The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Francisco Bustillo, began yesterday in Spain a tour of several European countries to promote the final ratification of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur, whose pro tempore presidency is currently held by Montevideo.
Bustillo was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. “We have addressed the relations between Spain and Uruguay and the joint work to advance the EU-Mercosur Agreement and the Ibero-American Community of Nations,” the head of Spanish diplomacy stated on his Twitter account. “Latin America will be a central point in the Spanish EU Presidency,” he added. Albares held a first meeting with Bustillo in August 2021, at the ministerial headquarters of the Palacio de Viana in Madrid. The current head of Uruguayan diplomacy was ambassador to Spain between 2012 and 2020.
According to the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry, during the meeting “issues inherent to the bilateral relationship, as well as the international scenario, were thoroughly addressed”, and “emphasis was placed on moving towards the signing of the Mercosur-EU agreement”. “The Spanish Minister reiterated his country’s full support for said agreement”, added the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry. This support, it added, will be “evidenced” in the second half of 2023, when Spain holds the EU presidency. “Spain intends to prioritize Latin America in the European agenda,” the Foreign Ministry concluded.
Subsequently, the Uruguayan Foreign Minister met with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, at the Ministry’s headquarters. During the meeting, as reported by the Department through Twitter, Maroto and Bustillo highlighted “the importance of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur to strengthen institutional and economic ties”.
Bustillo began yesterday in Spain a tour of Europe, which will last all week and will include visits to Belgium (to meet in Brussels with Commission Vice Presidents Josep Borrell and Valdis Dombrovskis), Germany and France (where he will meet with his counterparts, Annaelena Maerbock and Catherine Colonna), in the framework of the negotiations for the final ratification of the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. The agreement was signed in 2019 in Japan, but is still pending ratification, which requires the unanimity of the 27 EU states. Spain and Portugal are the leading countries in Europe in supporting the agreement, but other members, such as France and the Netherlands, have shown their misgivings and have called for more attention to be paid to environmental demands in favor of “sustainable development” and the new European Green Pact in 2019.
Uruguay has held the rotating presidency of Mercosur since last July and will hand over to Argentina in December. Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay are the countries most interested in seeing the Mercosur-EU free trade agreement approved. “Mercosur and the European Union should concentrate all their efforts on rounding out some of the issues that are still pending, but given the importance of the agreement and thinking of the international credibility of both blocs, it is urgent that it be approved by the member countries,” Bustillo recently stated. “That said, Uruguay is very respectful of the internal discussions on the agreement, but once again, time is pressing,” he added.
