92002E1434

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1434/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(23 May 2002)

Subject: EU-Mercosur relations

Rodrigo Rato, the Spanish Minister of the Economy, recently highlighted the importance of a trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, calling for a firmer attitude on the part of the Union. What are the obstacles preventing the signing of this agreement, given that the EU has already signed

one with Mexico, and is intending to do so with Chile on the occasion of the forthcoming Madrid European and Latin American summit? Why can an agreement with Chile be signed, and not with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay as members of Mercosur?

Reply

(30 September 2002)

1. As you are probably aware, the Council formally approved the EU-Mercosur negotiating directives on 13 September 1999, based on the political compromise reached in Luxembourg on 21 June 1999. This compromise instructed the Commission to start negotiations on non-tariff elements immediately and to begin negotiations on tariffs and services on 1 July 2001 in the light of the results of the WTO round. The Commission has a mandate to negotiate with Mercosur and it is fully in charge of these negotiations.

2. It is recalled that the Council, at its meeting on 28 January 2002, reiterated the importance it attaches to the establishment of an Association Agreement between the EU and Mercosur. It also welcomed the progress already achieved in those negotiations and reiterated the EU commitment to continue to make further progress.

3. At the EU-Mercosur Summit in Madrid on 17 May, the Heads of State and of Government of both regions, in the light of their objective to make rapid progress and conclude the negotiations as soon as possible, agreed to give a new impetus to the economic/trade negotiations under the interregional association agreement. With this in mind, they agreed that before the next meeting of the Bi-regional Negotiating Committee, there will be a meeting between EU and Mercosur negotiators at ministerial level. This meeting is expected to take place in Brasilia during the month of July 2002.