MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay welcomes Argentina's support to Mercosur countries negotiating solo if necessary

“It is always better to go all together,” said Paganini. But if that is not possible, negotiations should be undertaken “individually or with the countries that can,” he added

The Uruguayan Government of President Luis Lacalle Pou has found in Javier Milei's Argentina the partner it longed for within the Southern Common Market to clear the way for individual members of the bloc to seek unilateral trade alliances with other countries or regional alliances. In this scenario, Foreign Minister Omar Paganini Wednesday welcomed Buenos Aires' endorsement to make Mercosur more flexible.

 “We have been working with Argentina on these issues. In this sense, Uruguay has already expressed since the beginning of our administration the desire for Mercosur to become more open, to generate more trade agreements with the world”, said Paganini after a meeting of the bloc's top diplomats. In Paganini's view, Mercosur is moving towards greater openness, as he welcomed Argentina's stance in favor of making the bloc more flexible. “We are taking steps towards greater openness,” he insisted. “Mercosur should open up more, that it should generate more trade agreements with the world,” he also noted.

Under Lacalle Pou, Montevideo has insisted that if expanding businesses under the Mercosur umbrella was not feasible, then it should be pursued “individually or with the countries that can,” Paganini also explained. However, “it is always better to go all together,” he admitted. Regarding the possibility of an effective free gtrade agreement between the European Union and Mercour, Paganini underlined that “hopefully there will now be a green light or white smoke.” The EU-Mercosur FTA negotiated for more than two decades and signed in 2019 is still to be ratified after several parliaments in Europe objected to some of its provisions, particularly those linked to environmentally-friendly production regulations.

“Argentina has expressed its agreement with this position in the sense of flexibility,” he added. “Of course, we also have to get the other partners to be flexible,” he also pointed out with Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia in mind. Brazil and Paraguay still expect to discuss the issue at the next Mercosur summit in December. Before then, “progress must be made,” Paganini insisted.

In Buenos Aires, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino said in a statement that during Monday's gathering in Montevideo at the request of Uruguay, who currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency, “a proposal for the sequential application of different, more flexible negotiation modalities with third countries or groups of countries” had been put forward. “Argentina then proposes that those members of the bloc willing to open new markets be allowed to initiate negotiations individually or plurilaterally,” the San Martín Palace went on while addressing the possibility of “a proposal for the sequential application of different negotiation modalities, more flexible, with third countries or groups of countries.” Mondino also pointed out that “negotiations may begin under this third modality, and the Agreements that are signed will be open to accession by the other States Parties.”