The 11th Extraordinary Meeting of the MERCOSUR Common Market Council (CMC) was held today at the Palacio San Martín, with the participation of the Foreign Ministers of the four State Parties signatories to the Asuncion Treaty – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
On this occasion, Argentina assumed the Pro Tempore Presidency (PTP) of MERCOSUR, which it will hold until mid-2017.
“We have been entrusted with the Pro Tempore Presidency, so we have a significant agenda ahead of us” said Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra at a press conference. “We have discussed the issues relating to the future of MERCOSUR: we have decided to strengthen our bonds even more in all matters relating to negotiations.”
Malcorra explained that: “We have agreed that we are going to put together joint negotiation teams. Until now, each country had its own team. We have agreed to form teams and deal with the matters subject to negotiation in a more coordinated and consolidated fashion.”
During the Meeting, the foreign ministers discussed and approved decisions on issues relating to the internal operation of MERCOSUR, including budgetary issues and the appointment of authorities at its institutions.
In this regard, the dynamism of MERCOSUR’s external negotiations will optimize the opportunities offered by the consolidation of the bloc as a platform for insertion of the State Parties into the global economy.
“We have decided that the negotiation between MERCOSUR and the European Union is a priority, but we must also work on making progress with Japan, India, Canada, and also need to regard relations with China as an important issue,” stated Malcorra, who further added that “we are going to have a very substantial agenda in terms of all matters for negotiation.”
The Argentine Foreign Minister announced that the priorities of Argentina’s Presidency of MERCOSUR will be removing trade barriers within the zone, perfecting the customs union, and effectively coordinating the positions of the four State Parties, with a view to promptly concluding agreements within the framework of an ambitious agenda of MERCOSUR external negotiations.
“We are going to strengthen all aspects relating to free trade within the region. It is difficult to integrate ourselves into the world if we are not fully integrated within the region,” explained Malcorra.
In addition to the CMC meeting, the 47th Extraordinary Meeting of the Common Market Group (GMC) and the 25th Extraordinary Meeting of the MERCOSUR Trade Commission (CCM) were held today as well. These meetings resulted in the approval of 9 CMC Decisions, 4 GMC Resolutions and 21 CCM Directives.
Since the meetings were extraordinary, the bodies approved issues inherent in the operation of MERCOSUR, such as the Budgets for the Year 2017 of the MERCOSUR Social Institute, the Institute for Public Policies on Human Rights, the MERCOSUR Parliament, the MERCOSUR Fund for Structural Convergence, the MERCOSUR High Representative-General, the Secretariat of the Permanent Review Tribunal and the MERCOSUR Secretariat.
Furthermore, the appointments of Accountant Linda Rabbaglietti (from Uruguay), as Director of the MERCOSUR Secretariat, and of Ambassador José Augusto Lindgren Alves (from Brazil) as Executive Secretary of the Institute for Public Policies on Human Rights were approved.
The Brazilian Members of the MERCOSUR Labour-Administrative Tribunal and the Argentine Arbitrators of the Permanent Review Tribunal were appointed as well.
As regards external relations, an agreement was reached to issue a mandate to GMC to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement between MERCOSUR and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as well as to regulate the operative aspects deriving from the Joint Declaration of 13 September 2016 suspending the rights of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as a State Party of MERCOSUR.
Finally, the CCM approved 20 regulations establishing tariff reductions for supply reasons that will make it possible to provide the necessary inputs for carrying out production processes in the State Parties that made the relevant applications.
Press Release No. 446/16
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