On 4-5 June, at the Argentine Foreign Ministry, the 112th Ordinary Meeting of the Common Market was held, which brought together the National Coordinators of the four members of Mercosur: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The work meeting was chaired by the Argentine national coordinator and Secretary for International Economic Relations of the Foreign Ministry, Horacio Reyser.
On this occasion, the main issue on the agenda was the progress made on negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and Canada, as well as institutional strengthening and the increase of trade flows between members of the bloc with a view to the next Summit of Presidents to be held on 17 July.
Argentina, which will continue acting as Pro Tempore President of Mercosur until the end of this semester, promoted debate and the search for consensus with a focus on modernizing Mercosur and making progress on foreign trade negotiations.
As regards the institutional organization of the bloc, the parties agreed to reform and improve the operation of the bodies of Mercosur to increase effectiveness and obtain concrete results that benefit the citizens of the member countries. The importance of having a single budget to strengthen and better coordinate the bloc's activities was also highlighted.
On the other hand, in relation to foreign negotiations, the parties reaffirmed their goal of concluding the most advanced ones –EU, Canada and EFTA– with a view to achieving a stronger, greater and more diversified regional and global trade integration which generates business and investment opportunities and increases the competitiveness of Mercosur industries.
