NEWS

The agreement came after a week of intensive contacts at a technical level in Brussels, which led to several meetings at the political level.

The European Commission and the countries that form Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) have announced on Friday that they have reached a free trade agreement after almost twenty years negotiating, according to a statement announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina.

The agreement came after a week of intensive contacts at a technical level in Brussels, which led to several meetings at the political level. In them they have participated, by the communitarian Executive, the vice-president Jyrki Katainen, and the commissars of Commerce, Cecilia Malmström, and of Agriculture, Phil Hogan; and on the part of MERCOSUR, the foreign ministers of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.

The EU and Mercosur began to negotiate a free trade agreement in the year 2000 and the talks have since passed several phases, even being stopped. Both parties agreed in 2016 to relaunch negotiations in which the agricultural chapter has been the great stumbling block, especially the exports of beef from MERCOSUR to the community block.

Spain is one of the European countries, together with Germany, Portugal or the Netherlands, which has further promoted this agreement, which has counted on the reserves of France, Belgium, Ireland and Poland. "

The Government highlights the "decisive" role of Sánchez

The Government has highlighted on Friday the "decisive" role played by the Chief Executive, Pedro Sánchez, so that a commercial agreement between the EU and Mercosur could be concluded. Government sources have confirmed the achievement of this agreement, which they have described as "very good news" after twenty years of negotiations.

They have also emphasized the role played by Sánchez so that these negotiations have come to fruition. At the last European Council, held in Brussels last week, the Prime Minister promoted the signing of a letter by seven European leaders and addressed to the president of the Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, demanding that these negotiations be concluded for an agreement of trade with Mercosur.

The letter promoted by Sánchez was signed by him, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel; the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa; the Dutchman, Mark Rutte; the one from the Czech Republic, Andrej Babis; the Latvian, Krisjanis Karins; and the Swedish Stefan Lofven. In their letter they considered that the moment had arrived to close the agreement before the "threat of protectionism" and other geopolitical factors that affect exports.