| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Series Details | 18.3.03 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 08/03/2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The creation of a free trade area between the European Union and Mercosur - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - came a step closer on 5 March 2003 when both parties exchanged their offers for market opening [IP/03/329]. The offers will pave the way for further negotiations at the next round of talks scheduled to take place in Brussels between 17-21 March 2003. Commenting on the progress, European Commissioner for Trade, Pascal Lamy, said:
According to the roadmap, agreed at the EU-Mercosur Ministerial Meeting in Rio de Janeiro in July 2002, a first draft text of the full EU-Mercosur Association Agreement should be presented to the EU-Mercosur ministerial meeting, which will take place in the second half of 2003. Background Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay established Mercosur in March 1991 with the signing of the Treaty of Asuncion. The aim of the organisation was to create a common market / customs union between the participating countries on the basis of various forms of economic co-operation that had been taking place between Brazil and Argentina since 1986. In 1994, the member countries decided to start to realise the goal of creating a common market and, with the signing of the Treaty of Ouro Preto, an institutional structure was also established. This largely mirrored the EU's institutional architecture but with one key difference - Mercosur functions on the basis of a 100% intergovernmental structure. In terms of its internal programme Mercosur is now focussing on completing its internal market by 1 January 2006. EU Relations with Mercosur The EU has supported the Mercosur initiative since its conception in 1991. Less than a year after its conception, the European Commission signed an interinstitutional agreement with Mercosur to provide technical and institutional support to the new organisation. Between 1992 and 1995 both parties conducted an informal political dialogue until this became formalised and institutionalised through the EU-Mercosur Interregional Framework Co-operation Agreement , which was signed by the EC's Member States and the Mercosur member countries in Madrid on 15 December 1995. This Framework agreement consists of three main elements:
The agreement established various levels of political dialogue, both at the Heads of State level, the ministerial level and the senior officials level. As such, ministerial meetings took place on an annual basis from 1996 to 2002 (with the exception of 1999). At the Villamoura Ministerial meeting in 2000, the Mercosur parties proposed an action plan in the field of political co-operation, which the EU promised to investigate. As a result, topics related to the political dialogue featured prominently on the agenda of the first meeting of the EU-Mercosur Co-operation Council, which took place in Brussels in November 1999. At the second meeting in Luxembourg in June 2001, officials discussed Mercosur's proposals for an action plan in the field of political co-operation and this was formally adopted at the second EU-Mercosur Summit, which was held under the Spanish Presidency in Madrid on 17 May 2002. More information on the political dialogue can be found on the European Commission's DG External relations website.
Co-operation between the EU and Mercosur was already well under way by the time the Framework Co-operation Agreement was signed in 1995. The EU's efforts have largely been directed at reinforcing the process of regional integration of Mercosur, particularly the institutional structure. As such over €2.5 million have been allocated to support various Mercosur bodies such as the Administrative Secretariat; the Joint Parliamentary Committee and the economic and Social Consultative Forum. €5 million has also been targeted at the various phases of the custom harmonisation programme. On 25 September 2002, the European Commission adopted the Mercosur Regional Strategy Paper [2002-2006], with a funding of €48 million, which covers support for the completion of the Mercosur Internal Market, institutional building and civil society.
Since 1995, much of the work between the EU and Mercosur has focussed on trade issues since the main objective of the Framework Agreement is to establish an Interregional Association Agreement, which would enable free trade between the two areas. The European Union is by far the largest market for Mercosur's exports, despite the bloc's proximity to the United States, and between 1990-1998 imports from the Union to the region increased by a massive 335%. In 1998, the total value of trade flows between the two blocks was estimated at €42.5 billion. After three years of preparatory work between the European Commission and the Mercosur governments, which culminated in a European Commission proposal for a negotiating mandate, leaders agreed to launch negotiations on a future interregional Association Agreement at a Summit Meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 28 June 1999. The negotiating Directives were formally approved by the Council on 13 September 1999 giving the European Commission the right to start negotiations on non-tariff elements immediately, to begin negotiations on tariffs and services on 1 July 2001. The main forum for the negotiations is the EU-Mercosur Biregional Negotiations Committee (BNC) to which a Subcommittee on Co-operation (SCC), three Subgroups on specific co-operation areas and three technical groups (TG) dealing with trade matters are linked. The first round of negotiations was held in Buenos Aires on 6-7 April 2000. Since then a further seven rounds of negotiations have taken place with the latest round held in Brasilia from 11-15 November 2002. Information on the achievements of each individual round can be found on the EU's Relations with Mercosur pages of the DG External relations website. The exchange of offers on market opening on 5 March 2003 [[IP/03/329] will form the basis of the ninth negotiating round due to take place in Brussels between 17-21 March 2003. It follows the agreement reached at the Rio de Janeiro Ministerial meeting in July 2002 on a clear roadmap to prepare for the final negotiations by the second half of 2003. According to the roadmap, tariff offers for other areas, notably services, investment and government procurement are scheduled to be exchanged by 30 April 2003. With negotiations on the political dialogue and co-operation largely completed at the EU-Mercosur Summit in Madrid in May 2002, efforts are being intensified to complete the trade negotiations. Both parties are aiming towards the presentation of a first draft text of the full agreement at the EU-Ministerial meeting which will take place in the second half of 2003 with the ultimate goal being to create the world's largest free trade area before the planned Free Trade Agreement for the Americas in 2005. Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
International Organisations
News Organisations
Helen Bower 8 March 2003 The European Union and Mercosur exchanged their offers for market opening on 5 March 2003 bringing the creation of a free trade area between the two groups a step closer. |
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