The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay meet this Tuesday in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, for the 62nd summit
WILTON JUNIOR/ESTADÃO CONTENT
The president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) assumes the rotating presidency of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) for a term of six months. The block consists of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay It is Uruguay. Leadership is conferred by the Argentine President Alberto Fernández to the PT during the 62nd Summit of Heads of State in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. Lula’s biggest challenge before Mercosur will be finalizing the trade deal with Mercosur European Union (EU), negotiated since 1999. The treaty has been under revision by the countries of both blocs for four years and still has to be ratified by the parliaments and national governments of the 31 countries involved. This year, the Europeans submitted an additional document to Mercosur, which primarily provides for sanctions on environmental issues. During a trip to Europe, Lula called the document a “threat”. Now Brazil is preparing a counterproposal to the conditions most demanded by the EU. “The government is translating President Lula’s instructions into a document that will be presented first to the Mercosur partners and then to the European Union. It is a process that is not going so quickly because the agreements are very delicate and have required a very intensive internal coordination work,” reported the Itamaraty Secretary for Economy and Finance, Ambassador Mauricio Carvalho Lyrio.
In addition to the deal, Mercosur presidents will discuss a possible deal with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a group of countries on the continent that don’t participate in the main European bloc. AECL consists of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Another agreement with Singapore is also on the agenda. According to Itamaraty, under the temporary presidency of Mercosur, Brazil will organize the social forum, the economic forum and the bloc’s next summit in the country in a city to be determined by the end of the year. “This summit is of particular importance for us because, first of all, Brazil takes over the presidency pro tempore in the context of resuming the priority of integration, so it is not a question of a routine presidency, but of the priority that the government gives to the integration processes that are beginning .” with the return to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the holding of the South America Summit and now Mercosur, which is fundamental to the development of our countries,” said the Ambassador.
Command will pass to the PT this Tuesday as Mercosur’s rules, created in 1991, require the four title countries to alternate as presidents of the bloc with sixmonth terms. In addition to the four countries, there are also socalled states that are attached to the bloc. These include Colombia, Bolivia and Chile.
*With information from reporter Katiuscia Sotomayor.