Spaanse minister Espinosa benadrukt belang hervatten onderhandelingen met Mercosur (en) - Hoofdinhoud
Spain's Minister of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, Elena Espinosa, in Brussels on Monday highlighted the importance of restarting talks for an association agreement between the EU and Mercosur, at the summit meeting taking place in Madrid.At the start of the agriculture council meeting, Espinosa said that she hoped that the EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) will relaunch the talks that have been stalled since 2004 in order to reach an agreement that "is fair for everyone".On Monday the ministers of agriculture of the EU opened discussions with Mercosur, at the request of France and seven other countries, that have expressed their concerns about the effects of an agreement with this Latin American block on the European agricultural sector.
The priority of the Spanish Presidency of the EU is to reach an agreement with Mercosur and Espinosa insisted that the intention to restart talks (one of the main issues at the summit between the EU and the countries of Latin America in Madrid) was a decision "taken a long time ago" and could be "beneficial" if the negotiations are "normal and open".
She stressed that the discussions to open up trade between these two blocks must deal with agriculture and livestock farming as well as the industrial and service sectors.
Espinosa said that she was currently talking exclusively about the reopening of negotiations and that when they start "we will try to make a balanced decision that will not prejudice or favour any party in particular".
Espinosa also declared that the EU will try to take into account the more contentious products; in other words, the European sectors that might be affected by an increase in trade and imports from Mercosur, such as beef and pork.
She compared the talks with the discussions to free up world trade in the Doha Round, that were started many years ago and are still not concluded as they have not come to an agreement.
European Agriculture Commissioner, Dacian Ciolos i, said that currently, discussions are solely about reopening negotiations with the South American block, emphasising that for the moment there are no new concessions on the table.