firm” opposition to a deal with the South American block.