EU chair Portugal said on Thursday it would try to conclude a free-trade treaty between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur that was agreed in 2019 after two decades of talks but has still not been finalised.
Portugal will try to conclude a free-trade agreement between the EU and the South American trade bloc Mercosur during its six-month EU presidency, and attempt to expand Europe’s ties with other potential trade partners, the country’s foreign minister said on Thursday (7 January).
Augusto Santos Silva said Portugal, which took over the EU’s rotating presidency on 1 January, needed to make progress on the deal because failure would damage the reputation of the bloc.
“Portugal thinks that trade and trade agreements are, right now, the best way to improve the relationship between Europe and Latin America,” Santos Silva told reporters.
EU chair Portugal aims to seal Mercosur trade deal
EU chair Portugal said on Thursday it would try to conclude a free-trade treaty between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur that was agreed in 2019 after two decades of talks but has still not been finalised.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said his country, which assumed the EU’s six-month rotating presidency on Jan. 1, needed to make progress because failure would damage the reputation of the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc.
“Our credibility is at stake. It is a responsibility of Portugal to try to conclude this process and we assume this obligation,” Santos Silva told an online briefing.
Portugal assumes EU’s rotating presidency for six monthsEurope 2021-01-02, by Editor Comments Off 2
MADRID: Portugal officially assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of European Union (EU) on Friday, with a motto of “a fair, green and digital recovery”.
The COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit will be the main agenda of the EU for the next six months under Portugal’s presidency, taking over from Germany.
The EU will specifically focus on COVID-19 vaccination and reducing the socio-economic impact of the pandemic.
The outcome of the Brexit agreement will also be on the 27-member bloc’s agenda as the new trade deal between London and Brussels will be implemented in 2021.