Negotiations for a trade and cooperation agreement between Mercosur and the European Union must continue and should not be overshadowed by political issues such as the impeachment process in Brazil, pointed out Paraguay's foreign minister Eladio Loizaga, following a motion by 15 Green Euro and United Left parliamentarians in Strasbourg to cancel discussions because of the corruption contaminated removal of Dilma Rousseff.
Argentina's president Mauricio Macri greeted Brazil’s confirmed head of state Michel Temer for the first time since Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment and removal last week as the two met briefly during the G20 summit taking place in China.
Paraguay said Mercosur will continue to function and is waiting for a reply from Uruguay to confirm a collegiate presidency of the block, until Argentina takes the helm at the end of the year. If not, Mercosur members are well aware that the the same way they decided to belong to the group, they can walk away...
The foreign ministers of Mercosur founding members will adopt a common position regarding the current disarray of the group following on Venezuela's unilateral attitudes said Paraguayan economic affairs and integration deputy minister Rigoberto Gauto.
The fracture in Mercosur was candidly revealed by Uruguay's foreign minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa during an agro-business conference of cooperatives in Montevideo when he received a phone call from his Venezuelan peer Delcy Rodríguez.
Mercosur on Wednesday displayed another chapter of its internal disarray, almost farcical, when Venezuela which proclaims the presidency of the group convened a meeting at the Montevideo administrative offices that was only attended by full member Uruguay and aspiring member Bolivia.
Mercosur founding countries national coordinators met on Tuesday in Montevideo and admitted that the block is going through an emergency situation because of the presidential acephaly, but agreed on proposals to overcome the challenge and in a business as usual spirit, are readying for a meeting with the EU on trade negotiations and on the Action Plan to advance closer links with the Pacific Alliance.
Paraguay's foreign minister Eladio Loizaga anticipated that the Mercosur coordinators meeting scheduled to take place this Tuesday in Montevideo, will be definitive since a proposal to solve the current acephaly of the block's presidency which was self proclaimed by Venezuela and questioned by other members, will emerge.
Argentina considers that Uruguay created a vacuum in Mercosur when it unilaterally adopted the decision to devolve the block's presidency, and creating an unprecedented situation. Since then Mercosur has been involved in a serious controversy over the transfer of the presidency to Venezuela, which has strongly discredited the South American block.
Uruguay back stepped on its statements referred to Brazil's “bullying with the Mercosur presidency” and admits there was a misunderstanding regarding Brazil's invitation for a joint trade promotion in third countries, according to an official clarification Wednesday release from the Uruguayan foreign ministry.