EU, Mercosur May Kick-Start Trade Talks At Portugal Summit
By Bernd Radowitz, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ESTORIL, Portugal -(Dow Jones)- Heads of state and government from Spain,
Portugal and Latin American nations at a summit in Estoril, Portugal, will
discuss issues of trade between their regions, and try to address political
tensions.
While innovation and development is the official theme of the Iberoamerican
summit Sunday through Tuesday, Spain and Portugal want to use the meeting to
revive long-stalled talks to reach a free-trade agreement between the European
Union and the Mercosur economic bloc.
"The goal of this meeting is to show that the Mercosur countries have the
political will to reach an agreement with the E.U.," Milagros Hernando,
director of the department for international policy and security of Spain's
presidential office, said at a briefing in Madrid Friday.
The E.U. and Mercosur had already started talks for a free-trade deal in 2000,
but negotiations have stalled as both economic blocs gave priority to reaching a
broader agreement within the framework of the World Trade Organization's Doha
round.
Mercosur has Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay as full members, with
Venezuela in the process of becoming a fifth full member.
As the WTO Doha round has dragged on for years without a successful
conclusion, and others instead have sought bilateral or bi-regional agreements,
such as the U.S. with Peru or the E.U. with Central America, the link to WTO
talks has been broken now, said David Fleischer, a political scientist at the
Federal University of Brasilia.
Spain hopes a deal between the E.U. and Mercosur can be clinched during the
time of its E.U. presidency in the first half of 2010, with the talks in Estoril
serving as a kick-start.
It is unclear, however, whether much has changed in long-standing demands by
both sides and impediments to a free-trade deal between the two blocs.
Brazil, Mercosur's dominant economy, "has always been interested in
concessions the Europeans want to make," Fleischer said.
The E.U. wants Mercosur to lower its industrial tariffs, and barriers in the
financial and services sector.
Mercosur, by contrast, urges the E.U. to lower its elevated agricultural
subsidies.
Spain, Portugal, the Mercosur countries, and representatives from the European
Commission Monday afternoon are slated to hold a meeting to discuss trade
issues.
Spain, meanwhile, is also trying to soothe the conflict between Venezuela and
Colombia that erupted when Colombia said it would be allowing U.S. troops to use
Colombian military bases to help fight drug trafficking. Venezuela's President
Hugo Chavez - who won't be attending the summit in Estoril - has alleged the
move is an attempt by the U.S. to get its troops close to Venezuela for a
possible attack aimed at stealing its vast oil riches.
Spain's King Juan Carlos later Sunday is slated to meet Colombian President
Alvaro Uribe in an effort to mediate in the conflict.
The institutional crisis in Honduras is also expected to be discussed in
Estoril. Polls opened earlier Sunday in the Central American country's first
elections since the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has made clear his country won't
recognize the outcome of the elections, while Spain has also said the
institutional order in Honduras first needs to be reestablished and Zelaya put
back in office.
That puts the Latin countries at odds with the U.S. government, which is
expected to recognize the Honduran poll.
-By Bernd Radowitz, Dow Jones Newswires, +34-618 526 915, bernd.radowitz@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-29-091348ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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